In the Music Curriculum the following Qualifications are available:

• Rock School Grades 1-5 

  GCSE Music 

  Arts Award Bronze and Silver  

The music curriculum at James Brindley Academy has been crafted to suit any learner, no matter what prior knowledge they already have. This is achieved through our KS3 site and diversified learning for all individuals across all key stages and settings. 

 New pupils are baselined within six weeks of starting. Pupil progress and forecast grades are then reviewed four times a year. This allows our teachers to identify the most suitable qualification pathways for each pupil. 

Throughout KS1&2, Music is delivered by trained primary staff across all of our school sectors. 

Across KS3&4, we offer a number of accredited qualifications that have been rigorously developed and quality assured. All of our carefully selected courses provide a strong focus on keeping learning contextual and vocational, whilst developing both technology and performance skills each year.  

Within the hospital and short-term provision settings, we are aware that a full qualification may be unfeasible due to time constraints. With this in mind, we are able to deliver the Arts Award Bronze or Silver qualification. 

To compliment learning, pupils are able to attend a number of educational visits each year to colleges, musical workshops and out of school performances.

We also provide extra-curricular opportunities; singing and guitar lessons, lunchtime clubs, DJ skills and a school record label where pupils can record and distribute their own music worldwide on iTunes and Spotify. 

Teachers at James Brindley are able to identify gaps in knowledge and pupils who are not making expected progress, through a number of ways: 

• Progress reviews (four times a year) 
• Baseline and formative assessments 
• Moderation meetings 
• Book scrutiny exercises 
• Lesson observation & learning walks 
• Depending on the situation, teachers will take one of the following approaches to address gaps in learning: 
• 1:1 intervention arranged to support learning catch up 
• London trip, gallery visits and cultural trips. 
• Additional strategies added to support plans 
• Additional TA support in lessons 
• Communication with parents/carers in relation to learning concerns and suggestions to support their child’s learning. 
• Loaning of music equipment to take home for practice. 
• Homework opportunities. 
• London trip, gallery visits and cultural trips. 
• Well-being (independent learning sessions). 
• Break & lunch music clubs. 
• Extra-curricular opportunities (DJ skills, choir group, student record label, song-writing and production competitions). 

The music curriculum focuses on vocational/contextual learning as much as possible. There are many opportunities for pupils to learn about potential careers through educational visits to musical performances, workshops, colleges, venues and stores. Our partnerships with the REP theatre and BOM also enable us to arrange visits from outside professionals who talk about their experiences of the various creative industries. 

Our careers team regularly organise college visits & talks for our pupils. Members of the team will also attend personal development meetings with pupils and their parents in KS4, to discuss post-16 options. 

Here are just some of the direct careers that a music education can lead to: 

Professional musician, sound engineer, record producer, music promoter, musical agent, tour manager, instrumental teacher, roadie, studio technician, DJ, radio presenter. 

Intent

At James Brindley School, our Music curriculum is designed with two principles in mind: play and projects. The aim is to provide a curriculum that inspires enjoyment in music through practical activities (play) and gives learners real-life music opportunities through a use of projects to work on. The curriculum is inclusive and adaptable to meets the diverse needs of our SEND students and delivers the skills needed to prepare students for specific qualifications, including the RSL Level 2 Music Practitioner qualification and Trinity College London’s Awards and Certificates in Musical Development (ACMD). We incorporate elements of contextual music history and theory into a practical curriculum of performance and composition to develop a deeper understanding of music. The curriculum is designed to be flexible, accommodating pathways in both Music and Music Technology to support career opportunities in the music industry, ensuring all students can see the direct relevance of music to their future aspirations. In music we aspire to create a safe environment for learners in order to enable us to nurture creativity and resilience so learners can thrive.

Implementation

In our differentiated instruction model, we specifically design schemes of work and lesson plans that build towards the RSL Level 2 qualification and the Trinity College London’s ACMD qualification. We integrate scheduled performance practice, composition projects, and targeted support to ensure students are prepared to continue their journey in the music industry. Resources such as music technology software for composition, instruments for hands-on learning, and real-life case studies of music industry professionals are employed to meet the diverse needs of our SEND learners. Our continuous assessment framework includes mock performances, portfolio reviews, and ongoing teacher assessments to gauge readiness for formal qualifications, ensuring timely interventions. Professional development now includes specific training on delivering the new music curriculum and the Key Stage 4 qualifications, as well as creating an adaptive curriculum to meet learner needs.

Impact

The success of our Music curriculum is measured by student attainment at Key Stage 4, with progress tracked from their initial baseline upon entry to their final outcomes. Beyond qualification results, we look at the broader impact: students’ ability to apply musical skills in everyday situations, their readiness for further education or the workplace in the music industry, and their confidence in performing and composing music. Regular curriculum reviews incorporate feedback from students about their preparedness for exams and the applicability of music skills in their chosen career paths, ensuring our curriculum remains relevant and impactful.

KS1

• use their voices expressively and creatively by singing songs and speaking chants and rhymes.
• play tuned and untuned instruments musically.
• listen with concentration and understanding to a range of high-quality live and recorded music.
• experiment with, create, select and combine sounds using the inter-related dimensions of music.

KS2

• play and perform in solo and ensemble contexts, using their voices and playing musical instruments with increasing accuracy, fluency, control and expression.
• improvise and compose music for a range of purposes using the inter-related dimensions of music.
• listen with attention to detail and recall sounds with increasing aural memory.
• use and understand staff and other musical notations.
• appreciate and understand a wide range of high-quality live and recorded music draw from different traditions and from great composers and musicians.
• develop an understanding of the history of music

KS3

• play and perform confidently in a range of solo and ensemble contexts using their voice, playing instruments musically, fluently and with accuracy and expression.
• improvise and compose; and extend and develop musical ideas by drawing on a range of musical structures, styles, genres and traditions.
• use staff and other relevant notations appropriately and accurately in a range of musical styles, genres and traditions.
• identify and use the inter-related dimensions of music expressively and with increasing sophistication, including use of tonalities, different types of scales and other musical devices.
• listen with increasing discrimination to a wide range of music from great composers and musicians.
• develop a deepened understanding of the music that they perform and to which they listen, and its history.

KS4

• demonstrate knowledge of theoretical and contextual issues relating to music style, audience and the music industry.
• perform effectively on their instrument/voice.
• rehearse and display musicianship skills in a number of professional scenarios.
• initiate and develop repertoire.
• understand relevant aspects of music technology.

Through developing the skills, knowledge and understanding outlined above, learners are provided with the basis for further development. The ultimate aim being the creation of a musician with the knowledge and a skills-set to be able to perform and record music in a professional capacity (i.e. be a recording and performing artist).

The broad objectives are:

• To focus delivery and assessment on knowledge and understanding together with practical music making and music production through learner centred activity.
• To make the qualifications relevant to a wide variety of applications from FE provision through to schools and Youth and Creative Apprenticeships and e-learning.
• To use the principles and skills needed in the creation and performance of popular music to equip learners with transferable skills.
• To embed transferable skills and key skills into the qualifications.