Music
What changes when a child can not only hear music, but begin to understand how it has been made?
Sikh Heritage Girls School is proud to hold Music Mark recognition, reflecting our commitment to an ambitious, inclusive musical education in which every girl has opportunities to perform, create, listen and develop as a musician.
Music at SHGS combines the pleasure of making music with the knowledge and discipline needed to understand it. Girls sing, listen, perform and compose while learning the theory and notation that help them recognise patterns, read music and make increasingly thoughtful musical choices.
Our ambition is for every pupil to develop genuine musicianship. Girls build their understanding of pulse, rhythm, pitch, notation, dynamics, tempo, timbre, texture and structure, continually connecting musical theory with what they hear and perform.
Instrumental learning provides a clear pathway. Pupils work towards the Bronze, Silver and Gold Slough Stars through Slough Music Service, building the musical knowledge and technical foundations from which they can begin their Grade 1 violin journey.
Alongside this sustained progression, girls encounter music from different periods, cultures and traditions, developing the curiosity and vocabulary to listen beyond what is already familiar to them.
Intent
Our curriculum brings together performing, listening, composing and musical knowledge, allowing each strand to strengthen the others.
Girls learn to use their voices confidently, develop instrumental technique and perform independently and with others. Theory and notation are taught alongside practical music-making, helping pupils understand the relationship between written music and sound rather than treating theory as a separate written exercise.
Listening is equally important. Pupils encounter Western classical repertoire alongside folk and traditional forms, jazz, popular and contemporary music, vocal traditions, rhythmic music from around the world and the distinctive sounds of Punjabi heritage instruments. They begin to recognise differences in melody, rhythm, instrumentation, texture, structure and performance style while learning something of the cultural and historical settings in which music has developed.
Composition and improvisation give girls opportunities to apply this knowledge creatively, selecting and organising musical ideas with increasing purpose.
Implementation
Foundations and progression
In Reception, musical foundations develop through frequent singing, movement, listening and exploration of sound. Children respond to pulse and rhythm, notice contrasts in pitch, dynamics and tempo, reproduce simple patterns and explore tuned and untuned instruments.
As girls move through the school, musical vocabulary, theory and notation become progressively more sophisticated. They learn rhythmic values, pitches and musical symbols and begin to read and use notation with increasing fluency.
Violin provides a sustained instrumental pathway through which this learning can be applied. Pupils develop posture, bow control, pitch awareness, rhythmic accuracy, notation and ensemble skills, with progression structured through the Bronze, Silver and Gold Slough Stars before moving towards Grade 1 preparation.
Playing with others develops another important form of musicianship as girls learn to maintain a shared pulse, listen beyond their own part and understand how individual preparation contributes to the quality of an ensemble.
Listening, creating and music from around the world
Our listening curriculum extends deliberately beyond one musical tradition. Girls encounter music from different historical periods and regions of the world and learn to compare what they hear without treating one style as the standard against which all others are measured.
They may move between Western classical repertoire, folk traditions, jazz, popular and contemporary music, vocal forms and rhythmic ensemble traditions such as Brazilian samba. Pupils also encounter heritage instruments associated with Punjab, developing their awareness of different timbres, playing techniques and the roles instruments can take within an ensemble or musical tradition.
As musical vocabulary develops, discussion becomes more precise. Girls learn to explain how melody, rhythm, instrumentation, texture, structure and performance choices shape what they hear and bring this understanding into their own compositions and performances.
Broadening musical experience
Every half term, pupils take part in a specialist music workshop, giving them regular opportunities to experience music-making beyond their core violin curriculum.
Workshops have included Charanga-led music-making, ukulele, clarinet, a cappella singing and Brazilian samba. Each introduces different techniques and ways of making music while reinforcing familiar ideas such as rhythm, pitch, ensemble awareness and expression.
Parents may also choose to pay for additional instrumental tuition, including instruments such as piano and guitar. These lessons extend individual musical development while remaining additional to the substantial core musical entitlement provided for every girl.
Equity and musical opportunity
Every pupil participates in the core music curriculum, including theory, violin, singing, listening, composition and specialist workshops. Previous instrumental experience is not required.
Where additional support is needed, teachers may provide further modelling, repeated rehearsal, adapted notation or more time to secure a technique. Pupils continue towards meaningful musical progress, with the route adapted where necessary rather than the ambition reduced.
The combination of a shared instrumental pathway and broad musical experience means that every girl has the opportunity to develop both depth and breadth as a musician.
Assessment and Impact
Assessment considers what pupils can hear, understand and do. Teachers look at singing and instrumental technique, rhythmic and pitch accuracy, notation, listening, composition and pupils' growing ability to use musical vocabulary appropriately.
The Slough Stars provide additional milestones within the instrumental pathway, helping pupils recognise the knowledge and technique they have secured before progressing towards Grade 1 study.
By the time girls leave SHGS, we want them to possess both musical understanding and practical musicianship. They should be able to perform with growing control and expression, read age-appropriate notation, listen attentively, discuss music with increasing insight and use their knowledge when composing and improvising.
Their musical experience should extend beyond a single instrument or tradition. Through sustained violin study, theory, singing, ensemble work, composition and regular specialist workshops, we want every girl to leave primary school able to participate in music with knowledge, confidence and genuine enjoyment.
Research-Informed Practice
Our curriculum reflects the National Curriculum expectation that pupils should perform, listen, compose and develop increasing musical understanding, including notation and music drawn from different traditions.
Ofsted's music subject reporting emphasises that curriculum ambition comes from cumulative musical development, not simply from offering a large number of musical activities. This informs our balance between sustained theory and instrumental progression and the wider experiences that broaden pupils' musical understanding.
Selected References
Department for Education. National Curriculum in England: Music Programmes of Study.
Department for Education. Model Music Curriculum.
Ofsted. Striking the Right Note: The Music Subject Report.
Music Mark. Music Mark of Recognition.
Slough Music Service. Instrumental learning and Slough Stars pathway.
