At Lathom, we acknowledge the power of music for emotional well-being, freedom of expression and that it is a universal language which embodies one of the highest forms of creativity. We ensure that children can perform music with increasing confidence and can develop an understanding of musical composition in preparation for secondary education. Children experience music in an integrated manner through creative, practical, and engaging activities in which they are provided the opportunities to explore and control sound and musical processes. Every child at Lathom can learnan instrument taught by experienced practitioners.
Lower Key Stage 2
Year 3 learn music through the Oak Academy scheme of learning. They will begin to develop their understanding of pulse and metre, timbre, rhythm, pitch and texture and have opportunities to sing and perform in groups. Children will also begin to learn how to play the glockenspiel.
Year 4 continue to develop their learning through the Charanga scheme. They learn the history of a range of styles including pop, grime, gospel and classical and develop their singing skills by learning how to sing songs from memory with accurate pitch.
Year 4 continue learning the ukulele with an experienced practitioner and develop their skills by performing simple melodies and rhythms, improvising using repeated patterns and beginning to use notation in their performance.
Upper Key Stage 2
Year 5 begins to learn how to play the ukulele with an experienced practitioner. During the year, they also learn the history of a range of styles including rock, jazz, pop, hip hop and motown. They develop their singing skills by learning how to breathe in the correct place when singing and learning how to sing and perform different parts in a group.
Year 6 continue learning how to play the ukulele with an experienced practitioner and develop their skills by taking lead and taking a solo part in performances and performing parts from memory and using notation. begin to learn how to compare the impact that different composers from different times will have had on the people of the time and begin learning how to sing in harmony.
Enrichment Opportunities
Children are offered enrichment opportunities as part of the wider music curriculum. We run a choir club, which has performed in events such as the Festival of Youth at the Velodrome Park and Young Voices at the O2, and a guitar club where children have performed alongside other schools through East Ham Grooves.
Lathom Junior School also hosts Rock Steady in which children can learn and perform singing, electric guitar, bass guitar or drums in a band setting. More information on how to join can be found on their website.
Useful websites