Music at St Catherine’s Catholic Primary School

At St Catherine’s Catholic Primary School, music is taught throughout EYFS, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2. We believe that music is an important part of a broad and balanced curriculum, giving children opportunities to listen, sing, perform, compose, create and appreciate music from a range of styles and traditions.

At the heart of our music curriculum is singing. Children are taught to sing in class, across whole key stages and through the school choir. Singing as a group gives children further opportunities to develop their tone, expression, confidence, accuracy and understanding of harmony. This builds upon the music curriculum taught in each class.

All children are taught by a music specialist with degree-level or higher expertise in music. This ensures that pupils benefit from high-quality subject knowledge, accurate modelling and a progressive musical experience across the school.

Intent

Our music curriculum aims to:

Develop children’s confidence and enjoyment in music.

Enable children to sing, listen, compose and perform with increasing skill and understanding.

Teach children to recognise and use musical elements such as pulse, rhythm, pitch, tempo, dynamics, texture and structure.

Develop children’s ability to listen carefully and respond to different styles of music.

Give children opportunities to compose, improvise and perform individually, in groups and as a class.

Build children’s confidence in using tuned and untuned instruments.

Develop children’s understanding of musical notation as they move through school.

Encourage children to appreciate music as a creative, cultural and expressive art form.

Implementation

Music across the school: Music is taught throughout EYFS, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2. Children develop their musical knowledge and skills progressively as they move through school.

Singing at the heart of the curriculum: Children sing regularly in lessons, key stages and choir. They learn to use their voices expressively, sing with increasing accuracy and perform with confidence.

EYFS and Key Stage 1: In EYFS and Key Stage 1, pupils develop early musical skills through singing, listening, composing and performance. They explore nursery rhymes, simple songs, pulse, rhythm, dynamics, tempo, high and low sounds, body percussion, untuned percussion and simple tuned instruments.

Charanga in Key Stage 1: In Key Stage 1, children follow the Charanga scheme of work. This helps pupils develop their understanding of pulse, rhythm, singing, listening and simple musical composition.

Key Stage 2 music: In Key Stage 2, children further develop their musical knowledge and skills through whole-class instrumental work, singing, listening, composing and performance. The curriculum uses percussion and tuned instruments as a consistent vehicle for progression, allowing pupils to build upon skills taught in each year group rather than experiencing a “stop-start” curriculum where they have to begin again with a new instrument each year.

Progressive performance skills: Pupils develop from finding and keeping a steady pulse to reading rhythmic notation, playing multi-part pieces, following dynamic changes, performing solos and reading longer musical phrases. The Key Stage 2 overview shows progression from maintaining a steady pulse in Year 3 to playing melodies using staff notation and accompanying melodies with harmonic or rhythmic parts by Year 6.

Listening and appreciation: Children listen to a wide range of musical styles. They learn to identify patterns, recognise instruments, describe dynamics and tempo, and relate different styles of music to wider historical and cultural contexts.

Composition and improvisation: Pupils create rhythms, melodies and musical ideas using different stimuli. As they move through school, they learn to improvise, compose using scales, create music with different sections, use repetition and contrast, and suggest improvements using musical vocabulary.

Supporting SEND Learners in Music

At St Catherine’s, we ensure that all children can access and enjoy music.

Lessons include repetition, modelling, visual cues and practical demonstration.

Singing, movement and instrumental work allow children to participate in different ways.

Activities are adapted so that pupils can experience success and build confidence.

Children are encouraged to perform and contribute at their own level.

Group music-making supports confidence, communication, listening and collaboration.

Impact

Through our music curriculum, children at St Catherine’s:

Develop confidence and enjoyment in singing, listening, composing and performing.

Learn to sing with increasing accuracy, expression, control and confidence.

Develop a secure understanding of pulse, rhythm, pitch, tempo, dynamics and structure.

Use tuned and untuned instruments with increasing skill.

Compose and improvise music using a range of musical ideas.

Listen to, discuss and appreciate music from different styles, periods and traditions.

Develop performance skills through class music, key stage singing, choir and wider school opportunities.

Build the confidence to perform individually, in groups and as part of a larger ensemble.

Leave St Catherine’s with the musical knowledge, skills and confidence needed for the next stage of their education.