As you being to realise that different types of music, everybody’s individual music, has it’s own rhythm, life, language and heritage, you realise how life changes, and you learn how to be more open and adaptive to what is around us.

Yo-Yo Ma

Intent

Through experiencing music at Baydon pupils can discover that music is practical and creative. We believe that music is a unique way of communicating that can inspire and motivate individuals,  it gives an opportunity for personal expression and plays an important part in the personal development. Music reflects our culture and society, historically and in the present and through the teaching of music we aim for our pupils to to have a greater understanding of the world they live in. 

We strive to promote enthusiasm for and enjoyment of, music in all its forms and also to develop musical skills and knowledge through lessons and performance experiences and opportunities. 

Through experiencing our music curriculum we want pupils to develop life skills such as listening skills, the ability to concentrate, creativity, self-confidence and a sensitivity towards others.

Music is taught throughout all year groups. The aims and objectives from the National Curriculum have been taken and covered through our four year rolling long term plan which aims, whenever possible, to derive and relate to other curriculum areas to provide pupils with a more in depth and cohesive view of their areas of learning. 

For our curriculum we have chosen to use the Kapow scheme of work.

Baydon St Nicholas CE VA Primary School Music Class Plan 2026-2027

Why Kapow?

The Kapow Primary Music scheme is designed to help pupils recognise themselves as musical and to nurture a lifelong love of music.

The scheme develops the skills, knowledge, and understanding needed to become confident performers, composers, and listeners. The curriculum introduces pupils to music from across the world, encouraging respect and appreciation for the music of all traditions and communities.

Pupils build musical skills through singing, playing tuned and untuned instruments, improvising, composing and listening and responding to music. They develop an understanding of the historical and cultural context of the music they encounter and learn how music can be notated.

The scheme also supports the development of transferable skills, including teamwork, leadership, creative thinking, problem-solving, decision-making and presentation and performance abilities. These skills are integral to pupils’ development as learners and have wide application in their lives beyond school.

National curriculum

Kapow Primary’s standard, mixed-age and condensed schemes of work fulfil the statutory requirements for Music outlined in the National curriculum (2014).

Ofsted research review

Kapow Primary’s standard, mixed-age and condensed Music schemes are based on principles outlined in Ofsted’s Music research review.

New research and developments

The standard, mixed-age and condensed Music schemes are continually evaluated and refined through regular curriculum reviews, internal audits and feedback from subscribing schools.

Updates are informed by the latest subject-specific research, changes to National curriculum guidance and developments in pedagogy. This ensures the curriculum remains current, effective and relevant.

The Five Strands

The five strands

The National curriculum organises the attainment targets for Music under:

• Listening and evaluating.
• Creating sound.
• Notation.
• Improvising and composing.
• Performing – singing and playing.

Accordingly, Kapow Primary’s Music curriculum has been structured with these strands running through each unit.

The strands ensure balanced coverage of the different areas of Music and that both substantive and disciplinary aspects are covered.

Progression

The Music Progression of skills and knowledge grids below provide an overview of the skills and knowledge covered in each phase and strand. It also outlines how these skills are developed to enable pupils to reach the end-of-key-stage outcomes outlined in the National curriculum.

New learning is weighted toward the beginning of each key stage, allowing for regular opportunities to revisit, consolidate and apply it in subsequent years. As a result, knowledge and skill development may appear more concentrated in some year groups than others.

Baydon St Nicholas CE VA Primary School Music Skill Progression

Baydon St Nicholas CE VA Primary School Music Knowledge Progression

Spiral Curriculum

Kapow Primary’s Music scheme of work has been designed as a spiral curriculum with the following key principles in mind:

Cyclical – pupils return to the key knowledge and skills again and again during their time in primary school.

Increasing depth – each time a skill is revisited, it is covered with greater complexity.

Prior knowledge – pupils build upon previous foundations rather than starting again.

Experiential Learning

At the heart of Kapow Primary’s Music curriculum is the development of pupils’ tacit knowledge — the intuitive musical understanding that comes from rich, varied experiences rather than direct instruction alone.

Types of Knowledge

Knowledge is defined differently depending on the subject in question. The Music research review states that pupils learn in Music by acquiring three types of knowledge:

• Tacit knowledge.
• Procedural knowledge.
• Declarative knowledge.

Declarative knowledge

Declarative knowledge (‘knowing that’)

This is the factual information and concepts pupils learn that can be clearly stated or ‘declared’. It includes:

• Being able to name musical instruments and their characteristics.
• Understanding musical terminology, such as pitch, tempo, rhythm, etc.
• Naming symbols used in musical notation and what they represent.
• Knowing about musical styles and genres and their cultural and historical background.

