Music at Barnham

Music is at the heart of life at Barnham CEVC Primary School. We believe that every child should have the opportunity to explore, enjoy, and perform music. Through singing, playing instruments, and creating their own compositions, our pupils develop confidence, creativity, teamwork, and a lifelong love of music.

 

Our Curriculum

At our school, Music is taught using the Charanga Musical School Scheme.

The scheme includes:

• Clear, progressive lesson plans
• Ongoing assessment guidance
• Structured progression across year groups
• Engaging and interactive whiteboard resources
• Full coverage of the National Curriculum for Music

 

How Children Learn in Music

From Reception to Year 6, children experience a wide variety of musical activities. Throughout each unit, the interrelated dimensions of music — such as pulse, rhythm, pitch, dynamics, tempo, timbre, texture and structure — are woven together. Pupils develop their skills through:

• Listening and appraising a wide range of music
• Singing and performing
• Playing instruments
• Creating and exploring their own musical ideas

 

 

As learning progresses, children build confidence, creativity and technical skill. Musical knowledge and understanding deepen through repeated practical engagement, reflection and performance.

This approach ensures that music at our school is engaging, inclusive and progressive, enabling every child to experience success and develop a lifelong appreciation of music.

Our lessons are carefully planned to match each year group’s learning needs and follow the national curriculum, ensuring children build skills progressively and enjoy a broad musical education.

 

The Charanga Musical School Units of Work support children in developing musical understanding through a carefully structured, repetition-based approach. By revisiting the same musical concepts through a range of different activities, pupils gain a deeper, more secure understanding and develop true mastery of musical skills.

Musical teaching and learning are not always linear or sequential. Instead, they follow a learning spiral. The strands of musical learning presented in lesson plans and on-screen resources are interconnected and designed to be revisited over time. As children move through the spiral, they develop new musical skills and concepts while continually returning to previously learned ones.

 

Revisiting a skill does not indicate a lack of progress. Rather, it reflects a deepening of understanding. Mastery in music means strengthening and refining existing skills while also building new knowledge and musical awareness.

 

Instrumental Lessons

We offer specialist tuition for children when they get to Year 4 to learn an instrument, they learn to play the guitar as part of wider musical opportunities provided by Suffolk County Council. Mr Nick Morley is our peripatetic tutor at this time.

Extra-Curricular Opportunities

Music doesn’t stop in the classroom! Pupils can join:

• Choir
• Recorder Club
• Ukulele Club

These groups perform in school concerts, assemblies, and local community events, giving children the excitement of performing together and sharing their talents.

Performances and Events

Our pupils have many chances to shine:

• Half termly school concerts to their peers- we love our Musical Extravaganzas!
• Seasonal assemblies and celebrations including at St Gregory’s Church

Parents and families will be invited to attend some of these events and celebrate the achievements of our young performers. We will also try to share musical performances through our social media channels too.

 

 

Get Involved

We love welcoming parents and the local community to our school to showcase their musical talents too. If you play an instrument and would be open to sharing with the wider school community, please do get in touch.

Let’s also work together to:

• Support extra-curricular music clubs
• Encourage your child to take part in lessons or performances

For more information about music provision or performances, please contact Rachel Bacon at rbacon@barnham.org