Intent

“Music is a universal language that embodies one of the highest forms of creativity.”

National Curriculum 2014

Through the music curriculum at Maun, we aim to inspire our children’s creativity and passion for the subject.  We want our children to know what it means to be a musician, to experience the joy of sharing music with others and for them to think of themselves as musicians in the early stages of their learning journeys.

Our curriculum will enable children to develop knowledge about, and musicianship skills in, the performance, composition and appraisal of music.  Through a range of opportunities and experiences over time, it is our intention that children develop a breadth of knowledge about composers, performers and music from different genres and musical periods.  We aim for all our children to ‘find their singing voice’ and feel confident to demonstrate their vocal skills, when performing and creating music on their own or with others.  Our music curriculum will be accessible to all and enabling of children’s creative potential, regardless of academic ability or SEND.

In addition to subject-specific knowledge and skills, our music curriculum will support children’s wider development linked to our identified, underpinning curriculum drivers:

• Through the connections it enables with different times, people and places across the world, music will be a vehicle by which our children broaden their cultural knowledge of times and places further to those in which they live.  In turn, we hope to open our children’s eyes to the wider world and the possibilities open to them in later life.
• We aim for our children to see the opportunities music provides for self-expression and individuality, and in turn, be confident to express their own identity through their musical decisions and preferences.
• In developing musicianship skills, children will demonstrate determination, positivity and resilience when evaluating their performance or approaching a new challenge.

We also recognise the positive impact music can have on mental health and wellbeing, and the specific links between our music curriculum and three of our ‘5 Ways to Wellbeing’ as follows: 

• Connect with people by listening to and enjoying music together; performing with, or for, others; or collaborating over a composition
• Learn a new skill such as playing a musical instrument or how to read and write music notation
• Notice similarities and differences in pieces of music, and the impact of these on our own mood and behaviour

We aim for our children to understand these links so they can use music within their everyday lives, as a tool to support positive mental health for themselves and those around them.