St. Gregory's Music Curriculum

At St. Gregory’s, our music curriculum is designed to be both knowledge-rich and experientially deep, enabling every child to develop a secure understanding of the key elements of music—listening, composing, performing, and appraising—while fostering a lifelong appreciation and love of music.

Our curriculum ensures that children progressively build musical knowledge and skills from EYFS through to Year 6. In EYFS and Key Stage 1, the Sefton Maestro scheme introduces pupils to the foundations of music—pulse, rhythm, pitch, dynamics, and tempo—through engaging songs, games, and movement. These early experiences establish the essential building blocks of musicianship, nurturing curiosity and confidence through active participation and joyful exploration.

From Year 3 onwards, all children access high-quality, specialist-led instrumental tuition. This begins with djembe in Year 3, developing a strong sense of pulse, ensemble awareness, and rhythm through collective drumming. In Year 4, children learn the ukulele, focusing on melody, pitch, harmony, and reading simple musical notation. This progression culminates in a two-year programme of brass across Upper Key Stage 2, delivered by peripatetic specialists, enabling children to apply their musical understanding to a more complex instrument and perform as part of an ensemble. Through this carefully sequenced pathway, children gain experience of diverse instrumental families and styles, grounding their musical knowledge in practical experience.

Across all phases, musical knowledge (understanding of notation, terminology, and historical and cultural context) is interleaved with musical skills (listening, performing, composing, and evaluating). Children revisit key musical concepts in different contexts—rhythm in percussion, pitch in strings and brass, structure in composition—so that understanding deepens and connections are made over time. This cumulative approach ensures that each new experience builds upon prior learning, strengthening both competence and confidence.

Our curriculum is designed to expose children to a rich diversity of musical traditions and genres, including classical, folk, jazz, popular, and world music. Children explore music from different times and cultures, developing an appreciation of music as a universal form of expression. In doing so, they learn how music reflects, shapes, and communicates human experience, and how it contributes to cultural identity—locally, nationally, and globally.

Through performance, children learn the value of discipline, collaboration, and creativity. Every child has the opportunity to perform to others—within class, in assemblies, concerts, and community events—helping them to grow in confidence and pride. Composition and improvisation are equally valued, allowing pupils to express themselves creatively and apply their understanding of musical elements in original ways.

Beyond the classroom, our commitment to breadth, depth and quality in music extends far beyond St. Gregory’s. We offer a wealth of opportunities for children to perform, listen and engage with music at a professional and community level. Across Key Stage 2, pupils regularly perform in large-scale collaborative events, such as the MADCOS Mass Choir held at local secondary schools, where they join hundreds of children from across the borough to celebrate the joy of shared performance. Our pupils also perform in local theatres to packed audiences, gaining unforgettable experiences that nurture confidence, discipline and pride.

Inspirational visits to hear the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra form a central part of our offer. Children in KS1 and Lower KS2 attend annually to experience live orchestral performance, with all pupils having opportunities to sing, accompanied by the world-renowned orchestra, as part of a mass choir; we also target UKS2 children who show talent and interest for these visits. These encounters with professional musicians help children appreciate music at its highest level and inspire them to pursue their own musical journeys. Alongside this, we identify children who show particular musical interest or talent and support them to join Sefton’s wider musical ensembles, ensuring that potential is nurtured and ambition encouraged.

Our rich musical life also thrives through extra-curricular provision. St. Gregory’s has a well-established Choir, performing widely in the local community—from care homes at Christmas to parish celebrations of worship—and even on the national stage at Manchester’s Co-Op Arena as part of Young Voices. Our St. Gregory’s Big Band and peripatetic instrumental programme offer further opportunities for performance and progression. Every child in Key Stage 2 performs at least three times a year to the school community, culminating in an end-of-year celebration where families are invited to share in their achievements. These experiences exemplify our belief that musical performance and appreciation are for all, and that through music, our children learn to express joy, connect with others and celebrate the gifts God has given them.

As a Catholic school, we recognise music as a spiritual and communal art form that deepens our prayer and worship life. Music is integral to the celebration of the liturgical year, helping children to understand its sacred dimension and to “make music to the Lord with all your heart” (Ephesians 5:19).

Our St. Gregory’s music curriculum aspires to create musically literate, confident, and reflective young people—children who can listen attentively, perform with sensitivity, and appreciate the power of music to connect, inspire, and celebrate the human spirit.