BHPS Music Curriculum Overview 2025-2026

Breckon Hill Primary School Music Curriculum Statement

The Power of Music

Music is all around us; it is the soundtrack to our lives. It connects people and places in our ever-changing world and is creative, collaborative, celebratory and challenging. In school, music brings communities together through shared experiences such as whole-school singing, ensemble playing, creative exploration and performance. The sheer joy of music-making feeds the soul of our school community, enriching each child while strengthening the bonds of support and trust that help make Breckon Hill a great school.

This curriculum is informed by the Model Music Curriculum (2021) and supports the belief that music is a vital part of a broad and balanced education.

Curriculum Intent

At Breckon Hill Primary School, we believe that music is a unique form of communication that can inspire, motivate and support children’s personal development. It provides a powerful means of self-expression and plays a key role in helping children develop confidence, creativity and a strong sense of belonging.

Due to the high mobility and diversity of our school community, we are committed to ensuring that every child feels included and valued. Music offers a shared language that transcends background and experience, helping to build connection and belonging at every opportunity.

Our music curriculum aims to ensure that all children:

  • Hear, sing, play, create, perform and enjoy music
  • Develop a lifelong appreciation and passion for music
  • Experience a wide range of musical styles, traditions and cultures
  • Build confidence in self-expression, collaboration and performance

Aligned with the National Curriculum for Music, Development Matters, and the Model Music Curriculum, our intent is to equip pupils with the knowledge, skills and cultural awareness needed to:

  • Perform, listen to, review and evaluate music from different historical periods, genres, styles and traditions, including the works of great composers and musicians
  • Sing and use their voices confidently, create and compose music independently and collaboratively, and learn to play instruments using appropriate technology
  • Understand how music is created, produced and communicated through the interrelated dimensions of music: pitch, duration, dynamics, tempo, timbre, texture, structure and notation

We aspire to nurture well-rounded, curious and enthusiastic musicians who can connect emotionally with music and carry this appreciation into later life.

Curriculum Implementation

Music at Breckon Hill is taught through an inclusive, well-sequenced curriculum that provides meaningful learning opportunities for all pupils. Lessons are engaging, practical, and accessible, with adaptations to meet the needs of all learners, including SEND, EAL, and disadvantaged pupils.

Key features of implementation include:

  • Carefully structured progression of knowledge and skills from EYFS to Year 6, aligned with the Model Music Curriculum
  • Whole-class singing lessons delivered by a specialist Sing Education teacher, using the Kodály approach to develop aural skills, musical understanding, and confidence
  • Weekly one-to-one music sessions for pupils in the Hills SEND provision, tailored to individual needs to ensure access, engagement, and progression
  • Opportunities for ensemble work, composition, improvisation, and live performance, including half-termly recordings and school performances
  • Explicit teaching and consistent use of musical vocabulary to develop oracy, supported by modelling, repetition and discussion
  • Assessment is embedded in lessons through observation, feedback, and use of Sing Education Expected Standard Statements to guide next steps.
  • Continuous feedback to pupils to celebrate achievement and identify next steps

Our music curriculum is further enriched through:

  • Year 4 Rocksteady lessons, enabling pupils to learn guitar, keyboard, drums, bass, or voice in small bands, developing performance, ensemble, and independent musical skills
  • Breckon Hill Primary School Choir with opportunities to perform in the local community, as well as collaboratively with other schools in The Legacy Learning Trust
  • Musical Theatre club for Year 5 pupils with Sing Education teacher
  • Weekly singing lessons for all pupils with specialist singing teacher and accompanying pianist

Music is valued as part of the daily learning experience at Breckon Hill, inspiring creativity, confidence, and a lifelong passion for musical expression.

Curriculum Impact

The impact of our inclusive music curriculum is monitored by the subject leader and evidenced through an annual portfolio, which includes planning, assessment, pupil voice, performances and examples of work.

Our overarching aim is that children leave Breckon Hill enriched by a high-quality music curriculum that excites, motivates and promotes creativity. We strive for all pupils to develop confidence, cultural awareness and a genuine love of music, ensuring they are well prepared for further musical opportunities and lifelong musical engagement.

Through teaching, learning and assessment, pupils are supported to develop:

  • A deep musical understanding
  • Awareness and appreciation of diverse musical traditions and genres
  • The ability to use musical terminology accurately
  • A passion for and commitment to musical activities

By making the most of every day, our music curriculum ensures that every child experiences success, enjoyment, curiosity and a lifelong love of music.