At Whaplode C of E Primary School, we believe that Music is a universal language that embodies one of the highest forms of creativity. A high-quality Music education will engage and inspire children to develop a love of music and their talent as musicians, and so increase their self-confidence, creativity and sense of achievement.  Our Music curriculum is designed to engage, inspire and challenge pupils, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to appreciate, critique and compose music. As pupils progress, they should develop a critical engagement with music, allowing them to compose, and to listen with discrimination to the best in the musical canon.

Our curriculum is designed to ensure that all pupils:

• Perform, listen to, review and evaluate music across a range of historical periods, genres, styles and traditions, including the works of the great composers and musicians;
• Learn to sing and to use their voices, to create and compose music on their own and with others, have the opportunity to learn a musical instrument, use technology appropriately and have the opportunity to progress to the next level of musical excellence;
• Understand and explore how music is created, produced and communicated, including through the inter-related dimensions: pitch, duration, dynamics, tempo, timbre, texture, structure and appropriate musical notations.

We therefore look to study a wide range of music, from a variety of periods and cultures, this is because our children need to understand that music is composed by all sorts of people, in a variety of ways, and should feel represented by the music and musicians they are exposed to. Through listening to and appreciating the works of great composers and musicians, music provides children with a forum for building and articulating viewpoints. Music also supports cultural development by encouraging a respect and deep appreciation for cultures around the world that have contributed to the development of our current popular musical styles. They should also know how music both reflects and shapes our history, and contributes to the culture, creativity and wealth of our nation.

The skills pupils acquire are applied in other subjects, allowing them to use their music skills to reflect on and explore topics in greater depth; for example, by exploring the history of music, by designing, making and evaluating their own musical instruments or using music as a medium to express emotion and thought to enhance their personal, social and emotional development.

Many areas of music support with the raising of self-esteem; for example when performing in solo and ensemble contexts. It is paramount that music be purposeful; be this as a means of expression or to experience performance and learn the skills of critiquing oneself as well as others. Pupils should be clear what the intended outcomes are and have a means to measure their own work against this. 

In Music, children are expected to be reflective and evaluate their work, thinking about how they can make changes and keep improving. This should be meaningful and continuous throughout the process, with evidence of age-related verbal and written refection.  Children are encouraged to take risks and experiment and then reflect on why some ideas and compositions are successful or not for a particular project.

Such is our belief in the value of music we offer a range of additional musical opportunities in order to enrich our curriculum.  We also value reading as a fundamental life skill and are dedicated to enabling our pupils to become lifelong readers. We recognise that reading is essential for academic success and the key to accessing knowledge across the curriculum, therefore reading is given high priority within music.