At Brierley Hill Primary School, we believe that music is a powerful and enriching subject that fosters creativity, self-expression, and confidence. It is an integral part of our curriculum, providing pupils with opportunities to develop musical skills, appreciate diverse genres, and engage in performance.
Our CUSP (Curriculum with Unity Schools Partnership) Music Curriculum ensures that pupils:
🎶 Develop technical skills in singing and instrumental performance – Building confidence in playing tuned and untuned instruments.
🗣 Master oracy and listening skills – Developing the ability to discuss, critique, and analyse music.
🎼 Compose and improvise – Learning how to create their own musical pieces with increasing fluency.
🎵 Appreciate and evaluate music from different cultures, traditions, and historical periods – Gaining a broad understanding of music’s role in society.
🔁 Revisit and consolidate key musical knowledge and skills – Ensuring progression through structured retrieval and practice.
Our ambition is that every child leaves Brierley Hill as a confident and knowledgeable musician, equipped with the skills to engage with music in their future education and beyond.
We celebrate music through school-wide events, performances, and collaborations with professional musicians to inspire and engage our pupils.
The CUSP Music Curriculum is structured into six blocks of five weeks per year group, ensuring:
✅ Systematic skill progression – Pupils build their knowledge of pitch, rhythm, tempo, dynamics, and structure over time.
✅ A balance between practical and theoretical learning – Pupils engage in singing, composing, performing, and listening activities.
✅ Use of high-quality musical resources – Supporting teachers in delivering engaging and effective lessons.
✅ An inclusive approach – Ensuring that all pupils, regardless of musical background, can access and enjoy music.
Each year group follows a carefully planned curriculum that develops musicianship, fosters creativity, and builds confidence in performance.
In EYFS, music is embedded within "Expressive Arts and Design", where children begin to:
🎤 Develop vocal confidence – Singing nursery rhymes, action songs, and chants.
🎵 Explore rhythm and pulse – Clapping beats, moving to music, and experimenting with sound.
🖐 Use instruments and body percussion – Creating simple patterns and responding to music.
🌍 Listen to a variety of music from different cultures – Developing an early appreciation of musical diversity.
These early experiences lay the foundation for future musical learning, ensuring that pupils enter Key Stage 1 with confidence in singing, rhythm, and active listening.
Each music lesson follows a structured format to ensure progression:
1️⃣ Connect – Activating prior musical knowledge and revisiting key vocabulary.
2️⃣ Explain – Explicit teaching of musical concepts, notation, and vocabulary.
3️⃣ Example – Demonstration of new musical techniques or listening tasks.
4️⃣ Attempt – Pupils engage in practical tasks such as singing, playing instruments, or composing.
5️⃣ Apply – Independent application of new skills in performance or creative work.
6️⃣ Challenge – Encouraging pupils to reflect, refine, and extend their musical understanding.
This structured approach ensures that pupils develop a strong foundation in musicianship.
The CUSP Music Curriculum is built around four key areas of study:
🎤 Developing vocal control, pitch, and harmony through singing.
🎶 Playing tuned and untuned instruments, including glockenspiels and percussion.
🎹 Introducing keyboards in Upper KS2 to build melodic and harmonic understanding.
🎼 Experimenting with melody, rhythm, and dynamics.
🎵 Learning how to compose short musical pieces.
🎶 Improvising musical patterns and phrases using voice and instruments.
👂 Developing aural skills by listening to music from different traditions and historical periods.
🎶 Analysing music using musical vocabulary (e.g., tempo, dynamics, timbre, structure).
🌍 Exploring music from different cultures and learning about significant composers.
📖 Learning basic musical notation and rhythm patterns.
🎼 Understanding how to read and play from musical scores.
🔁 Revisiting notation knowledge to reinforce long-term retention.
This structured, knowledge-rich approach ensures that pupils develop strong musicianship skills over time.
By the time pupils leave Brierley Hill Primary, they are:
🎶 Confident performers – Able to sing and play instruments with fluency.
📖 Knowledgeable about music – Understanding key musical concepts and notation.
🎤 Engaged and expressive – Comfortable in expressing themselves through music.
🌍 Culturally aware – Appreciating music from diverse traditions.
🚀 Ready for secondary education – With a solid foundation in music and creativity.
For more details, including:
📌 CUSP Music Knowledge Documents
📌 Curriculum Overviews
📌 Performance Opportunities and Enrichment Activities
Please contact our Curriculum Lead, Tom Amphlett, at info@brierleyhill.dudley.sch.uk. 🎶