Curriculum overview for Key Stage 3 Music
National Curriculum programme of study: Music
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a7c869440f0b62aff6c2499/SECONDARY_national_curriculum_-_Music.pdf

Curriculum intent – the knowledge, understanding and skills that students will learn
The Music Department at Blackfen School inspires students to become self-motivated and creative individuals who learn with confidence and resilience, and communicate with others showing respect, pride, teamwork, and aspiration for the future. From the start of Year 7, we introduce students to six key strands in Music: ‘Rhythms of the World’; ‘Music for Media’; ‘Structure’; ‘Instrumental Spotlight’ (Voice, Keyboard, Guitar/Ukulele, Drums); ‘Development of Popular Music’ and ‘Technology in Music’. Each strand has an element of composition, listening and appraising, and performance: students are told which of these Music skills will be assessed at the end of each unit. Students learn how to read music; to play melodies and chords on the keyboard; to read chord symbols for the guitar or ukulele and how to read and play tab on the bass guitar. To increase their confidence, performance skills are built upon in every unit delivered across the Key Stage 3 Music curriculum. The most difficult rhythms and melodies are taught in the first two terms in each academic year, which serves students well as a robust platform to underpin their learning for the rest of the year.

Curriculum implementation – teaching, learning and assessment strategies
In Music lessons, students follow the “I do, we do, you do” style of teaching, where the class teacher will model the key skill or concept to be learnt. Once all students have mastered the basic concept, they are expected to add ideas to create their own piece of music in a specific style, e.g. African drumming. Final pieces of work are recorded and assessed. In Year 7, we expect students to work in small groups and pairs, gradually building their confidence to perform on their own in Year 8 and Year 9. Students work and learn at different levels but through the use of adaptive teaching to ensure they are stretched and supported as required, and with the input of music technology, we are able to ensure that every student can take pride in the work that they produce. Outside the classroom, students are expected to continue their music studies by revising using BBC Bitesize, researching and listening to different styles of music, attending music clubs, practising classwork in their group, or completing compositions. 

Curriculum impact – intended outcomes for students
We want students to enjoy their Music lessons whilst being able to understand the cultural contexts of a variety of music genres. We also want students to know how the music that we hear today - on Spotify, or in films, or on TikTok - is structured and how it has developed, using the skills that are taught during Key Stage 3. We teach students how to create their own music and encourage them to be the pioneers of the next music craze, using technology with imagination and taking risks to try out new ideas. Music teaching links strongly to Science and Mathematics in terms of its structure and problem solving, and to English in its creativity and lyric writing, and this enables our Key Stage 3 curriculum to connect effectively with learning in other subjects. 
Assessment overview for Key Stage 3 Music
Composing Listening Appraising Performing (CLAP)

Year 7
Students generally work in pairs or small groups to produce a piece of music in a given genre. In each lesson they will listen to at least one recorded piece of music or video performance in the set style provided, so that they can begin to recognise the typical features associated with it. Students learn the key skills on an instrument and use them to either perform or remix the original stimulus material. Homework tasks focus on individual revision, usually on BBC Bitesize or MS Forms, and involve tasks such as creating a playlist in a set style; practice or composition with their partner or group; or evaluation of their performance or composition. Music-specific key words and terms are expected to be included in all verbal and written tasks to demonstrate that students have understood the topic they are studying.

Year 8
In addition to the Year 7 assessment tasks, Year 8 students are expected to work in pairs or individually to produce their own version of a piece of music in the genre studied, rather than a remix of it. Stylistic features need to be included in the final piece for assessment which is recorded at the end of the unit. Homework tasks focus on individual, quick revision with a quiz, usually on BBC Bitesize or MS Forms; creating a playlist in a set style; performance practice or composition with their partner or individually; and evaluation of their performance or composition. As in Year 7, Music-specific key words and terms are expected to be included in all verbal and written tasks to demonstrate that students have understood the topic they are studying.

Year 9
Students generally work individually, in pairs, or in small groups depending on the unit being taught. As in Year 7 and Year 8, students will listen to at least one recorded piece of music or video performance, in every lesson, in a set style, to identify the typical features associated with it. Lesson tasks and discussion will  focus on the depth of their answers and probe for examples from their wider listening or reading, which is encouraged as part of homework. Students will be assessed on the quality of their performances, compositions, and evaluations for their final grades, and will be expected to include all the stylistic features studied during the unit. 

At the end of each year in Key Stage 3, a GCSE-style listening test is set based on all the genres studied over the course of the year. This assessment is followed by the “X-Factor” unit, which is designed to encourage creative freedom by letting students choose how they work - either individually or in a pair; in a small group or a band - and to select the song that they perform. 

In addition to on-going formative assessment based on classroom and home learning, summative assessment of students’ progress in Key Stage 3 Music takes place in line with whole-school arrangements for assessment. Please see the Curriculum and Assessment policy on the Curriculum website page for further details about Key Stage 3 formal assessment.