Music

At Twickenham Primary School, we understand that music allows personal expression and can inspire and motivate children.

Music reflects culture and society and so the teaching and learning of music enables children to better understand the world they live in.

Music plays an important role in helping children feel part of a community. 

The content of our Music Curriculum fulfils the requirements of the National Curriculum for Music. It teaches the inter-related dimensions of music (rhythm, pulse, pitch, tempo, dynamics, timbre, metre, and structure) and helps children apply and interpret these through performance, composition, appreciation and understanding of the history of music.

From September 2023 the school has implemented Music Express as our music curriculum across the school. 

Intent

The intent of implementing Music Express in a Primary School is to provide a high-quality music education that enables all pupils to develop a deep understanding and appreciation for music. This includes nurturing pupils' musical abilities, building their confidence in performing, composing, and listening to music, as well as fostering a love for various musical styles and genres. Music Express aims to ensure that every child can express themselves musically, promoting personal, social, and cultural development.

The key objectives of the school's intent in using Music Express are as follows:

1. To ensure that all pupils experience a broad and balanced music curriculum, meeting the requirements of the National Curriculum for Music.
2. To provide progressive music education that builds upon prior knowledge and skills, offering challenging and stimulating opportunities for all pupils.
3. To develop pupils' understanding of musical concepts, such as rhythm, melody, harmony, and structure, through active participation and exploration.
4. To promote creativity and self-expression through composing, improvising, and performing music individually and collaboratively.
5. To celebrate diversity and cultural heritage by exploring a wide range of musical styles, genres, and traditions from different periods and societies.
6. To foster a love for music, encouraging pupils to actively engage with and appreciate various forms of music throughout their lives.

Implementation

To effectively implement Music Express, we have ensured the curriculum plan offers both skills-based and knowledge-based learning, across a range of musical experiences. Music is taught either as discrete weekly lessons, or as a block of learning. We continue to actively promote cultural diversity by exploring music from different cultures and time periods. We are continuously adapting the schemes of work provided my music express to suit the needs and interests of the pupils and better reflect the communities we are proud to be a part of.

We are working alongside the music support service to provide violin tuition and musicianship skills to all year 4 pupils.

We have started to find ways to provide opportunities for cross-curricular learning, connecting music with other subjects, such as our wider study topics and events in the school calendar.  At present, music features in our Wider study curriculum, our PE lessons through Dance, and our French lessons.

Impact

Pupils will demonstrate progress in their musical skills, knowledge, and understanding, as evidenced through formative and summative assessments.

Pupils will actively participate and engage in all aspects of music education, displaying enthusiasm and enjoyment during lessons and performances.

Pupils will gain confidence in their musical abilities, showcasing their skills through performances, compositions, and improvisations.

Pupils will show an increased awareness and appreciation of a wide range of musical styles, genres, and cultural traditions, promoting inclusivity.

Pupils who continue their musical education into secondary school will have a solid foundation, enabling them to further develop their musical talents. 

Music Curriculum Maps 

Music Development Plan 2025

This is a summary of how our school delivers music education to all our pupils across three areas – curriculum music, co-curricular provision and musical experiences – and what changes we are planning in future years. This information is to help pupils and parents or carers understand what our school offers and who we work with to support our pupils’ music education.

1 Curriculum Music

Our school teaches the music curriculum using the Music Express primary school music scheme.  Music Express is an award-winning, cross-curricular scheme used by thousands of schools across the UK.

It comprises of fully resourced lessons, schemes of work and assessment sheets for teaching curriculum music from Early Years to Year 6, with accompanying curriculum maps and skills progression charts.

During these lessons children mostly use the voice, body and classroom percussion instrument to make music

In addition to this there is specific instrumental tuition in two year groups.

In year 4, all children learn to play the violin.  Weekly lessons are provided by our partner, the Birmingham Music Service and children learn to read standard notation and have the opportunity to perform in a recital at the end of the year.

In year 5, all children further theory instrumental knowledge by learning to play a recorder.  Again, standard musical treble clef notation is used and the children look at a wider variety of pitches and an increased number of time signatures.  A performance is provided during the class assemblies. 

2 Co-Curricular music

All children have the opportunity to learn two instruments whilst at our school and this is encouraged to be a lifelong skill by providing opportunities for these skills to be developed. 

When earning to play an instrument, all children are provided with the full loan of the instrument at no charge.  Also, no charges are made for the instrumental teaching.

The school runs extra-curricular clubs for voice and for recorder.  These are open to all children and are free of charge. 

3 Musical Experiences

All children get the opportunity to sing in a mass choral event at the end of the Autumn term.  These events are normally performed twice to an audience.  In addition to this the children each get to perform a class assembly which allows specific skills learned that year to be shared with an audience, this can be vocal skills or instrumental skills.

Throughout their primary school life all children will have the opportunity to view a professional instrumental concert – usually in year4.  This is provided free of charge for all children.

We have a programme of visiting musicians coming to the school to demonstrate group music making, this also supports our Times Table Rock Stars initiative. 

In the Future

Next steps to enhance the music curriculum is the expansion of our resource base of classroom percussion to include new tuned percussion for use at key stage 1.  This will introduce the children to the concept of pitch and its naming and ordering prior to their instrumental tuition in lower KS2.

To provide a prescribed listening diet of music from cultures that are represented in our school community.  This will involve weekly suggestions for teachers to play and discuss in the classrooms and in the dinner hall.