Music

At St Martin's, we believe that music is a powerful and enriching part of every child’s education. Through our carefully sequenced CUSP Music curriculum, we aim to inspire a lifelong love of music while developing pupils’ confidence, creativity and musical understanding.

Our curriculum is designed to ensure that all children, regardless of their starting point, experience success as musicians. Through singing, listening and appraising, composition, improvisation and instrumental performance, pupils build their musical knowledge and skills progressively from Year 1 to Year 6.

We place great importance on developing strong musical foundations. Children learn key musical vocabulary, explore rhythm and pulse, and develop the ability to read and understand musical notation. As they move through the school, pupils have opportunities to play a range of tuned and untuned instruments, including glockenspiels and keyboards, enabling them to become increasingly skilled performers and composers.

A key feature of our approach is the careful revisiting of previously taught knowledge and skills. This helps pupils to deepen their understanding, make meaningful connections and retain learning over time. We use clear routines, explicit teaching and regular opportunities for practice and reflection to support every child in becoming a confident musician.

We are committed to broadening pupils’ cultural understanding through music. Children study significant musicians and musical works from a wide range of cultures, traditions and historical periods. By exploring diverse musical styles and traditions, pupils develop an appreciation of the rich musical heritage of the world and gain a deeper understanding of different communities and cultures.

Music at our school is inclusive and accessible to all. We make appropriate adaptations to ensure that every child can participate fully and experience success. Through high-quality teaching, performance opportunities and a vibrant musical culture, we encourage pupils to express themselves creatively, work collaboratively and develop the confidence to share their musical achievements with others.

Ultimately, our aim is for every child to leave our school as a knowledgeable, enthusiastic and confident musician who values music as an important part of their life and the wider world

At St Martin's, music is not just a subject—it’s a celebration of creativity, culture, and connection.

Wider Opportunities for Music

We are passionate about providing a rich and varied musical experience that extends beyond the classroom. Our wider music offer enables pupils to develop their talents, build confidence, perform for audiences and foster a lifelong appreciation of music.

Pupils have access to a range of additional musical opportunities, including Rocksteady Music School, where children learn to perform as part of a band, developing teamwork, resilience and performance skills.

Singing plays a significant role in our musical provision. Our Young Voices Choir, led by a professional singing teacher, provides pupils with high-quality vocal training and the opportunity to perform as part of the world's largest children's choir concert. Through rehearsals and performances, pupils develop vocal technique, musicality, confidence and a love of singing.

To further develop children's musical appreciation, every class takes part in our Music of the Week Listening Calendar. This carefully planned programme exposes pupils to a wide range of musical genres, styles and traditions from different historical periods and cultures around the world. Through regular listening opportunities, children develop their understanding of musical elements, build their knowledge of significant musicians and composers, and learn to appreciate the diversity and richness of music across the ages.

Throughout the year, children are given numerous opportunities to perform and celebrate their musical achievements. These include our Harvest Festival, Christmas Concerts and Easter Celebrations, where pupils share their singing and instrumental talents with families and the wider community. These events help children develop confidence, stage presence and pride in their achievements while reinforcing the importance of music within our school culture.

We also offer a variety of extracurricular music clubs, including Handbell Club and Recorder Club, which provide further opportunities for pupils to develop instrumental skills, work collaboratively and experience the enjoyment of making music together.

Combined with our curriculum music lessons, weekly SIPS Music Service provision in Key Stage 2 and a wide range of enrichment opportunities, we have created a vibrant musical culture in which all pupils can flourish. We strive to ensure that every child has the opportunity to listen to, appreciate, perform and create music, developing the confidence, skills and enthusiasm to continue their musical journey throughout their lives.

Intent

We believe that every child is a musician. Our intent is to provide a high-quality, knowledge-rich music education that inspires a love of music, nurtures creativity and develops confidence in all learners. Through the CUSP Music curriculum, pupils gain the knowledge, skills and vocabulary needed to appreciate, perform, compose and discuss music with increasing understanding and enjoyment.

