Music

Through our curriculum, we teach the children the fundamentals of music to help them build the knowledge, skills and understanding of the subject to enable them to enjoy a rich experience of music. This is our Music Development Plan.

Hello, I am Mrs Taylor, the Music Lead at St Leonard’s. I believe in maximising children’s exposure to music, in the hope that we can light the spark that will drive a child to go on and enjoy a life that is rich with music. We combine whole class teaching with a wide range of specialist, peripatetic teachers that we subsidise to help our most disadvantaged children access. We also have 2 thriving choirs, termly musical performances and the opportunity for our children to see live performances at least annually. Looking to the future, we intend to additionally offer ensemble opportunities to give the children the chance to experience playing as part of a larger group.  Rehearsal spaces are available for children to practice outside of their lesson times. 

What do Music lessons look like at St Leonard’s?  

Children have weekly music lessons. Musical knowledge, understanding and skills provide the framework and approaches that enable children to explore the multiple dimensions of music. Our teaching will equip pupils with knowledge about periods of music history, notable musicians and composers, how music is recorded, how to compose music and how to play instruments musically. Supported by the Devon and Torbay Music Education Hub, Teachers and specialist staff use Charanga, which seeks to meet the needs of all learners, to ensure music knowledge and skills develop progressively, across the school in three key areas: curriculum music, co-curricular provision and musical experiences. Informed by the New Music Model curriculum, strands of our music curriculum are therefore also taught within ICT and PE lessons. 

We have also sequenced the learning of a new, musical instrument in each year group. This will give every child the chance to experience seven instruments over the course of their time at St Leonard's. From handbells in Early Years to keyboards and Djembes in Years 5 & 6 - the children will get the opportunity to open musical doors and inspire their inner musician! 

Music lessons are also supplemented with regular singing assemblies, with the children learning a range of songs covering several genres. Children have the opportunity to perform these songs in our local church, St Leonard’s, in front of their peers and our wider community. 

Furthermore, we have a wide range of 1:1 music lessons offered by our peripetetic music teachers. These include guitar, ukelele, piano, voice, drums, cello, violin and flute. These are offered to parents at a fee, but we also offer fully funded lessons to children eligible for Pupil Premium.  

Published date: September 2025 

Review date: September 2026