Music Intent Statement

‘A high-quality music education should engage and inspire pupils to develop a love of music and their talent as musicians, and so increase their self-confidence, creativity and sense of achievement.’ Department of Education, National Curriculum

At Abbey Park School our aim is to create a love of music, enriching pupils through practical activities such as composition and performance alongside listening, evaluation and appraisal tasks. These complementary strands of music practice and theory are taught and developed together, which allows pupils to build skills that they can regularly draw upon to fulfil their potential not only in music lessons, but also in the wider context of school life and beyond.

Our department offers high quality lessons to our pupils, delivered by specialist music teachers. Music is introduced in year 7 and is taught once a week in mixed ability classes until the end of year 9. The music department at Abbey Park School is housed in a self-contained wing of the school, complete with two fully equipped teaching tooms, a computer room with Sibelius and Cubase, and six practice rooms. This bespoke facility with such an accessible range of instrumental and technological options heavily contributes towards the exceptional, rounded musical experience on offer at Abbey Park.

At Abbey Park School, the music curriculum has been set up to offer each year group an opportunity to develop the three strands of music and these are integral in all topics to prepare them for study of music at KS4. Embedded into schemes, and featuring across all topics, are listening, performing, and composing elements alongside the reading of texts and extended writing opportunities. Our intent is to develop essential skills and qualities such as teamwork, organisation, responsibility, cultural history, confidence, discipline, self-evaluation as well as listening, social, and interpersonal skills. As these skills are embedded in the schemes, they are regularly honed through a broad range of topics at KS3, which in turn prepares them for KS4.

Pupils are assessed through end of topic tests and mid-point reviews. Practical work is recorded and pupils have the opportunity to self/peer assess. This allows us to assess pupil progress against target. Pupils are guided through their topics via their PLCs (personalised learning checklist), which outline all the content covered in each unit of work. The use of WWW & HTI gives an opportunity for the students to identify what they feel has gone well for them, and to reflect on areas for improvement.  

Through curricular and extra-curricular opportunities our aim is to provide a music curriculum which will enable each child to reach their full potential in music, encourage pupils to enjoy singing, composing and performing and provide them with the opportunity to perform in front of an audience both within and outside of school.

KS3 and KS4 Music Curriculum Maps

Click below in 'Related Documents' to view curriculum maps.