Music Curriculum Statement

Music is a universal language that embodies one of the highest forms of creativity. A high-quality music education should engage and inspire pupils to develop a love of music and their talent as musicians, and so increase their self-confidence, creativity and sense of achievement. As pupils progress, they should develop a critical engagement with music, allowing them to compose, and to listen with discrimination to the best in the musical canon. (NC 2014).

Our music curriculum has been designed to ensure children are able to listen, compose, perform and appreciate music from different genres and cultures so that they develop their musical capital throughout their time in school.

Put simply, we want to ensure each and every child ‘loves music’ and has the time and opportunities to be musical in their own unique way.

In school we focus on, not only high-quality music, but the ways children can be inspired and challenged it. We equip them with the technical and composite knowledge and skills to learn how to play an instrument, recognize notation, sing, experiment, compose, and create their own pieces as well as develop appropriate subject specific knowledge, skills and understanding as set out in the National Curriculum so that they can meet end of key stage attainment targets.

Put simply, we positively endorse the progression of music skills throughout school so that all children are ready for their next phase of learning.

Creativity is encouraged through individual and collaborative learning experiences, a positive growth mind set, a sense of responsibility and challenges that take them beyond the classroom. We are a small Christian school and use spiritual music to help promote our understanding of the power of music for reflection and praise in worship and the impact this can have on us in our daily lives.

Put simply, children will be able to appreciate music from a range of cultures, people and times.

Our curriculum is: CYCLICAL as pupils return to the same skills again and again throughout the key stages. It focuses on: INCREASING DEPTH so that each time a skill is revisited it is covered with greater complexity. We also emphasize PRIOR KNOWLEDGE: returning to a skill, prior knowledge is utilised so pupils can build upon previous foundations, rather than starting again. All lessons are based on one of three elements: technical, composite or expressive with some lessons combining all three.

Put simply, creativity and independent outcomes are robustly embedded supporting pupils learning and helping them to make their own musical choices and decisions.

The impact of our music curriculum is that as pupils progress through school, they will be able to think, talk and critically develop a more rigorous understanding of music. They will develop a love of music and they will be able to confidently express their own learning journey.  Ultimately, our children will have a confident set of musical skills and knowledge, supported by Christian values which will be used to get ahead in education and life more generally.

Put simply, they will learn more, remember more, enjoy more and develop more creatively, spiritually, socially and emotionally. Thus, enabling them to be ready for their next stage in education.