Music
Please click here to view our Music Curriculum Overview
Intent
Increasingly, research is showing that high-quality music lessons have a significant, positive impact on a child’s intellectual, social, emotional and physical development. According to the Music Education Council, “The benefits are greatest when musical activities start early and continue over a long period of time.”
Singing and active music-making are the core of music experience and understanding, and have been shown to benefit concept formation, abstract thought, memory, linguistic development, spatial awareness and co-ordination, as well as creativity and confidence.
Our high-quality music curriculum is designed to provide opportunities for our pupils to:
get singing in every classroom
empower teachers and staff with skills and confidence
support the music and Voices lead to set up high quality choirs and singing assemblies
provide high quality resources to support school music
to ensure no child is left out when it comes to learning to be a musician
Implementation
At William Harding, we use the Charanga Music Scheme, a nationally recognised programme that supports high-quality music education through engaging, progressive, and practical lessons.
We follow Charanga’s structured scheme of work, which provides:
Musical Foundations – building pupils’ confidence and skills in singing, listening, and responding to music.
Musical Progression – developing knowledge and understanding of the interrelated dimensions of music, composition, and performance.
This approach is fully aligned with the Department for Education’s National Plan for Music Education and reflects best practice in music pedagogy.
The scheme ensures that children from Early Years to Year 6 experience music in a practical, active, and enjoyable way, with a clear progression of skills. Through singing, playing instruments, improvising, and composing, pupils develop both their musical knowledge and their creativity. Lessons are designed to be inclusive, engaging, and responsive to children’s developmental needs.
Music is taught consistently across the school, with each class following the Charanga sequence of units across the year. Teachers have access to a wide range of resources, including interactive activities, songs, and performance opportunities, which support a shared approach and continuity of learning. Staff development is supported through Charanga’s online CPD materials, webinars, and ongoing updates, ensuring teaching is confident and effective.
Impact
From studying our music curriculum our pupils will be:
Engaging in high quality regular musical learning from a young age
Developing their musical, intellectual, emotional and social skills
Practising musical skills and concepts are in a variety of ways to suit individual needs and learning styles
Accessing the musical literacy and the benefits of music training
Enabled to understand how music is linked to mental health
Links that may be of interest;
Music Education Council website, Why Music?
What if every child had access to music education from birth?
Instrument Tuition
William Harding School works with several providers of instrumental lessons to offer pupils a range of opportunities to study and explore music.
Should pupils be interested in taking up an instrument, parents/carers are advised to book directly with these organisations.
Guitar lessons
Please see information below from Guitar in Schools, run by James Manders.
If your child is in Year 3 or above and keen to learn the guitar, Guitar in Schools offer 20-minute guitar lessons to KS2 children during the school day, once a week. Please visit https://www.guitarinschools.co.uk/ for full details and an online enrolment form.
Beginners will need a good-quality classical nylon string guitar and the Frets & Fingers beginners’ book to get started on. (Frets & Fingers Book only available from Guitar in Schools)
Pupils must be willing to practise regularly at home.
Drumming lessons
For Drum Kit lessons, please see information below from Drums in Schools.
If your child is in Year 3 or above and keen to learn the drums, Drums in Schools offer 20-minute Drum Kit lessons to KS2 children during the school day, once a week. Please visit https://www.drumsinschools.co.uk/ for full details and an online enrolment form.
Pupils do not need a drum kit to get started; beginners can practice at home using a pair of sticks and a practice pad and play the full kit in the drum lessons.
Instrument Lessons by Buckinghamshire Music Trust
Bucks Music Trust (BMT) is our local Music Hub in Aylesbury, which offers lessons in all instruments, including strings, woodwind, brass, percussion, piano and voice. Please see below for further information and application forms, including details of subsidies.
The lessons can either be taught in school or at the nearest Music Centre out of school hours.
For pricing information, please go to: https://www.bucksmusic.org/pricing/
For registration forms, please go to: https://www.bucksmusic.org/book-lessons-2/
NB. BMT offers subsidies to promote opportunity for all children.
Subsidies can be applied to all fees, including Music Centre memberships and BMT is absolutely committed to ensuring that all children can have the opportunity to access lessons.
Students eligible for Free School Meals (FSM): 50% reduction
BMT will arrange for the school to support families eligible for FSM by subsidizing the remaining 50% of lessons fees using Pupil Premium so that lessons are 100% subsidised.
Siblings 2nd child: 20% reduction , 3rd child: 40% reduction, each subsequent child: 60% reduction
If your financial situation is such that you are not eligible for FSM but find that the headline fees are challenging, they have other bursaries available on application of up to 50%. Their assessment process is confidential and focused on their mission to make sure that all music is available to all children.