“Having the opportunity to study and explore music is not a privilege; it is a vital part of a broad and ambitious curriculum.” -  Rt Hon Nick Gibb MP Minister of State for School Standards

Music enables pupils to access a wider cultural world.  Positive musical experiences are directly linked to improved mental well-being and the expression of emotions.  At Moor End, we aim to help children to feel they are musical and to develop a life-long love of music. We focus on develop the skills, knowledge and understanding that children need in order to become confident performers, composers and listeners. Our curriculum introduces children to music from all around the world and across generations, teaching children to respect and appreciate the music of all traditions and communities.

Children will develop the musical skills of singing, playing tuned and untuned instruments, improvising and composing music and listening and responding to music. They will develop an understanding of the history and cultural context of the music they they listen to and learn how music can be written down. Through music, our curriculum helps children develop transferable skills such as team--working, leadership, creative thinking, problem-solving, decision-making and presentation and performance skills. These skills are vital to children's development as learners and have a wider application in their general lives outside and beyond school. 

At Moor End, we take a holistic approach to music, in which the individual strands below are woven together to create engaging and enriching learning experiences:

> Performing

> Listening

> Composing

> History of music

> The inter-related dimensions of music

The impact of our curriculum can be constantly monitored through formative and summative assessment opportunities. Each lesson, teachers assess pupils against the learning objectives and at the end of each unit, there is often a performance element where teachers can make a summative assessment of pupil's learning. 

By the time children leave Moor End we expect they will:

> Be confident performers, composers and listeners and will be able to express themselves musically at and beyond school. 

> Show an appreciation and respect for a wide range of musical styles from around the world and will understand how music is influenced by the wider cultural, social and historical contexts in which it is developed.

> Understand the ways in which music can be written down to support performing and composing activities.

> Demonstrate and articulate an enthusiasm for music and be able to identify their own personal musical preferences.

> Meet the end of Key Stage expectations outlined in the National Curriculum for music.