Our Music curriculum enables children to develop confidence, creativity and a lifelong appreciation of music. From Foundation Stage to Year 6, pupils build their knowledge and skills through four key strands: Singing, Performing and Instrumental Skills, Composing, and Listening and Appraising. These strands are carefully sequenced to ensure clear progression across the school.

Singing is at the heart of our curriculum. In the early years, children sing simple songs and rhymes, learning to match pitch and follow a melody. As they move through Key Stage 1 and 2, they develop control, sing with expression and dynamics, and gain confidence performing as part of a group. By upper Key Stage 2, pupils sing in parts and harmony, perform different sections within a piece, and use their voices confidently across all areas of their musical learning.

Performing and Instrumental Skills develop through whole-class ensemble teaching and practical music-making. Children begin by learning how to handle instruments correctly and play together as a group. As they progress, they read increasingly complex notation, play in different time signatures, and perform more challenging rhythms and melodies. Pupils experience a wide range of instruments across the school, including percussion, recorder, ukulele and keyboards. By Year 6, they perform confidently both solo and in groups, organise performances independently and demonstrate strong ensemble awareness.

Composing encourages creativity and musical understanding. In the early stages, pupils explore sound and create simple compositions using graphic scores and short rhythmic patterns. As their skills grow, they compose using notation, melody and lyrics, and begin to improvise with increasing control. In upper Key Stage 2, pupils compose confidently using their full range of musical knowledge, refine and improve their work, and use technology such as BandLab to support composition. They learn not only how to create music, but how to evaluate and develop it.

Listening and Appraising develops pupils’ understanding of music from different cultures, periods and styles. Children learn to identify elements such as pitch, tempo, dynamics, timbre and structure, and use appropriate musical vocabulary. They explore music from British traditions and around the world, including Brazilian samba, West African drumming, Indian classical music, jazz and rap. As they move through the school, pupils develop the ability to recognise genres, identify major and minor keys, understand how music has changed over time, and make thoughtful comparisons between styles.

Throughout the curriculum, pupils build secure knowledge of the interrelated dimensions of music — pitch, rhythm, tempo, dynamics, timbre, structure, harmony and melody — applying this understanding in their singing, performing and composing. They also learn about the historical and cultural contexts of music, exploring how technology, society and global influences have shaped musical development.

By the end of Year 6, pupils are confident performers, thoughtful listeners and creative composers who understand music as both an art form and a cultural expression.

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