At St Mary’s, our music curriculum is designed to help every pupil recognise themselves as musical and to nurture a lifelong love of music. Through a rich and engaging programme, children develop the skills, knowledge and understanding needed to become confident performers, composers and listeners.

Our curriculum introduces pupils to music from around the world, fostering respect and appreciation for the music of all cultures and traditions. Children build their musical abilities through singing, playing tuned and untuned instruments, improvising, composing, and responding thoughtfully to music. They also gain an understanding of the historical and cultural contexts of the pieces they study and learn how music can be written and read through notation.

The curriculum is designed to ensure pupils acquire and revisit all types of knowledge through a carefully sequenced spiral structure. Each unit identifies key declarative knowledge and allows pupils to apply procedural knowledge in meaningful, age-appropriate contexts, as well as tacit knowledge gained through experience of music and informal listening.

Music at St Mary’s also supports the development of valuable transferable skills, such as teamwork, leadership, creativity, problem-solving, decision-making, and presentation. These skills not only enhance pupils’ musical experiences but also contribute to their growth as confident, well-rounded learners both in school and beyond.