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Music
Music at Christ Church & Holy Trinity
INTENT:
The National Curriculum for Music aims to ensure that all pupils:
Perform, listen to, review and evaluate music
Be taught to sing, create and compose music
Understand and explore how music is created, produced and communicated
Our intent is to give our pupils a rigorous, broad, high-quality curriculum that enables children to gain a solid understanding of music through listening, singing, playing, analysing, composing and evaluating music across a wide variety of historical periods, styles, traditions and musical genres. Music is seen as a channel for self-expression, a means of learning about the world and as a way to have fun. Through a wide range of musical experiences, we aim to increase children’s self-confidence, creativity and sense of achievement. We aim to help children understand the value and importance of music in the wider comunity and to ensure that they are able to use their musical skills, knowledge and experiences to involve themselves in music in a variety of different contexts. Above all, we want to encourage pupils to develop their appreciation of music by teaching them practical musicianship skills, so that every child has regular experience of making high-quality music and therefore leaves our schools with a solid musical skill set and a life-long love of music.
IMPLEMENTATION:
During our class music lessons, we follow the DaCapo Foundation classroom music programme, which is delivered via the DaCapo ToolBox. The ToolBox has aims and objectives for many levels of musical development and understanding, each level divided into stages. The subject areas covered from YR to Y6 are:
Pulse
Pitch
Rhythm
Musical concepts
Improvising & composing
Literacy
Coordination
The programme starts with the most basic musical skills and works through each area, one step at a time, in a very logical and realistic sequence, ensuring that the skills introduced become secure and internalised.
Each DaCapo class music lesson is structured in a way that ensures that variety, engagement, music-making and enjoyment are the focus. First, a “warm-up”, followed by “Rhythm Card” activities to develop their musical literacy, some “movement”, “listening” and finally “creative singing”. Each lesson gives every child a chance to play percussion instruments (tuned and untuned); to be involved in whole class body percussion; to listen to and to discuss/respond to a short segment of music by the designated composer for their particular year group and do plenty of singing! (It is a vocal and movement led approach, which means every child can be involved, and understanding is developed through the use of their own voices and bodies, before applying this understanding to tuned and untuned instruments.)
Children are introduced to DaCapo’s own Kodaly methodology to make sure that children understand the music that they are singing. Put simply, music is taught in intervals using specially designed names for each note and accompanying hand signs to aid visual learners. By Year 6, children sing in harmony with each other, are able to understand the difference between tones and semitones and sing in full chromaticism. They then apply this learning to the Y6 Orchestra, playing a variety of genres in an exciting and ambitious whole class ensemble.
IMPACT:
By the end of KS2 children will be working at or, in most cases above, the expected national standard.
They will
Have played and performed in solo and ensemble contexts, using their voices and playing musical instruments with increasing accuracy, fluency , control and expression
Be able to improvise and compose music for a range of purposes using the inter-related dimensions of music
Be able to listen with attention to detail and recall sounds with increasing aural memory
Be able to use and understand musical notation
Appreciate and understand a wide range of high-quality live and recorded music drawn from different traditions and from great composers and musicians
Have begun to develop an understanding of the history of music
Join their secondary school with the necessary musicianship to be able to take part in a music ensemble
Have had fun
Physical Education
Physical Education at Christ Church and Holy Trinity Primary Schools
Physical Education Intent
At Christ Church and Holy Trinity we strive to create a culture which aims to inspire an active generation to enjoy PE, encourage each other and achieve. We provide a safe and supportive environment for children to flourish in a range of different physical activities which is essential in supporting their physical, emotional, spiritual, social and moral development.
At Christ Church and Holy Trinity we offer an interesting, varied and stimulating program of activity to ensure that all children progress physically through a fun, challenging and fully inclusive PE curriculum. We encourage all children to develop their understanding of the way in which they can use their body, equipment and apparatus safely yet imaginatively to achieve their personal goals. All children have the opportunity to enjoy being physically active, maintain a healthy lifestyle and using the medium of sport, increase their self-esteem. We aspire for children to adopt a positive mind-set and believe that anything can be achieved with determination and resilience.
