Music Development Plan Summary for Croyland School

( Evaluation Completed July 2025)

 

Overview

Detail	Information
Academic year that this summary covers	2024-2025
Date this summary was published	August 26th 2024
Date this summary will be reviewed	July 2025
Name of the school music lead	Sally Beavis
Name of school leadership team member with responsibility for music (if different)	Lucy Deakin
Name of local music hub	Northamptonshire Music and Performing Arts Trust www.nmpat.co.uk
Name of other music education organisation(s) (if partnership in place)	a)Rotary Club of Wellingborough b)Wellingborough Music Festival

Part A: Curriculum music

This is about what we teach in lesson time, how much time is spent teaching music and any music qualifications or awards that pupils can achieve

• In EYFS musical opportunities are offered throughout the year within the continuous provision and periodic taught sessions. We use Development Matters as guidance in providing opportunities and small steps towards achieving the Early Learning Goal ‘Expressive Arts and Design’
• Classes in KS 1 and KS 2 receive 4 units of work from Charanga across the academic year. This is delivered by class teachers with support from SB through ongoing coaching and Staff training.
• Long Term Planning is published on school website
• Units last approximately 6 weeks and ends with a final performance.
• Planning is adapted to offer challenge and support to all levels of the cohort. This is recorded on planning sheets.
• Each unit covers the four concepts of learning defined as Listening and Appraising, Performing, Composing and Transcription.
• Children have the opportunity to play classroom instruments (recorders, tuned percussion, djembes)
• Year 4 will receive a first access project in clarinet during the year 2024-2025 in partnership with teachers from the Northamptonshire Music and Performing Arts Trust ( NMPAT)
• Technology is used weekly to provide opportunities in listening, performing, recording and appraising music. Digital composition is visited in Year 6 and additional technology and software is explored as part of our computing curriculum
• Digital music and composition is covered through the Computing LTP across KS 1 and 2

Part B: Co-curricular music

This is about opportunities for pupils to sing and play music outside of lesson time including choirs, ensembles and bands, and how pupils can make progress in music beyond the core curriculum

Instrumental Teaching

• Children can take instrumental lessons throughout the week provided by our team of Visiting Music Teachers (VMT) in partnership with our local music service Northamptonshire Music and Performing Arts Trust ( NMPAT)
• Lessons are generally shared  with 2 or 3 students playing a similar instrument at a similar stage
• This is charged at £91.50 per payment period. There are 3 payment periods over the academic year.
• Instruments on offer vary according to age but include strings, woodwind, brass, guitar and piano.

Music Clubs

• KS 2 Choir meets once a week on a Monday afternoon from 3pm – 4pm/ no longer operating. Proposal made to re start in September 2025
• KS 2 Musical Theatre club meets for 50 minutes,  once a week after school

Part C: Musical experiences

This is about all the musical events and opportunities that we organise, such as singing in assembly, concerts and shows and trips to events outside of the school

• The choir participates in out of school performances with the Rotary Club of Wellingborough and NMPAT/ Not possible due to small numbers and end of choir club. Proposal made to re start in September 2025
• Musical Theatre Club perform an annual show in the school hall and participate in the annual ‘Festival’ at the Derngate Theatre presented by NMPAT
• All children in school experience a live performance from the recital team at NMPAT in the school hall.
• The whole school visits the Pantomime at the Castle Theatre during December each year.

