Our Intent 

Confucious said, ‘Music produces a kind of pleasure, which human nature cannot do without,’ and it is this pleasure that we strive to expose our children to. We believe that music should be taught with passion, enthusiasm and the belief that music is there to be enjoyed.

The range of music in existence is vast. From classical vocalists, to rock guitarists and from rap artists to percussionists. We ensure that our children have a full range of musical experiences so that they may find the style, instrument and melodies that inspire them.

In EYFS and Key Stage 1, the children follow the Charanga scheme of work. They use their voice and untuned percussion instruments to explore beat, rhythm, timbre, dynamics and pitch, whilst listening to and appreciating a range of music from the classical to the modern pop era.

In Key Stage 2, we encourage our children to find ‘their’ instrument. Using musical experts from the Durham Music Service, we provide our children with specialist instrument tuition, using inexpensive instruments that can be easily accessed at home. Recorder, taught in Year 3, is the precursor to clarinet and saxophone. Ukulele, taught in Year 4, can lead to guitar and bass. Percussion in Year 5 will lay the foundations for our future drummers, and Music Tech in Year 6 allows our children to take advantage of modern technology to produce professional sounding tracks with their laptops.

Within these specialist projects, children will learn to read musical notation and tablature as well as singing and playing in groups. We provide the children with regular opportunities to perform in front of an audience, including to other classes and to parents.