Knowing about significant figures in music.

This type of knowledge is most often developed in the ‘Listening and evaluating and ‘Notation’ strands.

Procedural knowledge

Procedural knowledge (‘knowing how’)

Playing music is a skill; to be able to competently perform that skill, musicians undoubtedly have many elements of procedural knowledge, including:

• How to hold the instrument correctly.
• How to produce different sounds with the instrument.
• How to read the notation in front of them.
• How to play a melody in time.

There is a crossover between tacit and procedural knowledge. While some procedural knowledge may be acquired instinctively, it may also require refinement. Kapow Primary’s Music curriculum specifies when this knowledge will be explicitly taught to pupils.

Procedural knowledge is most often developed in the ‘Creating sound,’ ‘Improvising and Composing’ and ‘Performing’ strands.

Tacit knowledge

Tacit knowledge (‘knowing intuitively’)

Much of the knowledge gained in music learning is gained through experience with music and informal listening, not through direct instruction. Tacit knowledge can be both substantive and disciplinary and includes:

• Developing a natural sense of rhythm and melody, demonstrated by an ability to clap along to the pulse of the music.
• Learning how to hold instruments through hands-on experience.
• Understanding pitch and tone in singing through practice and imitation.
• Instinctively move to music, showing an understanding of rhythm and expression through their bodies.
• Understanding that music can evoke feelings by listening and reacting to different types of music.

In the Kapow Primary Music curriculum, pupils have many opportunities to develop this tacit knowledge. In EYFS (Reception) and KS1, pupils are encouraged to explore instruments, sound and emotions. As they develop musically, this tacit knowledge is refined with more explicit instruction.

Tacit knowledge is most often developed in the ‘Listening and evaluating, ’Creating sound’ and ‘Improvising and composing’ strands, where pupils develop an intuitive understanding of music.

Wider Knowledge and skills

Oracy

Lessons in Music provide rich opportunities for developing oracy, particularly through singing, group performance and musical discussion.

Pupils learn to control their voice, adjusting pitch, dynamics and tone to sing expressively and clearly; an essential foundation for confident spoken communication.

Pupils are encouraged to think aloud, question and reflect on what they hear and create. Through activities such as evaluating performances, discussing musical choices and exploring the meaning behind lyrics or compositions, they develop their ability to articulate opinions, justify decisions and engage in collaborative dialogue.

Critical thinking

Pupils analyse musical elements, compare different genres and traditions, and evaluate performances and compositions.

This helps them to question assumptions, develop musical judgement and form reasoned responses to a wide range of musical experiences.

Personal Development in Music

SMSC

The scheme supports spiritual, moral, social and cultural development by encouraging pupils to:

• Explore different perspectives.
• Reflect on ethical issues.
• Collaborate with others.
• Appreciate cultural diversity through subject-specific content.

British values

Lessons promote British values (democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, mutual respect and tolerance) by incorporating activities that encourage debate, respect for differing opinions and an understanding of societal structures.

Cultural capital

Kapow Primary’s Music curriculum broadens pupils’ experiences by introducing them to influential musicians, musical traditions from around the world, and the historical and cultural contexts of different genres.

This ensures they gain the knowledge and skills needed to engage meaningfully with music in society.

Inclusion and diversity

Kapow Primary’s Music scheme has been designed to represent a range of cultures, backgrounds and races.

The scheme’s visual representation is inclusive and representative of a variety of people and places, challenging stereotypes or historical ideologies.

Within sensitive units, questions have been included to support pupils’ lived experiences and backgrounds.

Where appropriate, colonial choices and their impact on musical issues are explored.

The Kapow Primary Music scheme supports pupils in appreciating the complexity of people’s lives, the diversity of societies and the relationships between different groups.

SEND

The Kapow Primary Music scheme of work is designed to be fully adaptable for pupils with SEND. Every lesson includes an adaptive teaching section, providing clear guidance on how activities can be modified to meet the needs of all learners.

Pupils learn in a variety of ways. As such, Kapow Primary Music lessons include a range of strategies to support and challenge every pupil, such as:

• Scaffolding – activities are designed with flexibility in mind, allowing for additional support or challenge where needed.
• Multi-sensory approaches – lessons incorporate different elements to engage all learners.
• Clear instructions and structured tasks – ensuring clarity and reducing cognitive load for pupils who benefit from additional support.
• Opportunities for collaborative and independent learning – allowing pupils to work at their own pace while building confidence and independence.
• By embedding adaptive teaching throughout, the scheme ensures that all pupils, regardless of their starting points, can access and succeed in their learning.

In addition, the step-by-step curriculum design supports pupils with SEND, avoiding sudden jumps in complexity at transition points and allowing for steady, manageable progression.

