Introducing our primary music curriculum partners

Continuing to develop our music curriculum

Our focus is on lowering workload and supporting teachers to increase their expertise. Over the coming year we’ll be creating a new primary music curriculum and a full set of teaching resources. These will complement our new secondary music curriculum plan and resources. Our primary music resources will all be designed to better support your planning, in-class teaching and help you develop your own curriculum.

Our fantastic partners reflect the diverse range of educational providers and expertise across the country. We are one of many teaching resource and curriculum suppliers, and I am delighted that we can improve this offer so that teachers have an even better choice of foundation materials to build upon in their classroom.

Curriculum partner

I am delighted to announce our partnership with Bristol Beacon and Cathedral Schools Trust (CST) to develop the primary music curriculum for Oak.
Bristol Beacon is a music charity, renowned venue and award-winning music education hub who have been writing the primary music curriculum for Bristol schools for the past 8 years. With a commitment to inclusive music education, the team supports specialist and non-specialist music educators, creating musical opportunities for everyone.

CST is an academy trust with a music specialism working with both primary and secondary schools. They have a passion for learning within and beyond their classrooms and a deep commitment to music and the creative arts.

Bristol Beacon and CST have been sharing expertise and collaborating for over 2 years on curriculum development. We are excited to be developing our partnership in collaboration with them to co-create a curriculum which has accessibility and inclusion at its heart. We are also working alongside leading national cultural organisations to utilise their expertise and resources as part of this project.

Our music curriculum principles

Our new subject principles are a rigorous guide to ensure that our new curriculum is grown from a strong foundation of core values and key ingredients, ensuring that our curriculum is cohesive and enriching.

For music, this will ensure that our curriculum:

• Develops pupils as musicians through performing, engaged listening, composing and improvising
• Develops understanding of the elements of music and how these elements combine expressively through their application in sound
• Sequences learning over time which:
  Builds musical knowledge, techniques and specialist language
  Promotes the understanding of a diverse range of genres, traditions and styles
  Develops pupils analytical skills in responding to different types of music
• Promotes co-curricular learning for all pupils through signposting to opportunities beyond the classroom

One of our curriculum principles is diversity, and this will be a focus for subject expert groups.

Our overall curriculum approach

These music-specific principles dovetail with our overall approach to curriculum design, and how we hope teachers can use Oak, as explained by Emma McCrea, our Head of Curriculum Design. You can also find out more about the new partners and subject experts we’re excited to be working with.

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