“Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything.”
Plato
At Sunnyside Academy, we believe music is a vital part of a broad and balanced education. Music helps children to express themselves, build confidence, work collaboratively and experience success in different ways. Our aim is for every child to enjoy music, understand how it works and feel proud of what they can achieve as performers, listeners and creators.
We use Charanga as our core music scheme to deliver high-quality music teaching across the school. Charanga ensures that children progressively develop key musical skills such as singing, listening, composing, performing and evaluating music. Lessons are practical, engaging and inclusive, allowing all children to participate regardless of prior experience.
In Upper Key Stage 2, our music curriculum is enriched further through specialist support from Musinc and Apollo Arts. These partners work alongside school staff to give children opportunities to explore a wider range of instruments and to experience digital music-making. This specialist input allows pupils to deepen their musical understanding, experiment creatively and gain first-hand experience of how music is created and performed in the real world.
Performance is an important part of our music curriculum. Throughout the year, children take part in a range of performances, with a particular focus on Christmas events, where pupils are given the opportunity to perform for families and the wider school community. These experiences help children to build confidence, resilience, and pride in their achievements.
Children also have opportunities to experience live music, delivered by our specialist partners, helping them to appreciate different styles of music and understand the role of musicians and performers beyond the classroom.
Beyond lessons, Key Stage 2 pupils are encouraged to further develop their love of music through choir and musical theatre clubs. These groups regularly perform both in school and within the local community, strengthening children’s sense of belonging and helping them see themselves as musicians.
Overall, our music curriculum is designed to inspire creativity, develop musical skills progressively and give all children meaningful opportunities to perform, create, and enjoy music. We want our pupils to leave school with positive musical experiences, an appreciation of a wide range of music and the confidence to take part in musical opportunities in the future.