Our curriculum is carefully sequenced to build musical knowledge and skills over time. Pupils develop expertise through singing, listening and appraising, composing, improvising and performing on tuned and untuned instruments. Regular opportunities to revisit prior learning ensure that knowledge is retained and applied, enabling children to become increasingly confident and accomplished musicians.

We aim to broaden pupils’ horizons by exposing them to a diverse range of musical genres, traditions, cultures and significant musicians from across the world and throughout history. This helps children develop cultural understanding, curiosity and appreciation of music’s role in shaping communities and societies.

Through performance, collaboration and creative expression, we encourage pupils to develop resilience, self-confidence and a sense of achievement. By the time they leave our school, we want every child to have a secure foundation in music, a rich repertoire of musical experiences and the confidence to continue their musical journey beyond primary education

Implementation

Our Music curriculum is delivered through the CUSP Music programme, which provides a carefully sequenced and progressive approach to musical learning from Year 1 to Year 6. Lessons are structured to develop pupils’ knowledge, skills and understanding through the key areas of singing, listening and appraising, composition, improvisation and instrumental performance.

Pupils in Key Stage 2 benefit from specialist clarinet and trumpet lessons delivered by SIPS Music and Arts Service. These sessions provide high-quality instrumental and musical tuition, allowing pupils to further develop their performance skills, musical knowledge and appreciation of music through expert teaching and practical experiences. The combination of specialist provision and the CUSP curriculum ensures that pupils receive a broad, balanced and ambitious music education.

Music is taught through a series of planned learning blocks that build cumulatively over time. Each lesson includes opportunities to revisit previous learning, introduce new knowledge and apply musical skills in meaningful contexts. This approach ensures that pupils develop secure understanding and retain key musical concepts and vocabulary.

Children are taught and encouraged to use musical vocabulary explicitly, enabling them to discuss, evaluate and reflect on music with increasing confidence and accuracy. Knowledge Notes, vocabulary instruction and regular retrieval activities support pupils in embedding key concepts and terminology throughout their musical journey.

Across the school, pupils experience a wide range of musical styles, genres, traditions and significant musicians from different cultures and historical periods. Listening and appraisal activities develop pupils’ understanding of music’s cultural and historical significance, helping them make meaningful connections within music and across the wider curriculum.

Practical music-making is at the heart of our curriculum. Pupils regularly sing, compose, improvise and perform using both tuned and untuned instruments. In Key Stage 2, pupils progressively develop their instrumental skills through learning instruments such as the glockenspiel and keyboard alongside the weekly specialist teaching provided by SIPS Music and Arts Service, enabling them to perform with increasing confidence, accuracy and expression.

Assessment is ongoing and formative, allowing teachers to identify pupils’ understanding and next steps in learning. Teachers use observation, discussion, performances, vocabulary knowledge and assessment questions to evaluate progress and inform future teaching. Adaptations and reasonable adjustments ensure that all pupils, including those with SEND, can access and succeed within the music curriculum. [

Through high-quality classroom teaching, specialist music provision, regular performance opportunities and a rich musical culture, pupils develop as confident, knowledgeable and enthusiastic musicians who are well prepared for the next stage of their musical education

Impact

The impact of our Music curriculum is that pupils leave each year with an increasingly secure body of musical knowledge, a growing repertoire of musical skills and a genuine appreciation of music as an art form. Through a carefully sequenced curriculum and high-quality teaching, children develop confidence as performers, composers, listeners and evaluators of music.

Pupils demonstrate progression in their ability to sing, play instruments, compose, improvise and use musical notation. They are able to recall and apply previously taught knowledge and vocabulary, making connections between new learning and prior experiences. Regular opportunities to revisit and practise key concepts ensure that learning is embedded and retained over time.

Children develop a broad understanding of music from different cultures, traditions and historical periods. They are able to discuss significant musicians and musical works using accurate musical language and show an appreciation of the diversity and richness of musical heritage from around the world.

