Year 1 Music: What to Teach (England)
Your Teacher Information Pack for Year 1 Music: every national curriculum statement, the tests and dates that matter, and trusted links. Tick what you're teaching and send it straight into the lesson plan maker.
- Country
- England
- Key stage
- KS1
- Ages
- 5–6
- Status
- Compulsory national curriculum subject at KS1
- Source
- National curriculum in England – Updated 2021-03-26
- Last checked
- 2026-10-20
Roughly the same age as US Kindergarten–Grade 1 (approximate: the systems don't line up exactly).
The KS1 programme of study for this subject covers the whole key stage; schools decide what to teach in which year.
Current. The government response to the Curriculum and Assessment Review (Nov 2025) says a revised national curriculum will be published by spring 2027 for first teaching from September 2028.
What to teach
Below is the official programme of study for Year 1 Music: the statutory statements first, then any non-statutory notes and guidance, which schools don't have to follow.
Key stage 1 4 statutory statements
Pupils should be taught to:
Key stage 1 Statutory
Pupils should be taught to:
- use their voices expressively and creatively by singing songs and speaking chants and rhymes
- play tuned and untuned instruments musically
- listen with concentration and understanding to a range of high-quality live and recorded music
- experiment with, create, select and combine sounds using the interrelated dimensions of music
Assessments and key dates
There are no national tests or checks in Year 1. Your school will use its own assessments.
Official documents
Trusted free resources
- Oak National Academy – Free, full lesson sequences for KS1 (government-funded).
- BBC Bitesize – Short videos and quizzes by key stage and subject.
Links only: we don't copy their content and we aren't connected to these organisations.
More packs
Other subjects in Year 1: English, Maths, Science, Art and Design, Computing, Design and Technology, Geography, History, PE.
Find another TIP · National curriculum overview
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Department for Education, National curriculum in England: music programmes of study (GOV.UK), © Crown copyright.
Statements in the curriculum lists are copied word for word from GOV.UK; everything else on this page (headings, notes, summaries) is written by us. Classfern is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Department for Education or the Standards and Testing Agency. Always check the official documents linked on this page.
Questions teachers ask
Is music compulsory in Year 1?
Yes. Music is a compulsory national curriculum subject at KS1 in England (national curriculum framework, figure 1).
Is the Year 1 content set out year by year?
The KS1 programme of study for this subject covers the whole key stage; schools decide what to teach in which year.