Mission Statement
Our mission statement, ‘Open hearts, open minds. Learning together with God.’ underpins all the work that we do.
‘I give you a new commandment. Love one another, as I have loved you.’
At Carleton St Hilda’s, we believe that through musical experiences, education and performance children can learn to express themselves freely and develop confidence and self-esteem. We aim to not only provide children with a rich and broad education, both in the development of musical theories and skill, but also to enrich their time at our school with a variety of musical experiences and opportunities. We want music to be a source of pure joy, creativity and wellbeing, giving children a positive outlet for self-expression and the opportunity to discover their own musical voice.
Our curriculum is designed to develop the children’s understanding and ability to listen and appraise music, compose their own music, respond and improvise musically and be provided with an abundance of performance opportunities. The children will ultimately be active music-makers, developing their skills and vocabulary as they progress their learning through the interrelated dimensions of music; pulse, rhythm, pitch, tempo, dynamics, timbre, texture, structure and notation. They will learn to sing effectively, play ukuleles, glockenspiels, recorders and a wide range of percussion instruments.
Our enrichment opportunities support and encourage our children to continue their musical expression and passion outside of our whole class lessons. To name a few; we have a well-established choir, hold weekly whole school singing worship, offer guitar lessons and love a bit of classroom karaoke! The children shine in regular performances and worships throughout the year and we unite as a community with parents for events such as carols around the tree at Christmas. Our love of music is also intertwined with our passion for dance. We love to express ourselves and move to music, whether this is in PE, movement breaks or entering dance festivals and competitions.
We also seek to broaden children’s understanding of the world through music. Pupils will encounter music from different cultures, developing their curiosity and respect for diversity. Our identity as a church school is deeply woven into our love of music. Through hymns, songs and performing at times of celebration, the children are able to reflect and develop their understanding of our whole school values. Through learning about different religions and traditions as well as significant musicians, composers and time periods, children will understand how music reflects and shapes the world around them, whilst also developing their own sense of self.