Future Development

	Details	COST	EVALUATION July 2025
Staff Training	SB to continue supporting school staff in their teaching of music through coaching, subject knowledge and resources SB to create and share schedule of coaching in line with year group LTP	SB time required	SB has offered support across the year to all year groups. Support/Coaching was provided for planning in response to Class Teachers needs. Schedule created across the year and available on the music hub/ staffshare. SB has visited Yr. 3,4, 5 teachers as a drop in to ascertain the levels of delivery and create a schedule of coaching for the up coming year. Next steps for teachers and SB are recorded on the action planner.  SB held conversation with Yr 6  and Yr 1 to discuss/advise  learning activities. EYFS. SB worked with HH to discuss provision within EYFS. Target set to create listening station in the provision. Documentation created to support CPD for EYFS staff on playing instruments and prompts for activities to build progression in musical activities.  Available on staffshare and shared with HH directly
Children to develop fluency in reading and writing standard notation in composition	SB to support staff with subject knowledge to support this learning	SB time required	Shared in staff meetings delivered during the year x 2 and through individual coaching discussions. Resources available on staffshare
Investigate the Music Progression Fund	To research and apply for funding through the Music progression fund	SB time required	Research completed. This is not available to individual schools. Government funding is managed via UK Sounds/allocated to music hubs. Contact with Chris Jeffs and Anna Denny ( fund raising lead NMPAT) confirms that this this funding has not been evident at NMPAT and that there is no other funding applicable to the work at  Croyand School  ( as of July 2025)
Development of  Shared Singing beyond the classroom	SB to research and create list of recommended songs for KS 1, Lower KS 2 and Upper KS 2 to sing in class time/shared time and as a whole school	SB time required   Questions to consider How will this work? What is the purpose of this? When will the children share this work	In progress but not yet completed. Pupil Voice completed Yrs 3/4/5 . Discussion during Music Grow meeting KC confirmed that it would be prudent to postpone this project until Sept 2025 as Class Teachers were undertaking enough challenge during 2024-2025 by taking on the teaching of weekly class music.
Annual instrument maintenance	SB to audit and organise repair of instruments	TBC	Completed during the year and on going.
	Details	COST	£44 on replacement parts for tuned percussion.

 

 

Summary

Curriculum Music

• Monitoring of the curriculum map for 2024-2025 indicated music has been taught consistently across all year groups in accordance to MTP, including the provision of First Access teaching in partnership with NMPAT.
• Through coaching discussions with all year groups teachers share varied levels of confidence in delivering curriculum music. Teachers were supported in response to individual needs.

Next steps

To  re share planning format, monitoring use of format from Sept 2025 will enable SB to ascertain division of time allocated across the four concept, the skills within each area of study and the variety of instruments used within each year group..Class Teacher will be asked to submit planning sheets at the end of each unit completed.

• From lesson drop- in ( June 2025) it appears that some teachers spend longer on areas of teaching they feel confident with. This can not be categorically confirmed as length of drop in did not allow SB to observe a complete session from any one teacher. SB to provide a model 6 week plan as a guide to MTP planning of each unit to ensure adequate coverage of concepts.
• To establish singing as a community to take place regularly across the year. SB to collate Pupil Voice/ research in proposal for LD September 2025

Co Curricular Music

• Individual music lessons have been provided throughout the year in partnership with NMPAT. Bookings have now been taken for September 2025. There is a noticeable fall in numbers of families opting for this provision. Lessons will be charged at £96.25 from September 2025.
• Piano was added as an option from Sept 2025, this has proved very popular.
• Teacher report to SB that there is varied support at home for learning. This mirrors support for home learning seen in reading, maths and spelling throughout the school.
• Musical theatre has been delivered throughout the year 2024-2025 with successful performances of Panto Pandemonium (March 2025,  internal and to parents) and at the NMPAT Festival at the Derngate Theatre  June 2025)
• Choir was delivered during Autumn 1 & 2, numbers were smaller than previously seen during 2023-4. The choir was unable to perform its usual commitment at the Rotary Seasonal Concert in November due to lack of singers, and likewise the carol singing in Swansgate at December.
• A rebrand as the ‘Panto Choir’ encouraged a small number of new members, these children performed alongside Musical Theatre in March. 
• Choir was put on hold for the Summer term.

 

Next steps

• Proposal for 2025-2026 Co curriculur music submitted to LD
• To re-establish commitment to choir group

 

 

Musical Experiences

• All planned experiences completed during the year.

Next steps

• To make bookings for NMPAT recital team 2025-6
• To plan and diarise instrument experiences for stings, brass and woodwind in collaboration with Visiting Music Teachers/NMPAT. Parents to be invited if possible. Children to have hands on experience of instruments.