Music development plan summary

St Bede’s Catholic School and Byron Sixth Form College

 

Overview

Detail	Information
Academic year that this summary covers	2024 – 2025
Date this summary was published	October 2024
Date this summary will be reviewed	July 2025
Name of the school music lead	Mr Andrew Robinson MA BMus PGCE
Name of school leadership team member with responsibility for music (if different)
Name of local music hub	Durham Music Service
Name of other music education organisation(s) (if partnership in place)

Music

Plato wrote, ‘Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything.’

Ernest Boyer wrote, ‘the arts are necessary for achieving wholeness, they provide a way of knowing crucial to the human spirit. Music deserves our special thought and care because it so powerful. It invites our involvement on many levels; it provokes and creates lasting memories; it taps into our emotion being, and it has the capacity to link us with our spiritual core.’

Intent

At St Bede’s our intention is for our students to

• develop a life-long love of music in all its forms from around the world and a curiosity to investigate and find out more about how it is composed, by who, when, why etc.
• develop a culture of singing as a community in both class and during collective

worship.

• develop key skills in performance and composition using relevant music notation.
• develop musical literacy using appropriate key terminology in written and oral answers to describe the music they are hearing, performing or composing.
• develop students who build upon the skills developed during the KS2 curriculum and provide opportunities to support the transition to GCSE and A-Level.
• understand how music in used in everyday life from adverts, to films, to tv shows and how it is used to influence a personal response
• understand musical/performing arts career choices, allowing them to make informed choices about their next steps in education or work life.

This is an ambitious curriculum building upon the foundations of the Key Stage 2 curriculum developed by Bishop Chadwick Catholic Education Trust and aims to develop students as musicians while also developing a life-long passion for music.

It is designed to ensure students develop the ability to listen to, analyse, perform and compose music in a variety of scenarios. Students will continue to develop their ability to use the elements of music found with the areas of technical control and expressive areas of the curriculum map to develop their musicianship.

Pulse & Rhythm

Students will be able to develop and maintain a clear pulse in a range of scenarios. Students will further develop their knowledge of rhythm notation from that which they used in Key Stage 2. Students will have the opportunity to use rhythmic notation to compose, improvise and perform pieces of music in a variety of different genres and styles.

Melody

Students were exposed to pitch notation of up to an octave in Key Stage 2 using the Treble Clef. Students will develop their musical literacy and be able to read pitch notation in both the Treble and Bass Clef to compose and perform music accurately and proficiently. Students will compose using staff notation, developing skills in melody. Students will make use of major and minor scales up to two sharps or flats as well as the Blues Scale.

Listening and Appraising

To be able to listen to, analyse and pick out features within any piece of music is a highly important skill for developing oral skills, as well as developing skills as composers and performers. Students are offered the opportunity to develop active listening skills by listening to recordings of existing pieces of music as well as live performances by professional musicians and members of the school community. This area of the course allows students to explore music from each period of musical history as well as to develop their own personal tastes.

Performing

Students are to become active, confident and proficient performers using relevant notation. Students can perform existing pieces of music while also developing performances of their own compositions using instruments and digital tools. Students will have the opportunity to develop performances as soloists and members of ensembles.

Singing

Students will become confident singers. Students will perform pieces in unison, two and three parts. Pieces will be chosen to demonstrate the broad variety of musical styles as well as to demonstrate features of styles studied throughout the key stage.

Composition & Improvisation

Students can work in different areas to develop their compositional skills using rhythmic and melodic notation as well as the scales they have discovered during areas of the curriculum. Students will compose in relevant notations (chord charts, staff notation, digital DAW etc).

Part A: Curriculum music

This is about what we teach in lesson time, how much time is spent teaching music and any music qualifications or awards that pupils can achieve.

Students in year 7, 8 and 9 have 2 one-hour lessons per fortnight. Pupils who choose music as an option (Eduqas GCSE Music) will study music for five hours per fortnight. Our curriculum is informed by the Model Music Curriculum and builds upon the work of KS1/KS2 work completed in feeder schools using the BCCET Music Curriculum which is based upon the MMC also. The current Head of Music has the opportunity to teach music in 7 feeder schools and so is aware of the features of this curriculum. Within lessons, students develop keyboard skills, sing as a whole class and in year 7 use Djembe Drums. They make use of relevant notation. In year 8, students use Musecore to develop their melody compositions and in year 9, students use YuStudio DAW to develop dance tracks. St Bede’s works closely with Durham Music Service. All students can opt for Instrumental lessons with DMS staff. We currently offer guitar, drum kit, woodwind, brass, upper strings and vocal lessons.

Part B: Co-curricular music

This is about opportunities for pupils to sing and play music, outside of lesson time, including choirs, ensembles and bands, and how pupils can make progress in music beyond the core curriculum.

Currently the school offers Bede’s Voice (lower school choir) each Friday lunchtime. There is also a keyboard club. Students have the opportunity to take part in instrumental lessons with DMS staff. The rock band is organised by DMS staff. Each term we hold a joint Primary and Secondary Concert. Students are given the opportunity to sing in termly Mass and Celebration of the Word. For Mass – students are learning the Will Todd Gaudete Mass Setting which was commissioned for use by BCCET school. There are regular Trust events which students have had the opportunity to take part in including Footsteps performed at Durham Cathedral and Joy in my Heart at Rainton Meadows.

Part C: Musical experiences

This is about all the other musical events and opportunities that we organise, such as singing in assembly, concerts and shows, and trips to professional concerts.

Pupils and Parents are invited to termly concerts in the main hall. Concerts are £3 for adults and free for under 18s. Concerts are joint Primary and Secondary School event. Pupils performed during open evenings. It is planned for Bede’s Voice to go and sing Christmas Carols in Residental Care Homes.

In the future

To further develop ensembles and musical activities on offer. To grow numbers taking part in DMS lessons. To overhaul the year 8 and 9 curriculum to broaden the KS3 curriculum to include music technology and expose students to a wider variety of instruments. To seek increase in numbers opting for GCSE music. To offer A-Level Music.