Music

Music

Music Development Plan - 2025/2026

At Lakenham, we believe that our music curriculum should be:

• child-centered, focusing on the needs and interests of children and building on what they know and enjoy
• enabling children to develop a curiosity about music and a growing respect and appreciation for the wide variety of musical expressions and experiences in people’s lives locally, nationally and across the world.
• encouraging a life-long love of music across a wide variety of historical periods, styles, traditions, and musical genres and actively engage with music through listening, singing, playing, evaluating, analysing, and composing.
• taught in a relevant, meaningful and purposeful way
• ambitious and challenging
• delivered through rich and varied learning experiences

Our intention is that our music curriculum will provide opportunities and experiences that will foster and inspire children to Enjoy, Achieve and Aspire and to be:

• successful music makers who enjoy music, and understand how music can support their own sense of identity and wellbeing.
• confident individuals who are able achieve some key musical skills
• be ambitious in their own musical development- aspire

Our music curriculum, written in conjunction with specialists from the Norfolk Music Service, is embedded in classroom activities as well as weekly singing assemblies, various concerts and performances. We follow three threads from Year 1 through to Year 6: Theory, History, Culture and Community, and Practical. The elements of music are taught in weekly class lessons led by teachers from our school who work part time in class and part time as specialist music teachers. Children learn how to read and write music, and play instruments such as the ukulele, keyboard, recorders and djembe drums. In doing so they begin to understand the creation of notes and rhythm, as well as how to read basic music notation. They also learn how to compose, focussing on different dimensions of music, which in turn feeds their understanding when listening, playing, or analysing music. Composing or performing using body percussion and vocal sounds is also part of the curriculum, which develops the understanding of musical elements without the added complexity of an instrument.

Music is also used as part of everyday routines such as entering the classroom, around school and mindfulness sessions. This is not designed as simply background music but is chosen specifically to increase knowledge of different styles of music, introduce the children to local music, create an appropriate atmosphere and increase wellbeing. 

Music to enjoy

We currently offer music clubs including choir. These are very popular with children across the school! The choir perform to a wider audience as often as possible.

Rock Band

We have iRock come in weekly for group music lessons linked to being in a rock band. The children in Rock Band perform to parents and the school community. It is a thrill to see very young children singing and playing instruments confidently.

Curriculum Coverage

Click on the image below to see the journey of music at Lakenham.