Music

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Music – Curriculum Intent Statement

Purpose of the Subject

Through music, we aim to nurture children’s creativity, confidence and joy in making, performing and responding to sound. We want pupils to experience music as a powerful form of expression that connects people, cultures and communities. Our music curriculum reflects the diverse heritage of our school, ensuring every child sees themselves represented while also exploring musical traditions and genres from around the world. We want children to feel empowered as musicians who can listen with focus, perform with confidence and compose with imagination.

Alignment with the National Curriculum

In line with the National Curriculum, we teach children to:

• Perform, listen to, review and evaluate music across a range of historical periods, genres, styles and traditions.
• Learn to sing and use their voices, create and compose music individually and with others.
• Play tuned and untuned instruments with increasing accuracy, fluency and control.
• Understand and use musical notation.
• Develop an understanding of the history and cultural significance of music.

Curriculum Coverage

Our music curriculum provides:

• Mirrors – opportunities for children to see their own identities, cultures and experiences reflected in the music they study and perform.
• Windows – opportunities to explore diverse musical traditions, instruments and genres from across the world.

We select content from the National Curriculum and design rich, practical and engaging musical experiences that connect to pupils’ lives, interests and the unique community we serve. Each unit includes opportunities for listening, performing, composing and evaluating.

Curriculum Progression

Our music curriculum is built around four interrelated strands of knowledge:

1. Procedural Knowledge (Musical Skills)

Procedural knowledge represents the practical skills children need to perform, compose and listen as musicians. These skills are mapped in a vertically integrated progression from EYFS to Year 6. Children begin by exploring pulse, rhythm and simple songs, progressing to more complex singing, instrumental performance, composition and notation. This progression enables pupils to move from basic participation to mastery.

2. Disciplinary Knowledge (The “Big Ideas” of Music)

Disciplinary knowledge represents the conceptual frameworks that underpin musical understanding. These include:

• Technical

1. Competence in controlling sound (instrumental, vocal or with music technology)
2. Use of a communication system, such as staff notation or guitar tab

• Constructive

1. Knowledge of the musical elements/interrelated dimensions of music
2. Knowledge of the components of composition

• Expressive

1. Musical quality
2. Musical creativity
3. Knowledge of musical meanings across the world and time

These concepts are taught, revisited and applied in every year group, helping children understand how music is created, organised and communicated.

3. Substantive Knowledge (The Content We Teach)

Substantive knowledge represents the specific musical content children learn—such as musical styles, genres, instruments, notation systems and key composers or traditions. This knowledge is presented as clear learning outcomes that detail what pupils should know and remember. Content is chosen to reflect our community, celebrate global musical traditions and ensure that all children see themselves as musicians.

4. Substantive Concepts

Substantive concepts are recurring ideas that appear across the music curriculum, such as melody, harmony, rhythm, notation, expression, genre and performance. These concepts are explored in different contexts across year groups, helping children build familiarity, confidence and deeper musical understanding.

Repetition and Retrieval

Our music curriculum is built on high levels of repetition to ensure that children remember more and can do more as they progress through school. Procedural and disciplinary knowledge are revisited in every year group, allowing pupils to apply skills with increasing independence. Substantive concepts reappear across units, enabling children to make connections and strengthen long‑term understanding. Retrieval practice is embedded within lessons and across terms, ensuring that key knowledge is revisited, secured and stored in long‑term memory.

Assessment

Assessment in music focuses on pupils’ ability to apply musical knowledge, skills and creativity. We assess pupils through:

• Performances
• Compositions and creative outcomes
• Listening and appraisal tasks
• Reflections and discussions

These assessments provide insight into how well children understand musical concepts, how confidently they can perform and compose, and how effectively they can think and work like musicians.