Music

At Horizon Primary Academy, our aim is to enable and inspire every child to become a musician; to actively engage with fun and diverse musical experiences. We believe that being a musician requires the self-confidence to be creative and take risks. Children build their knowledge and understanding of the elements of music and develop proficiency, as they nurture their love of and an appreciation of music, and achieve personal musical success.  

The National Curriculum states that: “As pupils progress, they should develop a critical engagement with music, allowing them to compose, and to listen with discrimination to the best in the musical cannon.” Therefore, the foundations of the Horizon Primary Academy music curriculum are underpinned by the technical, constructive and expressive pillars of musicianship, taught through the key concepts of pulse, rhythm and duration, tempo, pitch and melody, dynamics, structure and notation. Children progressively build their understanding of these concepts in order to listen, compose and perform with growing precision and proficiency. Through this, children will make more music, think more musically and become more musical.

The Horizon Primary Academy music curriculum is designed on the principle of a spiralised curriculum, allowing space for exposure, experience and preparation; direct teaching of substantive musical knowledge; mindful practice; and meaningful application as children move their understanding from their conscious to unconscious mind. This, in turn, develops the qualities and characteristics of a rounded musician, ready to continue their musical journey into the next phase of their learning.