Intent

Why do we teach this?

Music is a universal language that allows children to express emotion, meaning and joy We want children to experience the joy of listening to, performing, creating and evaluating music while developing their musical knowledge and skills. Through music, pupils develop discipline, resilience, collaboration and confidence, enabling them to communicate ideas and emotions in meaningful and creative ways.

Why do we teach it in the way that we do?

At Our Lady of Lourdes, we believe every child is gifted by God with creativity and the ability to communicate through music. Music brings people together and helps children to develop confidence, creativity and self-expression. Through our Music curriculum, we aim to inspire a lifelong love and appreciation of music from different cultures, traditions and communities.

We teach Music in a way that is practical, engaging and inclusive for all learners. Children learn through listening, singing, playing, improvising and composing, enabling them to develop as confident musicians while building their understanding of musical concepts progressively across the school.

Our Music curriculum is rooted in our school’s five core values:

 

Implementation

How do we implement our vision in our school?

We teach the aims of the Early Years Framework (2026) and the National Curriculum (2014), which provide a broad framework and outline the knowledge and skills taught in Early Years, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2. We use the Charanga Music Scheme to support the delivery of our Music curriculum.

What does it look like in our classrooms?

In Early Years, children explore music through singing, movement, rhythm and play-based experiences within continuous provision and adult-led activities. From Reception through to Year 6, children follow a progressive sequence of musical learning, developing skills in listening, singing, performing, improvising, composing and appraising music.

Children explore a wide range of musical genres, styles and traditions while learning about pulse, rhythm, pitch, tempo, dynamics and musical notation. Lessons provide opportunities for individual expression, collaboration and performance, enabling children to build confidence as musicians. Pupils also take part in performances, celebrations and collective worship throughout the school year.

Our lessons follow a clear five-part structure:

1. Review of Knowledge
We begin each lesson by revisiting prior learning through carefully chosen questions and tasks that require pupils to recall and apply previously taught knowledge. This strengthens retrieval, builds secure foundations and supports knowledge being retained in long-term memory.

2. Direct Instruction – 'I Do'
Teachers introduce new learning in small, manageable steps through clear explanations, questioning, modelling and worked examples. Appropriate scaffolds are provided to ensure all pupils can access new knowledge while being appropriately challenged.

3. Guided Practice – 'We Do'
Pupils practise new knowledge and skills alongside the teacher through carefully structured activities. Teachers continually check for understanding, provide additional models, scaffolds and checklists where needed, and address misconceptions before independent learning begins.

4. Independent Practice – 'You Do'
Pupils apply their learning independently using models, scaffolds and success criteria appropriate to their needs. This enables children to develop confidence, apply new knowledge and skills, and become increasingly independent learners.

5. Self-Review and Response to Feedback
Each lesson ends with time for pupils to review their own work using success criteria or checklists and respond to feedback. This encourages pupils to become reflective learners by identifying strengths, correcting errors, addressing misconceptions and deepening their understanding, while also providing teachers with valuable assessment information to inform future planning and teaching.

Teachers use a range of assessment for learning strategies to monitor understanding throughout lessons and provide verbal feedback ‘in the moment’ to support progress. Assessment towards age related expectation is based on children’s participation, musical understanding, performances, compositions and use of musical vocabulary.

Impact

At Our Lady of Lourdes, we measure success not only in the skills and knowledge pupils develop, but in the kind of people they are becoming. We know our curriculum is working when our children:

• can talk confidently about what they have learned, using subject-specific musical vocabulary
• show clear progress in singing, performing, composing and appraising music
• can explain how musicians and composers have inspired their own musical ideas and performances
• show competence in using musical elements such as rhythm, pitch, tempo and dynamics to create impact
• have acquired the knowledge and skills to build on in the next stage of their education
• approach music-making with confidence, perseverance and a desire to do their very best
• respond to music from different cultures and traditions with curiosity, empathy and respect
• understand how music can bring people together, express emotion and communicate meaning

How do we monitor and review the impact of Music at our school?

The Music subject leader uses the following lines of enquiry to assess the impact of the Music curriculum:

• The profile of music and singing in Early Years topics
• Opportunities for musical exploration in the indoor and outdoor classroom environments in Early Years
• The quality of singing, performing and composing across the school
• Music assessment data
• Evidence of the profile of music around our school
• Discussions with pupils and evaluations of their ability to think as musicians
• Discussions with teachers
• Learning behaviour in Music lessons
• Culture of music across the school
• Opportunities for extra-curricular music activities and performances