Instrumental Tuition

As part of our provision in school we offer a chance to learn recorders during their time at Baydon in class groups.

Private tuition is held on site which includes the opportunities to learn drums, guitar, and piano.  These lessons are a paid service.

Performance Opportunities

From entry until the end of Year 6 pupils have at least three opportunities to musically perform to an audience while at school each year. Our musicals are well known and pupils are keen to participate each year. 

Pupils who undertake instrumental lessons participate in special worships with the instrumental tutors.

Singing

Singing is an integral part of pupils daily life at school and worships have an integral role to play in this.

Exposure to Live Music

We recognise that this is a challenge due to our geographic location. We promote the use of materials such as BBC ten pieces or the BYO orchestral links to support pupils in hearing performances. When opportunities arise within the cluster to attend performances we partake if at all possible. 

Listening to Different Genres in School

Children are exposed to different genres of music on daily basis, whether in worship (non covid times) or min class.

Transition from EYFS to Year 1

Continuity of learning

Kapow Primary’s Music scheme aligns with the statutory EYFS guidance.

Key themes and skills introduced in EYFS are revisited and developed further in KS1, ensuring continuity and progression.

This transition is aided by the continuity of learning created by the curriculum strands, which run from EYFS to Year 6. Subject leaders can pinpoint how knowledge develops in EYFS and how this creates the foundation for their KS1 learning.

Building on early experiences

Lessons build on curiosity, exploration and discussion, which are central to EYFS learning. As pupils move into Year 1, more structured activities are gradually introduced.

In KS1, oracy, questioning and storytelling help pupils transition from informal to more formal subject-based learning.

Development of key skills

Kapow Primary’s Music scheme supports the progressive development of skills, such as observation, reasoning and problem-solving, which are introduced in EYFS and strengthened in KS1.

Adaptive teaching strategies ensure all learners are supported as they transition to more formal learning approaches.

Cross-curricular links

The scheme aligns with EYFS Early Learning Goals, making links with communication and language, understanding the world and expressive arts to create a smooth transition.

It promotes independence and confidence, supporting pupils as they adapt to the expectations of KS1 learning.

Continuous Provision in EYFS 

We support children in their use of music as part of child-led play, whether singing songs, listening to music, dancing or playing instruments. Thus allowing them to express their creativity and emotions, as well as reaching a deeper level of musical understanding.

Rather than creating an artificial learning opportunity, instead we wait until we observe that a child or group of children have shown a particular interest in a topic. We offer to help them enhance their chosen area of play by providing additional resources, demonstrating how to use existing resources or even using the computer. This could mean:

• Demonstrating how to play certain instruments
• Encouraging children to perform together as a group
• Starting to sing a familiar song and play an instrument, encouraging others to join in
• Clapping or tapping out a beat
• Providing lyrics to a song
• Using familiar, everyday objects to create new instruments and sounds
• Demonstrating how to use your body and voice as instruments
• Searching for and watching videos showing traditional dances
• Learning and practising traditional dances together
• Using a safe search engine to find out more information or facts about particular dances or music types
• Searching for and listening to music together
• Finding out about different music relating to customs and festivals that are important to the children

Impact

Pupils will have repeatedly built up skills through units in key areas throughout their time at primary school. Pupils will be confident performers and can use music as a vehicle to express their personal feelings. Through the curriculum pupils will have been exposed to different genres of music from a variety of time periods and will have begun to express personal preferences. 

Assessment

Formative

Kapow Primary Music lessons include ongoing assessment opportunities, such as questioning, retrieval practice and interactive activities.

These enable teachers to assess understanding in real time and adapt their teaching accordingly.

Summative

Each unit provides an Assessment quiz, which allows teachers to measure pupils’ understanding at key points.

This tool helps gauge how well pupils have retained key knowledge and skills over time.

Evidencing Progress

Written outcomes

Pupils demonstrate their learning and provide tangible evidence of progress through a variety of activities, including structured written work, annotated diagrams and creative responses.

Pupil voice

Lessons encourage discussion, reflection and verbal explanations.

This allows teachers to capture pupils’ understanding through questioning, class discussions and recorded responses, supporting a broader view of progress beyond written work.

Assessment spreadsheet

The Assessment spreadsheet combined into our school INSIGHT tracking system, helps to track pupils’ Music attainment over time.

This tool allows teachers to record progress against learning objectives and assessment statements, making it easier to monitor development and identify areas for support.

Beyond into Key Stage Three

By the end of key stage Two we want pupils to enjoy different types of music, and be able to express themselves through music. We hope that they have the understanding of a melody and be able to pick out a rhythm. We would like pupils to be able to read music and understand basic notation.