Music can make a powerful contribution to the education and development of children, having benefits which range from those that are largely academic to the growth of social skills and contribution to overall development. It is a unique form of communication that can change the way pupils feel, think and act. Ofsted say that children’s involvement in music engages and re-engages pupils, increasing their self-esteem, and maximising their progress in education and not just in music.

At Priestsic Primary and Nursery School, we are building a culture where music is for everyone. We want to ensure that music is a joyful, engaging and inclusive experience that enables every child to develop their musical potential and develop an appreciation of the value of music that is deeply personal to them. We want children to have a curiosity for the subject and a respect for the role that music may play in any person’s life. We want our children to see themselves reflected in the musicians and composers we listen to and to encounter inspirational and aspirational musical role models that reflect the world: past, present and future, in all its diversity.
We intend to inspire musicians of the future and create a passion for music in all our children that will stay with them for a lifetime. 

At Priestsic Primary School, children are encouraged to develop their ability to communicate through music, both  with instruments and vocally. Pupils study music to develop a knowledge and understanding of it, but also a love and appreciation of it too. We want our music lessons to be active, whether that be listening, composing or performing. We want our pupils to be able to express themselves through music, enabling them  to engage with the social, moral, spiritual and cultural aspects of the curriculum on a regular basis. Our pupils are taught about and encouraged to appreciate a wide variety of music styles, genres and cultures through their study of music across school.

Foundation Stage:

Children are given opportunity to play a variety of percussion and tuned instruments and are introduced to instruments from different cultures. The children can explore these instruments freely and also under a more structured environment. Early work on listening skills, rhythm and singing are at the heart of our music curriculum in our early years.  We use phonological awareness and develop our vocabulary as well as develop a love of music and singing. 

Key Stage One:

In Key Stage One we continue our music studies following the Charanga learning progression but make it bespoke to our particular setting.  We play simple pieces of music and learn to recognise musical elements such as pitch, duration, dynamics, tempo, timbre and texture. We  begin to learn simple notation skills and create musical effects to poems, stories and songs. We love to put a soundscape to a story we have been reading or provide the soundtrack to a piece of drama!

The children love  to perform in front of an audience and in class too. We sing regularly. Music is taught as a discrete subject but is also taught to create joined -up learning experiences for our children. for example, when studying Africa in year 2 they learnt Kye Kye Kule,  an African call and response song. They also learnt to sing about the guards on duty at Buckingham Palace and marched when learning about London!

The children are taught about of different types of music and the instruments being played through listening, appraising and participating. They talk about their own responses to music and show these through talk, drawing and movement. 

One of our favourite parts of the year is our Christmas performance which allows us to engage in singing for purpose and enjoyment.

Key Stage Two:

Our children have made strong ties to the local community through their work with Sutton Academy. Our pupils are taught singing on a weekly basis with the intention of sharing and celebrating their work with parents through learning cafes. To cement these ties our Year 6 pupils are also invited to watch the annual school performance at Sutton Academy and will often learn a selection of songs from the play so that they are included in the rehearsal and performance process.

Appreciation of music is developed by providing extensive listening materials, thereby leading to a greater awareness of styles, cultures, historical periods and composers. The children learn how music can communicate moods and ideas. They are encouraged to develop their skills with percussion instruments both tuned and unturned, and to evaluate their compositions. The children have opportunities to develop their I.T. skills using a variety of music packages.

The children are able to use their musical skills and develop their confidence by performing productions each year to the parents where they sing solos, duets, in groups, sing in rounds, dance and play instruments.

Singing assemblies take place on a weekly basis in which all of each Key Stage learn and sing a variety of songs, including songs of cultural interest and heritage, allowing them to engage in singing for purpose and enjoyment.

Additionally, we have a composer of the month whereby the whole school listens to, learns and researches about a particular composer in order to gain a deeper insight and gain better knowledge and understanding about the composer. Composers are selected from all musical periods and genres in order to gain well rounded musical knowledge. We make sure to celebrate past and present musical figures from many backgrounds and cultures. 

Extra-Curricular:

The school has an excellent choir, consisting of children from all years groups across Key Stage 2 which is run weekly after school. These children perform in various venues throughout the local community, including care homes, theatres, hospitals and churches. The choir have secure links with the family of schools via Sutton Academy due to their regular involvement in concerts and local events. Extra music opportunities are provided by the school with specialist music companies, such as Voice Choice Project and  African drumming coming in providing concerts and workshops to widen the children’s musical experiences.

Children have the opportunity to play their instrument(s) or perform their composed pieces and ‘Showcase’ their learning at our learning cafes.

Children  have the opportunity to learn to play instruments at after school clubs.

Children have the opportunity to be part of a Rock Steady band where they have instrument tuition from an outside provider - Rock Steady - where they can learn to play the electric guitar, bass guitar, keyboard, drums or vocals. Children perform a Rock concert termly for parents/carers/family members.

Please keep checking back on this page to stay updated on all things musical at Priestsic!

We are so proud of our Rock Steady bands that performed for the first time. They rocked the school hall and everyone had a great time! Thank you to all involved!

Voice Choice Project

We are really excited to welcome again a team from Nottingham’s VoiceChoice company who specialise in lively, energetic, enjoyable workshops based around music and drama. They are working with a large group of year 5 children in a project creating musical pieces for a public performance at Sutton Community Academy. To create community links with our secondary schools, there are a group of SCA Year 10 students as young leaders/ mentors to support our children.

Click on the link below to have a look at the photos and videos to see what we have been doing in our sessions.

To help widen and deepen our knowledge and understanding in Music, we have a whole school composer of the month . Take a look at our learning so far!  :-)