Music

'Music can change the world' - Ludwig Van Beethoven

Intent

At Chapelford Village Primary School, our music curriculum is ambitious, inclusive, and inspiring, ensuring that every child has access to a broad and varied musical experience. We believe that music is a universal language that fosters creativity, confidence, and community, and plays an essential role in developing the whole child.

Our curriculum is designed to build pupils’ knowledge, skills, and understanding progressively from Early Years through to Year 6. Through a balance of listening, performing, composing, and evaluating, pupils learn to appreciate music from a wide range of styles, genres, traditions, and cultures.

Weekly music lessons encourage all children to explore their imagination and creativity, developing technical competence alongside emotional expression. Music provides a powerful means for personal growth, supporting wellbeing, teamwork, and resilience.

We aim for all pupils to:

• Develop a deep understanding of musical concepts such as pulse, rhythm, pitch, and notation.
• Perform with confidence and expression, both individually and as part of an ensemble.
• Compose and improvise creatively, using their understanding of musical structures and techniques.
• Listen with understanding, recognising how music reflects time, place, and culture.
• Experience joy and belonging through shared musical experiences within the school and wider community.

By the end of their primary journey, pupils at Chapelford will have developed the knowledge, cultural capital, and confidence to engage with music meaningfully, as performers, creators, and appreciative listeners, preparing them for future learning and a lifelong enjoyment of music.

Implementation

Music at Chapelford Village Primary School is delivered through a carefully sequenced and knowledge-rich curriculum that ensures clear progression in musical understanding, skills, and vocabulary from Early Years to Year 6.

We use Charanga as the core structure for our music curriculum. This provides a consistent and interactive framework that follows the National Curriculum’s programme of study. From this starting point, teachers can access a plan of bespoke units of work that reflect the needs, interests, and prior knowledge of our pupils, ensuring that learning is both progressive and meaningful within our school context.

Weekly lessons build pupils’ confidence and competence in the interrelated dimensions of music: performing, composing, improvising, and appraising. Pupils learn to play both tuned and untuned instruments, develop fluency in rhythm and pitch, and progressively build their understanding of notation and musical structures. Each unit revisits key concepts through a spiral approach, enabling pupils to revisit, embed, and extend prior learning.

Singing is at the heart of musical learning at Chapelford. Weekly singing assemblies provide opportunities for all children to develop vocal technique, expression, and confidence, while also fostering a strong sense of community and collective joy, linking to our HPL values.

Throughout their time at Chapelford, pupils have opportunities to perform to a range of audiences, both formally and informally, showcasing their progress and celebrating their musical achievements. These experiences enable children to apply their learning in authentic contexts, developing not only technical skill but also resilience, teamwork, and pride in performance.

Impact

Music at Chapelford Village Primary School is a subject that is accessible to all learners, ensuring that every child can participate, achieve, and flourish. As a result, pupils become confident, creative, and reflective musicians, able to listen to, appraise, and appreciate a wide range of musical styles, traditions, and influences.

Through our carefully sequenced and inclusive curriculum, pupils develop a secure and growing understanding of the interrelated dimensions of music and are able to apply this knowledge with increasing independence and fluency. They learn to compose, perform, and evaluate with accuracy and expression, demonstrating clear progression in both practical skills and theoretical understanding over time.

Our curriculum also supports pupils in developing an appreciation of music’s cultural and historical context, deepening their understanding of the world around them. Children explore music from diverse cultures and eras, fostering respect, curiosity, and a sense of connection between their own identity and global musical traditions.

The impact of teaching and learning in Music is monitored regularly through:

• Learning walks and lesson observations, ensuring consistency and high-quality provision.
• Pupil voice, where children confidently articulate their musical knowledge, understanding, and enjoyment.
• Assessment for learning, enabling teachers to identify next steps and adapt planning responsively.
• Performance and celebration opportunities, which showcase progress and provide authentic contexts for children to share their achievements.

By the end of Key Stage 2, pupils leave Chapelford with:

• The ability to read, perform, and compose using standard notation.
• A broad appreciation of musical genres and cultures.
• The confidence to express themselves through music, both individually and collaboratively.
• The knowledge and cultural capital to engage with music meaningfully as they move into secondary education and beyond.

Ultimately, music at Chapelford inspires pupils to become lifelong lovers of music, confident in their creativity and aware of the power of music to unite, communicate, and uplift.

Music Documents

Click on the National Curriculum image for the National Curriculum programme of study for Music.