Our Music Development Plan

This is a summary of how our school delivers music education to all our pupils across three areas – curriculum music, co-curricular provision and musical experiences – and what changes we are planning in future years. This information is to help pupils and parents or carers understand what our school offers and who we work with to support our pupils’ music education.

Curriculum music

This is about what we teach in lesson time, how much time is spent teaching music and any music qualifications or awards that pupils can achieve.

Our school aims to provide an ambitious, rigorous and relevant music curriculum that inspires creativity and excellence. Pupils foster a love of music through opportunities to engage with a wide range of historical periods, genres, styles and traditions, including the works of great composers and musicians.

The music curriculum both engages with and connects to other areas of learning through thematic study, while also ensuring that music is taught as a connected, yet at times discrete, subject through our Focus Day provision. The E3L curriculum values music as one of the highest forms of creativity and provides opportunities for in‑depth, specialist teaching to equip pupils with the musical skills needed to become successful musicians. The curriculum is informed by the Model Music Curriculum (MMC).

In EYFS, music is an integral part of the E3L themes covered throughout the year and forms part of the specific area of learning Expressive Arts and Design – Being Imaginative. The skill aspects of musicianship are closely linked to the Early Learning Goals (ELGs). Music is also used effectively to support pupils’ personal and social development, with singing and basic rhythm skills incorporated to support mathematical understanding and enrich pupils’ knowledge of the world through cultural diversity.

We actively encourage pupils to learn to play a musical instrument by providing opportunities both within and beyond the music curriculum to support creativity and musical thinking. Pupils are given opportunities to create and compose music, to sing and use their voices confidently, to explore how music is created, produced and communicated, and to harness technology in musical creation. This provision is strengthened through partnerships with organisations such as the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO), Birmingham Conservatoire, Sandwell SIPs and the Black Country Music Hub.

For the fourth year running, the school has worked in partnership with Conductive Music to deliver enriching STEAM workshops, using music as a vehicle to inspire creativity, collaboration and cross‑curricular learning.

Pupils are excited by their learning in music and develop self‑confidence through opportunities for composition and performance. They develop an appreciation of a wide range of musical styles and are able to express informed opinions about the music they hear and create.

Pupils demonstrate high levels of creativity, musical skill, knowledge and understanding through the production of high‑quality outcomes, including performance. As part of the music provision, pupils take part in weekly singing sessions and have access to individual and group music lessons.

Pupils make strong connections within music and across other subject areas, such as history, using these links to deepen their understanding of musical genre, composition and performance, as well as society, culture and change over time. They develop a secure understanding of musical concepts, dimensions and composition, using this knowledge to create, evaluate, communicate and perform music.

Our curriculum is designed to remove barriers to learning for pupils with SEND. Through appropriate support, curriculum adaptations, scaffolding techniques and a range of assessment for learning strategies, all pupils are able to express themselves, participate fully and make meaningful progress in music.

Pupils’ musical knowledge is further developed through the use of key pieces of music linked to E3L themes, experienced in both whole‑class and whole‑school contexts.

Co-curricular music

This is about opportunities for pupils to sing and play music, outside of lesson time, including choirs, ensembles and bands, and how pupils can make progress in music beyond the core curriculum.

As part of our co‑curricular music provision, closely linked to our core curriculum offer, the school delivers focus days from Year 1 to Year 6 that connect directly to the E3L theme being taught. On these days, the curriculum is collapsed and music is taught by a specialist teacher. This approach supports coverage of the Model Music Curriculum (MMC) and deepens pupils’ understanding of the music curriculum. Our focus day provision is supported and delivered by a primary music specialist to deepen and enhance pupils’ musical knowledge and skills.

Alongside this, and as part of our commitment to mental wellbeing, the school took part in the Harmony virtual event during Children’s Mental Health Week, joining 120 schools across the Black Country. This provided an opportunity for pupils and staff to experience music as a supportive and positive tool for mental wellbeing.

Throughout the school, pupils are offered a wide range of additional musical opportunities. Pupils can take part in instrumental lessons delivered by Sandwell SIPs outside of school time, including guitar, violin, drums, woodwind and brass. Pupils also engage in choral activities that lead to performances within school.

For pupils identified as gifted and talented in music, the school seeks additional support from partners such as the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO) and SIPs. These pupils are offered workshops and performance opportunities delivered by CBSO musicians to further inspire and develop their musical potential.

Musical experiences

This is about all the other musical events and opportunities that we organise, such as singing in assembly, concerts and shows, and trips to professional concerts.

Pupils are given many opportunities to engage in a wide range of musical experiences. As children walk into assembly, a wide variety of music is played so they can listen, enjoy, and become familiar with different styles, cultures, and staff favourites. In addition, weekly singing assemblies encourage both staff and pupils to develop a love of singing while also promoting an understanding of the positive impact singing in a large group can have on mental wellbeing.

Pupils participate in end of Key Stage performances.  These include nativities at the end of EYFS and musical performances and the end of Key Stage 2.  Pupils participate in choral activities around Christmas including carol concerts and musical showcases.   In these performances, pupils get a chance to experience performing to a larger audience and performing both individually and in groups.

In school, free concerts are shown.  These are provided to our school by partnership providers including the CBSO and SIPs music.  Pupils also have the opportunity to perform in their own repertoire project that is supported and lead by musicians from the CBSO.  Their musical performances are recorded and shared wider than just the school community.  This funded through our curriculum and PP budgets.

Through a partnership with the Birmingham Conservatoire, our pupils are offered visits to watch performances given by the musical students of the conservatoire.

In the future

This is about what the school is planning for subsequent years.

The following are where music will be further development in the subsequent years to follow:

• Increase the whole class instrumental session
• Build stronger partnership with local musical groups so that the curriculum can be further enhanced by giving more live performance experiences both in and out of school
• Continue to use music as a way of providing mental wellbeing support to both pupils and staff
• Give further opportunities to those pupils who are deemed to be gifted and talented
• Provide staff CPD so that music teaching is stronger and therefore pupils can develop and progress at a faster pace.

Further information

Lightwoods Primary Academy is part of the Shireland Collegiate Academy Trust, which recognises the intrinsic value of music education and the enormous creative, personal, and academic benefits that engagement with music can develop. In particular, we acknowledge that all pupils regardless of background are entitled to a rigorous and rich Music education that inspires the next generation of musicians and music-lovers and exposes all to a wealth of cultural capital. We are committed to developing our provision across all primary and secondary phases in line with the latest curriculum guidance and with the support of specialist practitioners both within and without the trust.