Music development plan summary: Mill Lane Primary School
Overview
Detail Information
Academic year that this summary covers 2025-2026
Date this summary was published September 2025
Date this summary will be reviewed September 2026
Name of the school music lead Lauren Southworth
Name of local music hub Tees Valley Music Service
This is a summary of how our school delivers music education to all our pupils across three areas:
- curriculum music, co-curricular provision
- musical experiences
- what changes we are planning in future years.
This information is to help pupils and parents or carers understand what our school offers and who we work with to support our pupils’ music education.
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.
To read in more detail about the music provision at Mill Lane Primary School, please visit our music curriculum page.
Mill Lane Primary The music taught at Mill Lane is informed by the model music curriculum (March 2021). Lessons are taught by class teachers or a music specialist teacher. These lessons include Samba, using Boomwhackers for composition, teaching music theory with assessment at bronze level to Year 5 and using GarageBand for composition with Years 5 and 6. Children in Years 3 and 4 learn to play the recorder as a whole class in weekly half hour lessons. This is taught by class teachers. This musical learning is further supplemented by weekly singing assemblies in each key stage lasting 30 minutes. As a school, we have music of the week, which the children listen to at the start and end of assemblies, as well as appropriate times during the day in their classrooms. This exposes children to a whole range of genres and provides an opportunity to promote musical discussions about what they can hear and notice about that piece of music. Classes then complete a music of the week evaluation form, using pupil voice.
This gives children the chance to use musical vocabulary, such as pitch, tone and tempo. In our Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), our focus is on singing, creating sounds, rhythm and movement. Children participate daily in regular singing sessions, often connected to other areas of learning, such as number rhymes, nursery rhymes or topic-based songs. These activities are integrated throughout the day as part of each child’s early musical development. Our EYFS classroom and outdoor environments also provide access to musical instruments.
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.
At Mill Lane Primary School, we have a Key Stage 2 ‘Glee Club’ Choir. Glee Club meets weekly on a Friday lunchtime for 30 minutes and is facilitated by a music specialist teacher and the school music lead. There is no charge to the children for this. Glee Club is open to all KS2 pupils and offers many opportunities for the children to develop their musical skills outside their curriculum music lessons. This includes attending a yearly choir festival in Guisborough, carol singing in Stockton town centre, leading ‘carols around the tree’ for parents and taking part in KS2’s annual summer show. We also have links with The ARC and The Globe which give classes the opportunity to take part in workshops and to see shows.
Part C: Musical experiences
This is about all the other musical events and opportunities that we organise, such as singing in assembly, concerts and shows, and trips to professional concerts.
Throughout the year, children have the opportunity to perform or experience a range of high-quality musical experiences:
– All children from Reception to Year 6 sing in assemblies.
– All children from Nursery to Year 6 perform for parents at Christmas in nativities and carols around the tree.
– All children from Reception to Year 6 take part in Christmas Carols at Stockton Parish church
– Glee Club lead the rest of the school and parents in carols around the tree.
– Glee Club perform at a yearly choir festival in Guisborough.
– Glee Club go carol singing in Stockton town centre and raise money for school funds.
– Linking with the Globe, there are opportunities to visit and take part in musical events when appropriate (e.g. The Globe Theatre’s 90th birthday music event)
– All children from KS2 have the opportunity to take part in the annual summer show which Glee Club also takes part in. This is performed for parents and the rest of the school.
– Throughout the year, children have opportunities to visit the theatre to see a range of different performances (Years 3 and 4 watching a West End musical as part of their residential trip to London).
– All children from Reception to Year 6 go to the theatre to watch a Christmas pantomime. This trip is paid for by the school.
– All children will celebrate world music day during the week commencing 15th June 2026.
In the future
This is about what the school is planning for subsequent years.
– For Mill Lane Primary School to join in with other local schools for a local choir festival in addition to taking part in the one in Guisborough.
– World music day to become an annual celebration at Mill Lane Primary School.