Music
Pupils have a love of music. They enjoy learning musical instruments including violin, drums, ukulele, recorder and keyboard. Pupils access educational opportunities, such as theatre visits, school performances and choir concerts, with an increasing sense of accomplishment and confidence.
Our Vision: Why Music Matters
At King's Wood, we believe that all children should be offered the opportunities to explore their talents and interests as broadly as possible. Music is a fundamental part of culture, community, wellbeing and a great way to develop confidence, resilience and the ability to work effectively with others.
"Excellent music education opens opportunities... It gives children and young people an opportunity to express themselves, to explore their creativity, to work hard at something, persevere and shine. These experiences and achievements stay with them and shape their lives." HM Government: The Power of Music to Change Lives: A National Plan for Music Education, 2022
We strongly believe that all of our children deserve these opportunities and we do all that we can to make music accessible.
Our Core Music Curriculum
In line with National Curriculum requirements, our music provision is sequenced to ensure children build on prior knowledge year-on-year.
Our curriculum is built around four central pillars of musicality:
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Singing: Developing vocal health, pitch accuracy, and expressive performance.
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Playing and Performing: Mastering a range of instruments through solo and ensemble work.
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Improvisation and Composition: Cultivating the creative freedom to invent and refine original music.
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Music Through the Ages: Listening to and critically appraising a vast variety of genres and historical periods.
The 'Interrelated Dimensions of Music': Musical theory—including pitch, duration, dynamics, tempo, timbre, texture, and structure—is not taught in isolation but is interwoven through every practical unit to ensure a deep, holistic understanding of how music is constructed.
Y6 Composition Example:
Practice & Performance
Specialised Assemblies:
Key Stage 1 participates in weekly Singing Assemblies, while Key Stage 2 engages in music history and theory-focused assemblies.
Timetabled Excellence:
Every year group receives at least 30 minutes of dedicated music teaching per week.
Performance Pathways:
Every year group leads a performance annually, offering pupils the chance to perform for peers and parents, including solo opportunities for those wishing to showcase their progress.
Enrichment & Musical Discovery
Our provision extends beyond the classroom. We introduce every child to the diversity of the musical world through hands-on workshops and expert-led sessions.
Instrumental Families:
Each year group from Reception to Year 6 focusses on a specific family of instruments. To bring this to life, we host workshops led by professional musicians, exposing children to instruments such as:
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Ukulele & Guitar
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Steel Pans & African Drums
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Violin & Piano
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Pipe Organ
Music Week:
Every June, the school transforms for Music Week. This is a dedicated time to inspire the next generation of musicians through live performances and Q&A sessions with professionals. Recent highlights have included:
The Junk Orchestra, Jazz bands, Violin and Piano duets, and showcase performances from our own talented pupils.
Extra-Curricular & Community
For children who wish to further their skills, we offer a rich variety of extracurricular opportunities designed to challenge and inspire:
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Individual Tuition: Lessons in violin, guitar, and piano.
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Ensembles & Clubs: Rocksteady, Windband, Ukulele Club, and Choir.
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National Events: Opportunities to perform at Young Voices, joining thousands of children in a professional arena setting.
Music Lead: Mrs Virgo (Deputy Head Teacher)
Please find our full Music Curriculum Overview and the most recent Music Development Plan at the bottom of this page.