Music
Our music leader is Mrs Twells.
Our Big Idea
Music is a universal language that inspires creativity, builds confidence, and brings people together. Our big idea is that every child is a musician. Through performing, composing and listening, pupils explore musical identify, celebrate diverse cultures, and experience how music builds community and shared understanding. We want pupils to leave primary school with a love of music and the skills to enjoy it throughout their lives.
Our Approach
We teach music through practical, engaging lessons where children sing, play, listen, and compose. Learning is hands‑on and inclusive, ensuring every child can participate and succeed. We use Kapow to resource our curriculum where pupils study four units a year. Our year 5 pupils also learn to play an instrument through high quality whole class music tuition led by two qualified music teachers. Our approach includes:
Weekly music lessons taught by class teachers or specialist staff
A strong focus on singing and vocal confidence
Opportunities to play tuned and untuned instruments
Listening to a wide range of musical genres, cultures, and historical periods
Creative composition activities that encourage imagination and teamwork
Regular performances that build pride and confidence
Music is also woven into wider school life through assemblies, celebrations, and cross‑curricular links.
Curriculum Overview
Our curriculum is carefully sequenced so that musical skills develop progressively from Early Years to Year 6. Children learn to:
Keep a steady beat and recognise rhythmic patterns
Sing with control, expression, and accuracy
Explore pitch, tempo, dynamics, timbre, and structure
Play instruments
Read simple musical notation
Create and perform their own compositions
Listen critically and talk about music using appropriate vocabulary
Each year group revisits key skills while exploring new challenges, ensuring steady and secure progression.
| Autumn | Spring | Summer |
F1 | Responding to children’s interests and needs through continuous provision and enhancements | ||
F2 | |||
Year 1/2 (Cycle A) | Keeping the pulse (my favourite things) Listening and performing | Instruments (Musical storytelling) – tempo and dynamics
| Pitch and Tempo – Superheroes = High and low notes; composing a simple tune Pitch (Musical me) High and low notes
|
Year 1/2 (Cycle B) | Call and Response – (Animals) Using dynamics, patterns and composition | Clapping in time to syllables and creating patterns | Structure (myths and legends) Keeping the rhythm and beat Musical symbols – under the sea Conveying mood through movement |
Year 3/4 Cycle A | Body and tuned percussion (rainforests) – contrasting melodies and rhythms
| Developing singing technique (Vikings)– minims, crotchets, quavers | Pentatonic melodies and composition – pentatonic scale, composition Adapting and transposing motifs (theme Romans)
|
Year 3/4 Cycle B | Ballads – lyrics and actions | Changes in pitch: tempo and dynamics (rivers) – singing in harmony, ostinato | Samba and carnival sounds and instruments - syncopation Traditional Instruments (India) – creating and performing motifs, musical notation |
Year 5 | Composition notation – Ancient Egypt Singing, improvisation, compose and play | Blues – Features of blues, play 12 bar blues, play blues scale in improvisation | South and West Africa – Singing, playing chords, 8 beat break Composition to represent the festival of colour – create a graphic score, vocal compositions, record and perform. (1 day) |
Year 6 | Dynamics, Pitch and Texture-Fingal’s Cave – conducting, graphic scores | Theme and Variations Pop art – performing, naming, copying rhythms. | Listening and Appraising-Features of Baroque music – vocal improvisation Composition-Composing a leavers song (1 day) Recoding melodies using letter notation |
Learning at Home
We encourage families to enjoy music together at home. This might include:
Singing favourite songs or learning new ones
Listening to a variety of music and talking about what you hear
Clapping or tapping simple rhythms
Exploring free music‑making apps or online resources
Practising instruments if your child is learning one
Attending concerts, shows, or community music events