Thank you so much to everwho joined us to watch the fabulous singing from our Nursery children. 🎶 🎵 🎄
10-12-2025
Music
“Music should be a pleasure, a joy and a delight!” Mrs Naylor
Music at Smithdown Primary School
Intent
At Smithdown Primary School, together we grow through the universal language of music. We believe that music is an essential part of a broad and balanced education — one that promotes positivity, creativity, and a strong sense of belonging within our diverse community.
Our Music curriculum is designed to be ambitious, inclusive, and progressive, ensuring that every child — including those with SEND or other vulnerabilities — can experience success as a musician. Through a rich sequence of learning from the Early Years to Year 6, pupils develop technical, creative, and critical skills while nurturing confidence and self-expression.
We aim for all children to:
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Enjoy and value music as an important form of personal and cultural expression.
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Develop musical skills in singing, listening, performing, composing, and evaluating.
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Appreciate music from a wide range of genres, traditions, and historical periods, reflecting our multicultural world.
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Grow in confidence through performance and collaboration, celebrating success together.
Implementation
Music is an integral part of life at Smithdown. It is taught by our specialist teachers, Mrs Naylor and Mr Humphreys, who deliver engaging, high-quality lessons to ensure consistency, progression, and enthusiasm across the school.
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In the Early Years Foundation Stage, children explore sound, rhythm, and movement through songs, body percussion and untuned instruments. These experiences lay the foundation for listening, coordination, and early musicianship.
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In Key Stage 1, pupils use their voices expressively, begin to read and write simple notation, and develop understanding of the interrelated dimensions of music — pitch, rhythm, tempo, and dynamics — through performing, listening, and composing.
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In Key Stage 2, pupils deepen their understanding of musical structure, style, and form. They explore music from different cultures and historical periods, compose and perform using tuned instruments and digital technology, and refine their work using musical vocabulary and notation.
Music at Smithdown goes beyond the classroom. Pupils participate in:
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Choir and instrumental groups, developing teamwork and performance confidence.
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Singing assemblies and whole-school celebrations, fostering joy, unity, and pride.
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Half-termly Music Celebration Assemblies, where every child has the opportunity to perform and share their learning.
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Community events and performances, helping pupils connect their learning to the wider world.
Assessment in music is ongoing and practical, based on teacher observation, listening, discussion, and recorded evidence of performances. This ensures that progress in musicianship, creativity, and confidence is recognised and celebrated for every learner.
Impact
By the end of their journey at Smithdown, pupils:
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Demonstrate a secure understanding of musical concepts and vocabulary.
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Can sing, play, perform, and compose with increasing control, accuracy, and expression.
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Appreciate and discuss music from a wide range of genres, cultures, and historical periods.
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Show confidence and enjoyment in performing to others, both individually and as part of an ensemble.
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Recognise the importance of music in everyday life and in shaping cultural identity.
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Develop resilience, collaboration, and pride — living out our motto, “Together We Grow.”
Music at Smithdown nurtures creativity, builds confidence, and gives every child a voice. It helps them understand that music is not only something to learn, but something to feel, share, and celebrate — a skill and a joy that will stay with them for life.
Music Development Plan
National Curriculum for Music
Smithdown Primary School Music Curriculum 2024-2025
Progression in Music
Musical Performances
We value the importance of performance. We have a school choir who and, throughout the year, all children will be given the opportunity to showcase their musical talents in our half termly music assembly. Parents are warmly welcome to these special occasions. Our timetable will be confirmed soon.
Music Assembly Timetable – dates to be confirmed
Music Chatter
Music
08-12-2025
We made our own story and added musical instruments.
We could also use the key vocabulary Presto, Largo,Tempo and Moderato.
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Largo and Presto
01-12-2025
In music we have been looking at largo (slow tempo) and presto (fast tempo). We have been using our voices and bodies to move/sing in this way. Today we enjoyed using our bodies as instruments and changing tempo to match the beat.
We have started World Nursery Rhyme week by learning 2 little dickie birds and singing Humpty Dumpty.
10-11-2025
Our sun dance in English!
06-11-2025
Today we had lots of fun working in groups to create a dance and role play as our character dancing in the rays of sun from our new book in English.
We listened to music about the sun and got into character. 
Music with Mrs. Naylor
01-10-2025
Playing a range of scales on the glockenspiels this morning 🎼 🎶
Using instruments to make animal sounds!
We have some musicians in year 4 🎸
17-09-2025
Year 4 absolutely loved their first ukulele lesson today. They have a passion for music and different singers/bands. We can’t wait to start practicing songs with our new instrument. 🎶
Nursery Rhymes
16-09-2025
This week we have learnt two new songs, I’m a little tea pot and tiny Tim. We have had fun exploring with the soap and water. We have also been making cups of tea using the tea bags.
We had a great time learning a new song about a teddy today.
Thank you to everyone for joining us for our wonderful music assemblies with Mrs Naylor. 🎶
09-07-2025
Thank you Mrs Carpenter for organising our Beatlemania day, we had so much fun singing along 🎤
26-06-2025
BeatleMania 🎶
25-06-2025
We loved taking part in BeatleMania today!
”We all lived in a yellow submarine!” 🎶
Singing in Music
25-06-2025
We are practicing songs for our big teddy bear sleepover coming up on Wednesday 9th July at 2.15pm! All parents and families welcome.
Happy Father’s Day🌟
13-06-2025
Thank you all for coming to our Father’s / Special Person assembly 🌟 the children worked so hard practicing both songs and making their lovely art work. We hope you enjoyed it as much as we did!