The aim of Physical Education is to promote physical activity and healthy lifestyles. Children are taught to observe and produce the conventions of fair play, honest competition and good sporting behaviour as individual participants, team members and spectators. Thus, embedding life-long values such as co-operation, collaboration and equity of play.
We provide opportunities for children to learn how to swimming in lessons from Year 3 and continuing until children have become confident in the water, knowing how to keep safe and also meet the National Curriculum requirements of swimming 25m by the end of Year 6.
Children are encouraged to engage in competitive sport and athletics, representing their school from Year 3 to Year 6 in a range of competitions and events.
Our PE Curriculum, along with PSHE and science, teaches children about the importance of healthy living and learning about the need for good nutrition. At Christ Church and Holy Trinity we aim for children to develop the necessary knowledge and skills which will have a positive impact on their future by becoming physically active citizens to benefit their long-term health and well-being.
Physical Education Implementation
At Christ Church and Holy Trinity our PE curriculum is varied and long-term plans ensure that we meet the requirements of the National Curriculum. All pupils receive at least two hours of high quality PE using the vast outside space or school hall. All children have a weekly PE lesson with their class teacher and have weekly sessions with a qualified coach during an enrichment afternoon. During these afternoons, children receive expert coaching to develop fundamental skills through a variety of activities and games suitable to their key stage.
Our PE curriculum is sequenced precisely to ensure progression of knowledge and skills throughout a child’s primary education, thus enabling children to build upon prior experiences and apply these fluently, with confidence. Children also have the opportunity to further these skills at after school sports clubs thus making club links within the community and development officers for specific sports. At Christ Church and Holy Trinity we endeavour to provide a broad range of activities based on children’s interests and new initiatives.
Inter and intra sports competitions are a particular strength of the school and we are managing to get back into them now that we are learning to live with COVID. Although we enjoy the competitive nature of sport, we also appreciate and encourage the importance of children ‘having a go’ and promote positive experiences of being physically active and not always participate to win. We have an inclusive approach and value the importance of physical and mental well-being.
Children take part in a range of invasion, striking & fielding or net & wall games, we promote imagination and creativity in gymnastics and dance as well as provide opportunities for athletics using both indoor and outdoor environments plus outdoor and adventurous activities. Pupils are encouraged to take part in after school clubs and have the opportunity to compete against other schools. In KS2, children go on a residential course for outdoor activities. Children have swimming lessons from Year 3 (weekly) and continue every year up to Year 6 (4,5 and 6 every week for a term).
Physical Education is fundamental in developing healthy lifestyles in young people and at Christ Church and Holy Trinity we provide a wide array of opportunities to develop this and sporting skills outside of the normal curriculum time such as kayaking and climbing.
Regular extra-curricular clubs are very popular and offer a wide variety of sports, including: Dance (KS1), Girls and Boys Football, Fencing, Netball, Dance, Cricket, Rounders, Yoga and Athletics.
Playtimes are an important part of our pupils being happy, healthy and ready to learn. We have well-staffed and equipped playgrounds, a sports field, two adventure playgrounds (one for KS1 and one for KS2), skipping ropes and an Outdoor Area specifically for the EYFS children. Also within our vibrant EYFS area we have a new trim trail which was designed to provide opportunities for children to develop and improve fundamental skills using various body parts.
To develop leadership and communication skills, children in Years 5 and 6 children can apply to become a Young Sports Leader which is a responsible role in encouraging younger children to learn how to play collaborative games, respecting rules and to be as active as possible during playtimes. Children selected are positive role-models for younger members of the school, organising lunchtime games and assisting with annual sports days.
Physical Education Impact Statement
To fulfil our vision by inspiring a generation, at Christ Church and Holy Trinity we motivate children to participate in a variety of sports which are engaging and fun. We inspire children to instinctively utilise skills and knowledge acquired during PE lessons, encouraging them to take responsibility for their own health and fitness thus developing a love of sport leading to a happy and healthy life.