Music

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Music

at West Didsbury CE Primary School


Music is fundamental to our lives, whether for enjoyment in listening, the emotional response, performing, or creating. As well as the joy music provides, music can be crucial to wider learning: exposure to music is proven to accelerate brain development in young children, particularly in the areas of the brain responsible for processing sound, language development, speech perception and reading skills. Music enhances their mind, their expressive ability, and a whole host of other qualities.  We believe that every child deserves the opportunity to engage with music of all styles and from all cultures, in order to develop their own musical journey.


How do we teach music?

Music is taught weekly by the class teacher. At West Didsbury CE, we follow the highly-accredited Charanga English Model Music Curriculum. The spiral design of this scheme provides the opportunity for children to be immersed in music-making activities that deepen over the course of the six school years. More specifically, musical elements and concepts that are introduced to young children are continually revisited in more complex and intricate ways as children progress through subsequent year groups. As lessons progress through the units and year groups, key learning is repeated, musical skills are reinforced and the learning deepens. Children quickly become familiar with the musical activities, through which they acquire new, or reinforce previous, musical knowledge and understanding. This curriculum is reinforced by high quality instruments available for all children: percussion instruments in Early Years and Key Stage 1, ukuleles in Lower Key Stage 2 and glockenspiels in Upper Key Stage 2. There are also multiple opportunities for children to receive private tuition based in school: guitar, recorder, piano, and violin lessons are currently available.

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