Our Music Curriculum

At Highfields Primary School, our ambitious and inclusive music curriculum has been designed to develop confident performers, creative composers and reflective listeners. We aim for all pupils to develop the appraisal skills needed to talk about music with growing accuracy and insight, so that they come to value music as a lifelong source of joy, creativity and personal expression. 

We have rooted our music curriculum in our core values:  

• Curiosity is developed through our music curriculum by encouraging pupils to explore a wide range of sounds, instruments, styles and genres, ask questions about how music is created, and experiment with their own musical ideas. 

• Creativity means regular opportunities to experiment with sounds, compose and improvise, and make expressive choices in performance, encouraging original musical thinking and personal expression. 

• Collaboration enables pupils to sing, perform and compose together, listening to one another, responding as part of an ensemble and working collectively towards shared musical outcomes. 

• Challenge is provided to all pupils. Our curriculum requires pupils to refine their performance, composition and appraisal skills, apply musical vocabulary accurately, and respond thoughtfully to increasingly complex pieces, techniques and styles. 

• Community is at the heart of music teaching because pupils share musical experiences through collective singing, ensemble performance, school events and links with specialist teachers, strengthening a sense of belonging and shared celebration. 
   

We have deliberately chosen to incorporate a wide range of musical styles, traditions and cultures, ensuring that pupils experience music from different times, places and communities. We intend that our pupils will develop a strong cultural awareness, respect and an appreciation of music’s power to bring people together.

We believe that singing is fundamental to musical development. All pupils have regular opportunities to sing collectively, building confidence, pitch accuracy and a sense of belonging. In addition, our curriculum ensures that every child is given the opportunity to learn to play an instrument during their time at Highfields; our KS2 pupils benefit from specialist teaching provided by Essex Music Hub teachers. 

Through our music curriculum and extra-curricular opportunities, we intend that every child leaves Highfields Primary School with the confidence to perform, the creativity to compose, and the appreciation to enjoy and value music throughout their lives. 

How is our music curriculum implemented?  

We have implemented the ‘Sing Up’ Scheme of Work to ensure that all pupils access a carefully sequenced and progressive music curriculum from EYFS to Year 6. The scheme systematically develops pupils’ singing, listening, playing, composing, improvisation and appraisal skills, building knowledge and confidence over time. 

Our music curriculum fully meets the requirements of the National Curriculum for Music and has been informed by the Model Music Curriculum guidance, ensuring breadth, depth and progression across all key stages. Sing Up provides a wide range of high-quality, interactive teaching resources to support all staff, enabling teachers—regardless of musical expertise—to deliver consistently high-quality music lessons. 

Progression of skills and knowledge 

Our music curriculum has been carefully designed to ensure clear progression in both skills and knowledge from EYFS through to Year 6. We have identified the key strands of music (improvise and compose, sing and play, listen and appraise) and mapped the essential knowledge and skills within each strand so that learning is sequenced logically and builds year on year. This ensures that pupils revisit and deepen musical concepts over time, allowing skills and subject-specific language to become secure and embedded. 

In developing this progression document, we have drawn on the Sing Up scheme guidance, using it to support a coherent structure that ensures continuity and progression across phases. As pupils move through the school, their musical understanding develops from simple experiences of sound, rhythm and song in the Early Years to more sophisticated composition, performance and appraisal in Key Stage 2. Musical notation is introduced from Year 1, initially through simple graphic and symbolic representations, and is then taught explicitly throughout Key Stage 2 alongside learning to play musical instruments. 

Teaching sequences are deliberately progressive, with each lesson designed to recap prior learning and revisit key vocabulary before introducing new musical knowledge or skills. This approach supports retention, enables pupils to make meaningful links between learning, and ensures that musical understanding is built cumulatively.  

How do we make Music real and relevant? 

We make our music curriculum real and relevant by ensuring all pupils are provided with a wide range of opportunities to listen to, perform, compose and respond to music in meaningful contexts. Children experience music from different cultures, historical periods (as well as contemporary music) and genres, helping them to understand how music reflects and shapes the world around them. Learning is brought to life through singing assemblies, practical music-making, performances and links to events within the school and wider community. This begins with our very youngest EYFS pupils making a visit to watch a live concert (e.g. YolanDa’s Band Jam) and all pupils being given the opportunity to watch a west-end theatre production by the time they leave our school in Year 6.   

