Music
At Northwood Park Primary, our Music curriculum is rooted in our core values:
Be Kind. Be Brave. Be Proud
At Northwood Park Primary School, we are committed to nurturing kind, brave and proud learners who are well-rounded, confident individuals. Our vision is to provide every child with meaningful opportunities to grow academically, socially and emotionally, ensuring they feel a strong sense of belonging and aspiration for their future.
We believe that every child deserves to experience the joy, creativity and discipline of music. Our intent is to provide a rich, inclusive and ambitious music curriculum that develops pupils’ confidence, self-expression and cultural understanding, regardless of their starting point. Music sits within our whole-school Golden Thread, supporting pupils to develop resilience, collaboration and pride in their achievements, with meaningful links made across the curriculum wherever possible.
Music at Northwood Park
We recognise that many of our pupils begin school with a lower-than-national starting point, and that our community includes a higher-than-average proportion of disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND and those with English as an additional language. Therefore, our music curriculum is carefully designed to remove barriers, build cultural capital and bridge gaps in experience and attainment for all learners.
Opportunities and Enrichment
We believe music should be experienced beyond the classroom. Pupils are given access to a wide range of additional music opportunities, including:
​
-
peripatetic instrumental lessons
-
choir and performance groups
-
whole-school performances and celebrations
-
opportunities to experience live music and visiting musicians
These experiences broaden horizons, inspire ambition and allow children to discover new talents and interests they may not otherwise encounter.
What We Want Pupils to Learn
Our curriculum enables pupils to:
-
sing and perform with confidence, both individually and collaboratively
-
play a range of tuned and untuned instruments with increasing control and accuracy
-
listen and respond to a broad range of musical styles, genres and traditions
-
compose and improvise using key musical elements
-
use musical vocabulary to describe and evaluate music
-
understand how music connects to history, culture, identity and emotion
Why Music Matters
Music plays a vital role in developing pupils’ language, memory, coordination and emotional wellbeing. It provides a powerful outlet for expression and supports pupils in building resilience and self-confidence.
At Northwood Park, music strongly supports our commitment to British Values, encouraging mutual respect, appreciation of diversity and cultural understanding through exposure to music from different traditions and communities. It also reinforces our school values—helping pupils to be:
-
Kind through collaboration and respect for others’ contributions
-
Brave by performing and taking creative risks
-
Proud of their progress and achievements
Through music, we aim to develop pupils who are:
-
confident and expressive performers
-
creative and curious thinkers
-
respectful and active listeners
-
collaborative and supportive team members
-
resilient learners who persevere and improve
Inclusion and Equity
Our music curriculum is for every child. We ensure full participation and success for pupils with SEND, those eligible for pupil premium funding, and pupils with EAL through:
-
adaptive teaching strategies and scaffolding
-
clear modelling and repetition
-
vocabulary-rich teaching
-
opportunities for overlearning and reinforcement
By doing this, we actively bridge gaps in knowledge, confidence and experience, ensuring no child is left behind.
How We Ensure Progress
Our curriculum is carefully sequenced and progressive, allowing pupils to build on prior learning over time. From early experiences of rhythm and singing in EYFS and KS1, pupils develop increasingly sophisticated skills in performance, composition and appraisal in KS2.
