Curriculum Intent for Music

'The power of music is all around us. It is the soundtrack to our lives. Music connects us through people and places in our ever-changing world. It is creative, collaborative, celebratory and challenging. In our schools, music can bring communities together through the shared endeavour of whole-school singing, ensemble playing, experimenting with the creative process and, through the love of listening to friends and fellow pupils, performing.' - Model Music Curriculum

‘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.’ - Department of Education, National Curriculum.

Music is a powerful and joyful part of life at Shustoke. It connects people, enriches communities and provides opportunities for creativity, collaboration and celebration. We believe that every child is a musician, and that music should inspire confidence, curiosity and a life-long love of the subject.

Our intention is to provide a rich, progressive and bespoke music curriculum that enables every child to: 
-Develop secure musical knowledge and skills in singing, playing instruments, improvising and composing, listening and appreciating, and performing. 
-Experience a wide range of genres, traditions and composers. 
-Build confidence through regular performance opportunities within school, church and the wider community. 
-Understand how music reflects culture, identity and values, and how it brings people together. 

Through purposeful and engaging learning, we aim for every child to leave Shustoke with a strong musical foundation, expressive confidence and a genuine enjoyment of music. 

Curriculum Implementation of Music 

Music is taught through bespoke units that build knowledge and skills progressively from Early Years to Year 6. Each unit is designed to be practical, active and purposeful, culminating in a performance or musical outcome. 
Key features of out implementation include: 
-Progressive knowledge and skills mapped across singing, playing, improvising and composing, listening and appreciating, and performing. 
-A structures instrumental pathway ( Early years & KS1- untuned percussion and ocarina, Lower KS2- Ukelele, Upper KS2- Keyboard). 
-Regular performance opportunities, including Harvest, Nativity, Carol Services, Easter, Remembrance, class assemblies and community events. 
-Use of music technology, Including digital audio workstations, sampling, looping and layering. 
-Cross-curriculum enrichment, including links to art, culture, history and British Values. 
-High qualify resources, including keyboards, percussion instruments and iPads with music apps. 
-Ongoing staff development to ensure confident and consistent delivery of the curriculum. 

Teacher adapt lessons to meet the needs of their classes while ensuring progression is maintained. Knowledge and skills are monitored through pupil voice, learning walks, performances and reviews of outcomes. 

Curriculum Impact for Music

Our bespoke curriculum aims to ensure that children leave Shustoke as confident, expressive and knowledgeable musicians who can sing, play, compose, listen and perform with increasing independence and skill. 
Impact is seen through children's growing confidence and accuracy when talking about music using appropriate vocabulary, alongside the progressive development of technical skills in singing, instrumental playing and music technology. As pupils move through school, their improvisation and composition work becomes increasingly sophisticated, reflecting a deeper understanding of musical structures and creative processes. Their enjoyment, enthusiasm and willingness to participate in musical activities are evident in lessons and performances, where they demonstrate control, expression and musical understanding. Together, these outcomes continue to a strong sense of community, belonging and shared celebration, with music acting as a unifying and enriching part of school life. 
Monitoring includes pupils voice, lesson observations, recordings, performances and review of progression documents. Children with particular musical interests or talents are supported through opportunities such as Young Voices, RockSteady, instrumental lessons and performance groups.