Whitegate CE Primary School
Becoming Musicians
…speaking to one another with psalms, hymns and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord…
Ephesians 5:19
Music at Whitegate CE Primary School
At Whitegate CE Primary School, we aim to nurture restless curiosity, appreciation and passion for music.
Through playing, singing, creating and performing, children develop confidence, communication and creative skills and improve their emotional well-being. These activities use both sides of the brain; it fosters connections, which improve memory and coordination.
The skills involved in playing and listening to music also help learners develop skills and ideas, both independently and cooperatively, to prepare them ‘for life in all its fullness.’
All children, especially in the EYFS (Early Years Foundation Stage), learn music through exploring exciting challenges and by using a range of media and materials.
The aims of teaching music in our school are:
- To perform, listen to, review and evaluate music across a range of historical periods, genres, styles and traditions, including the works of the great composers and musicians
- To learn to sing and to use their voices, to create and compose music on their own and with others, have the opportunity to learn a musical instrument, use technology appropriately and have the opportunity to progress to the next level of musical excellence
- To understand and explore how music is created, produced and communicated, including through the inter-related dimensions: pitch, duration, dynamics, tempo, timbre, texture, structure and appropriate musical notation.
Websites we recommend to explore:
BBC Teach: https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/bring-the-noise
BBC Bitesize: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zw2ntv4/resources/1
Myleene’s Music Klass: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQh2wgJ5tOrixYBn6jFXsXQ
If you have any questions about our Music curriculum, please contact Mrs Savage (subject lead) on 
sendco@whitegate.cheshire.sch.uk
Thank you
Our Music year group curriculum overview:
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Our school delivers the music curriculum through topic areas and discrete lessons. We have a range of instruments to enable us to do this and a scheme of work ‘Music Express.’ In Foundation Stage, children explore music through a variety of stimulus and media. It is delivered as part of taught sessions and available to the children as part of their continuous provision. |
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Autumn Term |
Spring Term |
Summer Term |
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Maple |
Driver – Land and Sea Focus – Performance, Listening and applying
Music express - Water |
Driver – Fairy tales Focus - Appraising
Music and movement – moving to musical beats and rhythms and exploring how music can tell a story.
Music express year 1 ‘Exploring pulse and rhythm.’
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Driver – Toys Focus - Composing
Music express units to explore pitch |
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Elm |
Driver – London Focus – Performance, Listening and Applying
Singing in a round - London’s Burning Music express unit exploring duration including call and response |
Driver – Africa Focus - Appraising
African Drumming Music express units to explore pulse and rhythm and instruments and symbols.
Continents song |
Driver – Seaside Focus - Composing
Music express units to explore timbre, tempo, dynamics – weather link
Mendelssohn – Hebrides Overture |
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Beech |
Driver – Stone Age to Iron Age Focus – Performing
Earliest instruments (Flute), early beginnings of music.
Mini topic driver - Folk Music (Maypole) Focus – Listening and Applying |
Driver – Egyptians Focus - Composition
Music express unit, exploring pitch through a focus on water.
Egyptian chants, ceremonial compositions and simple notation Traditional and Modern Egyptian Music. |
Driver - South America Focus – Performance, Appraising
South American Samba music – tuned and un tuned percussion
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Cedar Year 4 |
Driver - Industrial Revolution Focus – Performance, Listening and Applying
Music and drama performance linked to 2012 Olympics opening ceremony - Industrial revolution |
Driver – Romans Focus - Appraising
Roman chants, call and response and drama and movement – Romans Music express unit exploring arrangements
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Driver - Anglo Saxons and Vikings Focus – Composition
Recap of ongoing musical performance skills and musical terminology - The Viking and Anglo-Saxon |
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Willow Year 5 |
Driver - Slavery Focus – Performance
Music and slavery - lyrics and meaning
Calypso music – Music express unit exploring rounds
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Driver - Greeks Focus – Composition, Appraising
Heroes of Troy – Focus on ongoing skills such as dynamics, pitch, pulse and rhythm and performance skills. Music express unit exploring structure |
Driver - The Tudors Focus – Listening and Applying
Work of famous composers from the period
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Oak Year 6 |
Driver - Ancient Civilisations Focus – Performance and Composition
Maya, Benin, Shang
Music express unit exploring composition through computing
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Driver - Vale Royal Abbey Focus - Appraising
Music in the Middle Ages – Musical notation, rhythmic modes and Dorian modes. Vale Royal Abbey
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Driver - WW2 conflict Focus- Listening and Applying
Music performance, listening and appraisal skills.
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