Where possible, pupils work with real instruments, technology and live or recorded performances so that music is not seen as abstract, but as a living, shared experience that builds confidence, creativity and enjoyment. 

How do we make Music accessible to all pupils? 

We value music and make sure it is integral to school life by ensuring that all children have equal access to the music curriculum and extra-curricular music opportunities. We strive to ensure that all pupils access the same, high-quality and ambitious music curriculum by making careful adaptations on an individual basis; our SENCO and subject leader provide teachers with ongoing support to achieve this.  

In lower Key Stage 2, every child is given the opportunity to learn to play a musical instrument as part of our commitment to high-quality music education for all. Following this introduction to instrumental learning through curriculum lessons we offer a wide range of peripatetic music tuition (including singing, flute, clarinet, ukulele, trumpet, drums and piano). Pupils are encouraged to continue their learning through small group or individual lessons with peripatetic teachers. To ensure equity and inclusion, we offer financial support to families who may experience difficulty covering the cost of lessons.

Our school offers two fully inclusive choirs to encourage pupils’ enjoyment of singing and performance across the school. One choir is open to pupils in Years 2 and 3, and a second choir is available for pupils in Years 4 to 6. Both choirs welcome children of all musical abilities, providing a supportive and inclusive environment where pupils develop confidence, vocal skills and a love of singing. Choir members learn a wide range of songs and regularly perform at school concerts and community events, strengthening pupils’ sense of achievement and community involvement.

In addition, our school band is formed of pupils who receive instrumental music tuition and wish to perform together as part of an ensemble. Band members rehearse collaboratively, developing their ensemble skills and musical awareness, and prepare pieces to perform in concerts and performances. Together, our choirs and band provide valuable opportunities for pupils to perform collectively, showcase their musical learning and celebrate music as a shared experience. 

How do we integrate technology to enhance teaching and learning? 

Technology is thoughtfully integrated into music lessons to enhance learning, creativity and inclusion. Digital platforms in Sing Up and Charanga are used to support teaching and learning through high-quality audio, visual and interactive resources, helping pupils to read notation, understand musical structure and develop instrumental technique. Regular ‘Musical Mondays’ use digital media to expose pupils to a wide range of genres, styles and musicians, broadening their cultural and musical understanding. Through Charanga’s Yumu Studio, pupils are able to digitally compose, edit and refine their own music using iPads and laptops, supporting creativity and independent learning. Recording pupils’ performances allows teachers to track progress over time, while also enabling children to evaluate their own and others’ performances constructively. Technology also enables pupils to participate in large-scale enrichment opportunities, such as the Royal Opera House Create Day, ensuring access to inspiring, high-quality musical experiences beyond the classroom. 

How do we measure the impact of our music curriculum? 

The impact of our music curriculum is evident in pupils’ enthusiasm, confidence and high standards of musical achievement. Curriculum music lessons are varied and engaging, and pupils talk with animation about their learning, confidently articulating their understanding using subject‑specific musical vocabulary. Teaching and learning are carefully monitored by the subject leader through regular lesson visits and pupil voice, ensuring consistency and high expectations across the school. Teachers use the progression document to assess pupils against age-related skills and knowledge, with judgements informed by ongoing formative assessment within lessons. Attainment and progress are tracked on Insights and are reviewed by the subject leader, who monitors data closely and tracks progress across all groups to ensure equity and strong outcomes for every child. All these activities contribute to the ongoing development of our music curriculum and offer. 

The strength of both our curriculum and extracurricular provision results in high‑quality musical outcomes, showcased through our annual concert where instrumentalists, the school band and singers perform to an exceptionally high standard. This is further reinforced by the number of pupils accessing peripatetic music tuition, with many achieving nationally recognised outcomes of up to Grade 3 by the end of Year 6. Music is a real strength of Highfields and an integral part of daily school life, through curriculum lessons, musical assemblies, a range of concerts, music-related trips, and extensive 1:1 and small‑group peripatetic teaching.