Here at The Churchill School we enjoy any opportunity to use singing and music to enhance our learning of topics across the curriculum. Teachers’ and students’ enthusiasm will ultimately make the learning experience all the more memorable. We have been fortunate to have enjoyed performances from visiting music professionals, secondary school pupils and other cross-curricular dramatic productions in order to model and inspire our children to develop a love for music.
Curriculum music
Music is taught to all children as part of the core curriculum. Reception children include music organically through their structured play, using a range of songs, rhythms and exploration of sound within the planned topics each week.
Children in KS1 follow the programmes of study as set out in the curriculum and are enthusiastic in their use of topic-based songs to further their understanding.
Within KS2, provision is continued in line with the curriculum, but we are very fortunate to also have an established system of Wider Opportunities music provision. Through Wider Opportunity music, all children have the opportunity to receive tuition in learning a musical instrument over the course of a year.
Current provision is as follows: Year 3 - Ocarina, Year 4 - recorder, Year 5 - djembe drums and Year 6 - ukulele. We hope that by giving our children the opportunity to try learning and playing these instruments, it may enthuse them to continue learning as they progress onto secondary school, either with one of these instruments or others of their choice. After all, once the love of music is there, the sky’s the limit!
Performance opportunities
Through opportunities to perform, we aim to develop a sense of musical community for our pupils. It is a wonderful to get involved with a range of school productions during their time at primary school, allowing the children to further develop strong relationships throughout the school and enhancing the tight knit community we have here. All children are involved in a production of some sort at Christmas time, covering: the traditional nativity story, carols, dramatised plays and more modern seasonal songs. At the end of KS2, year 6 children enjoy planning, learning, rehearsing and producing a Leavers’ production, as a lasting memory of their time here. Their enthusiasm is palpable as you watch them design backdrops, make props and costumes and consider lighting and sound effects.
We hope all pupils continue making music after they have finished at The Churchill School and feel a real sense of achievement at the end of their musical journey. We develop general musicianship alongside encouraging students to extend their own confidence and musical interests. As well as developing their confidence as performers, we teach the children how to listen and appraise others, using digital recordings to playback and allow feedback.
After school clubs
We have run a number of music clubs over the years, including: choir, recorders, ocarina and hand chimes. Please see the School Clubs page and current newsletters for those taking place at the moment.
Music in the wider community
We try to enjoy opportunities to experience music outside the confines of our school building wherever possible. We have worked collaboratively within the district on singing projects and performance days, whereby children reading sheet music have been able to attend an orchestral day, rehearsing in sections in the morning and then performing to an audience in the afternoon. This can be a real eye-opener to many children, as they learn to perform whilst listening to those around them!
Within the village, we annually perform at the Community Carol concert alongside pupils from other schools, local bands, parents and the village as a whole.