The music curriculum can be defined as a dynamic set of musical processes and practices framed within historical and contemporary cultural discourse that comprise the musical encounters of pupils and teachers.
For what purposes do we make a curriculum?
To musically equip children and young people to understand themselves, both as individuals and as members of a complex and rapidly changing society as future citizens in that democratic society.
We therefore:
- equip all pupils with the knowledge, skills, dispositions and understandings to make music well.
- induct pupils into existing cultures of making-music as a source of creative and critical engagement.
- enable all pupils to become unique individuals, subjectively enriched and able to know a sense of personal freedom through music made well.
What are our intentions?
By the end of Year 9 pupils will have songs, melodies, riffs, rhythms and the character-feel of much music in their heads and bodies. They will be able to recall this music at will. It will be an integral part of their learning how to make music well as shown in their technical know how, fluency, expressive control and in their musical relationships with others.
This will be achieved by introducing contextually rich music/musical material which keeps offering fresh insights and challenges. Pupils will explore unexpected pathways into deeper learning, responding with flexibility to follow new turnings.
The pupil’s music making will always reach a musically meaningful standard. When this is achieved there will be value in assessing the work.
Pupils will be able to reflect on their music making and the music making of others through talk, reading and writing about music.
They will come to understand how music functions in the world, why and how it is made, how music is used and how music is given meaning. There will be a recognition that music has ‘human interest’; social, cultural and political.
Classes will work as a community of music makers and critics where the relationship between pupil, teacher and what is being learnt creates an open musical discourse.
Music Education Now 