Intent

At Gainsborough, we follow the National Curriculum for Music and have designed a progressive, engaging curriculum that develops pupils’ musical skills, knowledge and confidence.

Our music curriculum enables children to:

• Develop core musical skills including rhythm, pitch, composition and performance
• Explore a wide range of musical genres and instruments
• Build musical knowledge and vocabulary over time through a spiral curriculum
• Appreciate music as a creative, expressive and collaborative subject

To support high-quality teaching and progression, we use Charanga to enhance planning, subject knowledge and assessment.

Each year group is introduced to a specific instrument to build technical skills and musical understanding:

• Year 1 & 2 – Glockenspiel
• Year 3 – Recorder
• Year 4 – Ukulele
• Year 5 – Guitar
• Year 6 – Keyboard

Music is celebrated across the school through performances, assemblies and wider community opportunities, allowing pupils to showcase their learning and develop confidence.

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Implementation

Music at Gainsborough is delivered by a specialist music teacher, ensuring high-quality instruction and strong subject expertise.

• KS1 pupils receive 30 minutes weekly
• KS2 pupils receive one hour weekly

Lessons are carefully planned to be engaging, practical and inclusive, with a range of roles and activities to ensure all pupils participate and enjoy music.

Whole-school music assemblies take place weekly to:

• Develop singing skills
• Build appreciation of different musical styles
• Create a shared musical culture across the school

Learning is evidenced through class music e-books, which follow each cohort from Year 1 to Year 6. These include photos, videos, reflections and examples of work, capturing pupils’ musical journey and progression over time.

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Impact

The impact of our music curriculum is seen through:

• Strong pupil engagement and enjoyment in music lessons
• Increasing confidence in performing and composing
• Clear progression in musical skills and knowledge across year groups

Assessment includes:

• Half-termly unit evaluations completed by the music teacher
• Annual attainment assessments against year group expectations
• Ongoing tracking to identify progress, gaps and pupils needing additional support

Our music e-books provide rich evidence of learning over time, while assessment trackers ensure teaching is responsive and continuously improving.

Performances in assemblies, school events and wider competitions demonstrate pupils’ growing musical competence and pride in their achievements.

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Latest Music posts from Instagram