Music

Our Vision for Music Education at Christ Church:

“We believe the purpose of music is to develop musical skills, becoming better at music, while developing a life-long love of the subject.”

Statement of Intent:

Our music curriculum is all about developing children as musicians and is designed to be flexible and diverse, in order to meet the needs of all children. Rooted in the Kodaly and Suzuki approaches to music education, we plan to meet both the expectations of the National Curriculum and the Model Music Curriculum, as part of the National Plan for Music Education. Focusing on performing, composing, and engaged listening, our sequenced curriculum builds deep levels of musicianship, through increased musical knowledge, skills, and specialist language. Performance aspects carefully consider accessibility, embracing singing for enjoyment and aural development, with listening as an integral component throughout, and glockenspiels to develop instrumental proficiency. Composition builds children’s musical knowledge and skills, through artistic freedom, expression, and theoretical guidance.

Curriculum Context:

In 2023, investment was made in a specialist music teacher, who joined the school with responsibility for teaching and coordinating music across the federation. As part of this, the Music curriculum was rewritten to follow a new long-term sequence.

In its first year the curriculum has been successful in laying secure foundations in musicianship and aural awareness. Children across the federation are developing skills, which ensure they are getting better at music over time. We have developed skill-based bookmarks, which allow children to assess and track their own learning and development, progressing towards milestones within our curriculum progression. During the first year of our programme, all children achieved one or two levels of progress and received certificates of their achievement.

Areas for Development:

To evaluate and develop the music curriculum as required, so that it continues to meet the needs of our children, as a curriculum of excellence.

Instrumental and Vocal Lessons and Ensembles:

As part of the cultural ethos of our school, music is an embedded part of the curriculum and every child's experience. In addition to a repertoire of singing for worship, children sing and play instruments in their music lessons (voice and glockenspiel remain our principal foci); perform regularly in collective worship and in weekly singing assemblies, as well as at key events within our calendar both in school, at church and in the wider community.

Across the federation, we have a varied selection of ensembles that children can become involved in, including a beginner recorder group; advanced recorder group (consort); training choir and advanced choir, and a glockenspiel group. Each of these ensembles is linked to the Children’s University, allowing learning time to be validated and provide opportunities for children to progress towards awards, which they receive in a special ceremony run by the University of Wolverhampton each summer. Additionally, children can progress towards ABRSM medal awards in the Consort recorder group. In 2024 we celebrated our first successful examination, awarded with excellent elements.

Children also have access to instrumental lessons on violin and viola, through Wolverhampton Music Service. Children progress within a specialist pathway achieving internal awards and have the opportunity to take ABRSM examinations.

In addition to regular in-house performance opportunities, ensembles perform at least once per term at church services, which are attended by the school community; each year, in May, there is a timetabled Music concert for KS2, and children in year two and six perform at the end of each year in special leavers concerts.

Additionally, children have visited the local community to perform. These have included close work by the advanced choir with Christ Church church and Family Church services; performances at James Beattie House and visits to community churches in Tettenhall.

As part of our original 2023-24 development plan, a singing playgrounds group was to be begun at the Infant school. However, due to the impressive outdoor opportunities already taking place and the level of singing within lessons, the music lead made the decision that it would be more beneficial to offer a recorder group in its place. This additional beginner ensemble has proved to be popular and has allowed children to begin an instrumental journey, which can feed directly into the success of the ensembles in the Junior school.

Areas for Development:

Continue to encourage ongoing membership of ensembles, so that as many children as possible can gain from these important experiences.

To provide further opportunities for wider ensemble experience, we will begin a new school orchestra, which will run weekly and feed into our existing performance calendar.

Develop further opportunities within the community for children to perform, including engagement with Music Hub events such as “The Big Sing.”

Invest in a set of chromatic glockenspiels, which will replace the older models that are still being used in classroom learning.

Music Events and Opportunities:

Our school continues to work with the local Music service, actively encouraging children to participate in wider opportunities offered. In association with the senior leadership team, we will continue to drive the development of music across the school and advocate for the importance of music in school life. The engagement of a music specialist continues to be a significant investment in this goal. We are currently a Music Mark School.

In the 2023-24 academic year children received visits from the Music Hub concert programme, where a variety of instruments were modelled to children and the Music Hub string team, who workshopped instruments with children in Year Four.

We were also visited by iRock, who performed a selection of contemporary music and modelled opportunities for instrumental learning.

Areas for Development:

Continue to embrace opportunities for children to perform in a range of contexts, both within and outside of school across a variety of traditions, cultures, and historical periods.

Create further links with organisations who will allow children to see music performed live in different contexts. For example, visiting ensembles and visits to venues such as Symphony Hall.