Music
Music Development Plan 2026-27
At Arnot St Mary, we want every child to experience the joy of making music and develop the confidence to see themselves as a musician. Through singing, listening, playing, improvising and composing, children develop their creativity, musical understanding and ability to express themselves.
Music brings our school community together. It enriches collective worship, celebrations and performances, while helping children develop collaboration, perseverance and a sense of belonging.
Our music curriculum
We teach music through Charanga, using its structured sequence of learning to build children’s knowledge and skills progressively. Teaching combines practical music-making with opportunities to listen carefully, discuss ideas and reflect on performances.
Children encounter music from different historical periods, cultures, traditions and genres. They learn to appreciate familiar and unfamiliar music, explain their preferences thoughtfully and recognise the different purposes music serves in people’s lives.
Our curriculum develops five connected areas:
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Singing: developing vocal control, accurate pitch, expression and confidence when singing together.
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Listening and appraising: recognising musical features and discussing how music creates different moods and effects.
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Playing and performing: developing instrumental technique, keeping a steady pulse and performing with others.
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Improvising and composing: exploring sounds, creating musical ideas and organising them into pieces.
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Musical understanding and notation: learning the vocabulary and symbols needed to describe, record and communicate music.
Building musical knowledge and skills
Learning begins in the Early Years through songs, nursery rhymes, movement and exploration of sounds. Children learn to listen, join in, respond to rhythm and enjoy making music together.
As they move through school, children revisit and deepen their understanding of pulse, rhythm, pitch, tempo, dynamics, timbre, texture and structure. Teachers introduce musical vocabulary in context and give children regular opportunities to use it.
Children play tuned and untuned instruments, including percussion, glockenspiels and recorders, with whole-class ukulele tuition in lower Key Stage 2. They learn how to handle instruments carefully, produce sounds with increasing control and follow musical instructions and notation.
How we teach music
Lessons include clear modelling, guided practice and repeated opportunities to rehearse and improve. Children listen to examples, practise manageable steps and bring their learning together through individual, group and whole-class music-making.
Teachers check understanding by listening to children sing and play, observing their participation and discussing their musical choices. Feedback helps children refine their technique, develop expression and recognise their progress over time.
Music is for every child. We adapt instruments, resources, teaching and ways of participating so that children with different learning, communication, sensory and physical needs can contribute and achieve. Support and challenge help children grow in confidence and independence.
Singing and performance
Singing is a regular part of school life through classroom lessons, singing assemblies, collective worship and our school choir.
Christmas productions, year-group performances and community events give children opportunities to share their learning with an audience. Rehearsing and performing together helps children learn to listen to one another, take responsibility for their contribution and celebrate collective achievement.
Our partnership with Resonate Liverpool
We are part of Resonate Liverpool Music Hub, supporting our commitment to providing children with a rich and varied music education. This partnership strengthens our wider musical opportunities through instrumental tuition, collaboration and performance, helping children develop their talents and experience the joy of making music with others.
Enrichment in music
Our wider provision gives children opportunities to develop their interests and experience music beyond classroom lessons. These include:
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After-school guitar tuition through Resonate Music Hub.
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Whole-class ukulele lessons.
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School choir and performances in school and community settings.
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Visits to concert venues and opportunities to experience live orchestral music.
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Shared experiences of streamed orchestral concerts.
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Live performances by staff musicians, including harp and piano.
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Opportunities for children in the Early Years to experience the harp through familiar songs and nursery rhymes.
Our pupils have also taken part in larger musical events, including the iSing performance at Liverpool Philharmonic Hall.
Celebrating music
We are proud to be a Music Mark School, reflecting the value we place on music within a broad and balanced education.
By the time children leave Arnot St Mary, we want them to have a growing repertoire of songs, practical musical skills and the confidence to listen, create and perform - with an enjoyment of music that continues beyond school.