Through specialist lessons provided by SIPS Music and Arts Service in Key Stage 2, pupils gain enhanced instrumental and performance skills, developing confidence, resilience and teamwork through collaborative music-making. These experiences enrich the curriculum and provide opportunities for pupils to perform with increasing accuracy, expression and enjoyment.

Assessment evidence, pupil voice, performances and classroom outcomes demonstrate that pupils are engaged, enthusiastic and motivated musicians. They develop the confidence to perform in front of others, reflect on their own musical development and articulate their understanding using appropriate musical vocabulary.

Ultimately, our pupils leave primary school with a strong foundation in music, an appreciation of a wide range of musical styles and cultures, and the confidence and enthusiasm to continue their musical journey as they move into secondary education and beyond.

Year Group Overviews

Whole School Overview

Big Ideas

Our music curriculum is built on the belief that every child is a musician. Through CUSP music and specialist instrumental tuition, we nurture creativity, expression, and musical understanding. Big ideas include listening, performing, composing, and appraising. Pupils explore the interrelated dimensions of music—pitch, rhythm, dynamics, tempo, timbre, texture, and structure—through practical, engaging experiences. Music is taught as a spiral curriculum, revisiting concepts with increasing depth. Children develop confidence, collaboration, and cultural awareness through solo and ensemble work. Our curriculum promotes a lifelong appreciation of music and empowers pupils to express themselves through sound, movement, and performance.

Content

Our music curriculum covers all elements of the National Curriculum for music. Pupils engage in singing, playing tuned and untuned instruments, composing, improvising, and performing. CUSP Music provides structured units that include listening and appraising, musical activities, and opportunities to create and share music. Children explore a wide range of genres, styles, and traditions, from classical and jazz to pop and world music. In addition, pupils receive specialist tuition in trumpet and clarinet, enriching their musical experience and developing instrumental skills. The curriculum also includes music theory, notation, and historical context, ensuring a broad and balanced musical education.

Sequencing

Our music curriculum is sequenced to build musical knowledge and skills progressively from year 1 to Year 6. There is a significant focus on revisiting throughout the curriculum with the aim of pupils mastering key knowledge and skills that can be built on as they move through the programme of study. Revisiting is inherently built into the architecture of the CUSP Music curriculum. This can be seen in many
places, such as:

• between individual blocks in each year group on the long-term sequence
• within blocks in the Revisiting part of each lesson
• in the vocabulary quizzing that can be used throughout, at the end of and after a block of study.

Oracy and Vocabulary

Oracy is woven throughout our Music curriculum. Pupils are explicitly taught musical vocabulary and are given regular opportunities to discuss, explain, evaluate and reflect on music using subject-specific language. Through listening, appraising, performing and composing, children develop the confidence to express their ideas, justify their opinions and communicate effectively with others. Music therefore plays an important role in developing articulate, confident and thoughtful communicators.

Assessment of Pupils

Assessment of Music is formative and based on the pupil outcomes from each lesson. The following can be used to assess pupils’ knowledge and understanding of music and musical skills:
• Expectations of what pupils will know and be able to do are explicit for each block. The Point of Reflection notes provide clear outcomes for each lesson.
• Pupils should know and remember the key language that is delivered cumulatively throughout the curriculum. Teachers can use the vocabulary quizzing during, at the end of and after each block to support pupils in embedding this.
• Questions for assessment are provided for each block.

Reasonable Adjustments for Pupils with SEND

We are committed to ensuring that all pupils can access and participate fully in Music lessons. Teachers carefully consider the individual needs of pupils when planning and adapt activities to enable every child to succeed. This may include the use of visual prompts, task boards, simplified instructions and additional scaffolding to support pupils with communication and processing needs. Adjustments are also made for pupils with hearing or visual impairments, including adapting resources and using appropriate technology where necessary. Through these inclusive approaches, all pupils are able to engage with the same high-quality music curriculum and develop as confident musicians.

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