St Clement's Church of
England Primary School
Music
Intent
At St Clements, we aim to nurture every child’s love of music and help them see themselves as musicians. Our curriculum offers rich opportunities to perform, listen, review, evaluate, create and compose. Children explore and appreciate a wide range of music from different genres, cultures and traditions, developing curiosity and respect for the diversity of musical expression.
Through practical music‑making, pupils build secure knowledge of key musical elements, including pitch, tempo, dynamics, timbre, structure, texture and notation. Our lessons provide varied and engaging activities that encourage creativity, imagination and personal expression.
We value musical expression and celebrate children’s progress through performances and sharing opportunities with the wider school community. Our long‑term vision is to develop confident performers, thoughtful composers and active listeners who carry a lifelong appreciation of music with them into the future.
Implementation
Music is taught as a discrete subject at St Clements, but it is also woven throughout daily school life. Our planning follows the Sing Up! scheme of work, ensuring that all children experience a progressive, inspiring and robust music curriculum. Sing Up! is designed to give every child access to high‑quality, practical and engaging musical experiences.
Lessons build musical skills step by step, with regular opportunities for practical music‑making. Children explore a range of percussion instruments, learn the recorder in Year 2, and develop further instrumental skills through ukulele in Year 5. Throughout the school, pupils listen to music from different cultures, eras and styles, forming their own opinions and preferences. They are taught to use accurate musical vocabulary when discussing what they hear and perform.
Music also plays an important role in supporting wellbeing and learning across the school. We embrace opportunities to collaborate and perform with other schools, and each class shares their singing termly with the school community and their families. The whole school gathers weekly for a singing assembly, and pupils perform to wider audiences during the year, as well as enjoying visits and performances from professional musicians.
Extracurricular enrichment further enhances our provision, including KS2 Choir, Recorder Club and the KS1 Musical Explorer Club.
Over time, children at St Clements become increasingly confident performers, composers and listeners. They develop a secure understanding of key musical elements and learn to use them creatively in their own work. Pupils show enthusiasm, curiosity and positive attitudes towards music, and they enjoy exploring and appreciating music from different times, places and communities.
We gather a wide range of assessment evidence, including performances, recordings, compositions, pupil voice and teacher observations, to monitor progress and celebrate achievement. Through music, children also develop personally, building confidence, teamwork, emotional expression and communication skills.
By the time pupils move on to secondary school, they leave with a strong foundation for KS3 music and a lifelong appreciation of the subject. We also see increasing parental engagement, with growing numbers attending performances and celebrating children’s musical learning.
Whole School Music Curriculum Plan
Music Units Overview