The intent of the music curriculum

Our music curriculum is shaped by our whole school vision and curriculum intent, which aims to enable every child to flourish and excel - to feel that they are musical, and to develop and sustain a life-long delight and involvement in music. We focus on developing the skills, knowledge and understanding that children need in order to become confident performers, composers, and listeners.

At Berkswich CE Primary, we value music because it is a powerful and unique form of communication that can change and impact the way in which children feel, think and act. Music is a universal language that embodies one of the highest forms of creativity. Our curriculum introduces children to music from all around the world and across generations, teaching children to be inclusive, respecting and appreciating the music of all traditions and communities.

As children progress, our intent is that the curriculum enables all children to develop a critical and evaluative engagement with music, allowing them to develop the musical skills of singing, playing tuned and untuned instruments, improvising and composing music, and listening and responding with discrimination to the best in the musical cannon. They will develop an understanding of the history and cultural context of the music that they listen to and learn how music can be written down. Our varied performance programme involves every child from Nursery to Year Six, and is aimed to enrich every child’s musical journey through school and enable them to contribute to the wider community.

The curriculum is supported by research, recognising that the impact of participation in the arts is positive; improved outcomes have been identified in the core subjects. Practice is informed by findings which suggest that this effect, on average, is greater for younger learners and, in some cases, particularly beneficial for disadvantaged pupils. Wider benefits are reported to include more positive attitudes to learning and increased well-being (Education Endowment Foundation).

Through music, our curriculum aims to develop transferable skills, such as self-confidence, team-working, leadership, creative thinking, problem-solving, decision-making and presentation and performance skills. These are vital to children’s development as learners at Berkswich CE, and have a wider application in their general lives outside of school.

Our music intentions align with the aims of the National Curriculum and enables children to meet end of Key Stage attainment targets. It is a cumulative curriculum with a coherent progression of interconnected knowledge and skills, purposefully driving forward each child’s musicality. It is aspirational and ambitious for all groups, including SEND. Greater depth opportunities are available for every learner to reflect our high expectations; indeed, challenge is relished, providing rich opportunities for children to be tenacious and to build a persistent and passionate approach to music both at Berkswich CE and beyond.

For further details about our curriculum, please read our Berkswich CE Music Guidance Document or return to our music homepage menu.