Violin in Music
19-03-2025
We listened to the lovely sounds of the violin and sang along to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.
Claves in Reception
19-03-2025
We have had a great time playing the claves in music. We had to keep to a beat and then stop!
Music lessons
05-03-2025
In music, we had a great lesson singing our new song ‘Tongo’ whilst using the glockenspiel. We are really enjoying the new skills taught during our music lessons.
5JH Lion dance to celebrate the Lunar new year! 🐲
29-01-2025
We had an amazing afternoon in our lion dancing workshop. Happy Lunar New Year! 
Christmas party and pantomime
11-12-2024
We have had the best day today…
First, the children were visited by Santa 🎅🏽 who told the class how good they had all been. We were then all treated to the most tasty Christmas dinner. We then went back to class to enjoy yet another favourite treat of ice-cream whilst watching the ‘Beauty and Beast’ panto. What a great 🎉 party day!
Parent assembly and activities Year 3
10-12-2024
We had a lovely morning with our Hands assembly and our DT craft activities. Thank you to all our adults who turned up to support us.
Year 4 Ukulele
04-12-2024
We’ve been working so hard this half term in music. The improvement in our playing is amazing!
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Celebrating differences 🌎
03-12-2024
For our PSHE lesson we are celebrating differences. In previous weeks we have spoken about racism, bullying and rumours and now we are researching a range of countries and what their culture looks like.
International Slavery Museum trip
21-11-2024
Yesterday we had a great time at the International Slavery Museum. We had a workshop in the ‘legacies of the transatlantic slave trade’ and then had time to explore the museum with our task sheets. 
Our wonderful campfire 🪵
15-11-2024
Today we have loved our class campfire. We enjoyed toasting the marshmallows, creating a s’more and having some hot chocolate. We even had a blast from the past with some children’s songs and rhymes. 
Fireworks 🎆 Today we have mage firework gloop, chocolate sparklers and glittery firework pictures.
07-11-2024
Music Time !
16-10-2024
We’re using a range of percussion instruments to tap out beats and rhythms in music today.
Learning “Three little birds” in our music lesson
07-10-2024
Today we use glockenspiels and xylophones in our music lesson to play the C triad and the F triad. We played this to Bob Marley’s “Three little birds”. 
Year 3 Hands
01-10-2024
Year 3 had another great ‘Hands’ practice. We are really enjoying learning new sign language.
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Music time 🎶
26-09-2024
We are really trying hard to get the notes on the ukulele. The finger positioning is so difficult!
Year 4 Ukulele
25-09-2024
A wonderful morning learning the ukulele. We even had some amazing solo performances!
Ukulele lesson this morning in Y6
19-09-2024
We are really enjoying our ukulele lessons and learning so much. 🎼🎶🎼🎵
Music in Reception
11-09-2024
We really enjoyed singing songs and listening to the sounds of the ukulele in music today.
The Big Teddy Bear Sleepover
11-07-2024
Wow we have had a great time for our Big Teddy Bear Sleepover! First we started with a super singing assembly with Mrs Naylor. It was fun singing and dancing with our teddies. Then we made our teddies a bed to sleep in. We could not believe what they got up too when we went home. This morning we woke our teddies up with a lovely breakfast.
Singing Assembly!
03-07-2024
I love starting off our Wednesdays with our singing assembly. It puts a smile on all our faces and gets us ready for our work.
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Listening to the harp in music today.
01-05-2024
Reception have been listening to Mrs Naylor play the harp in our music lesson today!
Playing Indonesian Gamalan music today ? ?
13-03-2024
We’ve learnt about ‘Gamalan’ music, traditional music in Indonesia, and now we’re playing in groups our own versions.
Composing music to fit a character.
24-01-2024
We have been thinking of actions and qualities to fit a character. We’re now choosing and using percussion instruments to play to represent our character, their qualities and actions with music. ? ? ? ?
We love our ukulele lessons ??
We had our first ukulele session last week
19-10-2023
We had our first ukulele session last week. Chords and frets ???#smithdownmusic
4KM had a great music lesson this morning?
19-10-2023
4KM had a great music lesson this morning? the children also learnt how to play a new note? @ResonateHub #smithdownmusic
4KM had a great music lesson playing their trumpets…
19-10-2023
4KM had a great music lesson playing their trumpets, the children were even able to learn a new note?? #smithdownmusic @ResonateHub
Year 4 had a wonderful morning!
19-10-2023
Year 4 had a wonderful morning! They were amazing learning their first note on their trumpets. #smithdownmusic
This morning we learnt a Harvest song in our music ? assembly
19-10-2023
This morning we learnt a Harvest song in our music ? assembly. We are really enjoying practising this song about this special time of year #smithdownmusic
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First music lesson with Mrs Naylor!
19-10-2023
We are enjoying our first music lesson with Mrs Naylor! #smithdownmusic @SmithdownPrimR
Dancing with scarves in our music lesson
19-10-2023
Dancing with scarves in our music lesson. #smithdowneyfs #smithdownmusic @SmithdownPr
Music lessons with Mrs Naylor!
18-10-2023
We all love our music lessons with Mrs Naylor! #smithdowneyfs #smithdownmusic
We enjoyed our very first music lesson yesterday!
18-10-2023
We enjoyed our very first music lesson yesterday! #smithdowneyfs #smithdownmusic
Dancing and freezing to the beat in music today…
18-10-2023
We had lots of fun in music this morning dancing and freezing to the beat. #smithdowneyfs #smithdownmusic @ResonateHub
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