Our vision for Music is for children to be able to…

• Collaborate, learn, create and feel inspired through music.
• Experience a diverse and inclusive musical diet that includes the study of music across a range of historical eras, traditions, musical genres and styles.
• Develop a love of music and their talent as musicians.
• Feel that they can be creative, stimulated and challenged.
• Increase their self-confidence, self-esteem, creativity and sense of achievement through performing, improvising and composing.
•  Embrace the joy of music, allowing it to enrich their lives.

We absolutely love music at DBJS, and firmly believe that every child has the right to study music as part of the wider school curriculum. We are proud of the fact that our pupils receive a weekly one-hour music lesson with a specialist teacher, and the primary aim of class sessions is for our children to experience a rich and varied musical diet. The National Curriculum for Music lies at the heart of lesson planning, and by delivering an engaging music curriculum, pupils experience a diverse range of projects. For example, Year 3 learn to conduct Beethoven’s Ode to Joy as part of an orchestral project, whilst Year 5 write and perform their own call and response blues songs. Year 4 musicians create original compositions inspired by paintings, in addition to building their musical skill sets by learning to play a brass instrument. Year 6 debate whether rap is “proper” music, before placing it in context through a potted history of pop music. Year 6 contrast this by looking at modern classical music, and with every year group, wider curriculum links are made wherever possible (for example, during National Science Week, or by discussing the social and historical implication of the transatlantic slave trade). We feel that it is important to review and evaluate our music schemes at the end of each taught unit to ensure that they are seen to be creative, stimulating and appealing.

As a faith school, hymn practice is a regular feature of classroom lessons and assemblies, and we are very much a singing school. We encourage our musicians to perform in assembly, and instrumentalists and extra-curricular singers help to accompany hymn singing, which is excellent sight-reading practice! Community links are strong, and we make use of our local church, St. Peter’s, to engage in music for worship and perform at local community events. Music is an important part of our Christmas and Easter church services, with carefully chosen solos, ensemble performances and congregational singing.

As a faith school, hymn practice is a regular feature of classroom lessons and assemblies, and we are very much a singing school. We encourage our musicians to perform in assembly, and instrumentalists and extra-curricular singers help to accompany hymn singing, which is excellent sight-reading practice! Community links are strong, and we make use of our local church, St. Peter’s, to engage in music for worship and perform at local community events. Music is an important part of our Christmas and Easter church services, with carefully chosen solos, ensemble performances and congregational singing.

Uptake for instrumental lessons is robust, with lessons offered on flute, recorder, clarinet, violin, cornet, trumpet, piano, keyboard, guitar (electric and acoustic) and drum-kit, delivered by Independent Music Solutions. Furthermore, our Year 4 pupils all learn to play a brass instrument in the shape of the cornet, trumpet, tenor horn, euphonium or pBone, delivered by Warwickshire Music. All of our pupils take part in Christmas productions, in the shape of a Nativity play for Years 3 and 4, and a pantomime for Years 5 and 6. Year 6 also perform their own special play at the end of the school year. Extra- curricular music rehearsals are open to all pupils, with an emphasis on developing Music Ambassadors, who help to champion music across the school. Following COVID-19 restrictions, we are able to offer weekly whole School Choir rehearsals and seek to reinstate and develop a School Orchestra for our more able instrumentalists (these pupils are likely to be receiving instrumental lessons and will be working towards ABRSM - or similar - music exams). Both groups rehearse on a weekly basis, and music is arranged and composed especially for members. In addition to assembly and church performances, we hold an annual music concert in the spring, which allows our performers to shine and showcase their performing skills. Other performing opportunities include Sign2Sing with Dunchurch Infant and Nursery School, and creative activities hosted by Rugby School as part of their Festival on the Close.      

We truly want every child to have a positive experience of music at DBJS, and truly hope that by the time they leave at the end of Year 6, our children are musically curious, well informed, and confident musicians. We absolutely love music at DBJS!

Each year group covers a range of topics, listed below: Please click on the topic to see the Knowledge Organiser. This will give you information about the knowledge and skills that the children will be learning. It will also give you information on the vocabulary taught and how this unit links with prior learning.