Music & Sound Continuous Provision

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Clapping Cards

Rhythm, listening & body percussion

Explore clapped patterns and compare the sounds made by gloved and bare hands.

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Onomatopoeic Sound Cards

Voice play & call and response

Choose a picture, invent a voice sound and explore copying, changing or combining sounds.

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Loud & Quiet Sound Investigation Prompts

Sound investigation

Adapt the loud and quiet picture cues for shared sound-and-pause play, keeping the volume comfortable for everyone.

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Auditory Memory & Sound Sequence Cards

Listening, memory & sequences

Listen to a short sequence, remember it and try copying or changing the sounds.

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What Made the Sound? — Listening Game

Optional sound-recognition game

Explore familiar sound-making objects, then listen to a hidden sound and choose the object you think made it.

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The everyday offer: voices, sound-making materials, favourite songs, movement and a responsive adult. Children can repeat an idea, change it, watch or join in their own way. Keep volume comfortable and make quieter participation possible.

Listening & sound outdoors

Pause, notice and respond to sounds in the places children know. Use a recording sheet only when it supports the experience.

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Can You Make This Sound? — Outdoor Prompts

Outdoor sound exploration

Offer one of 20 sound-making prompts and let children find their own ways to make the sound.

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Can You Hear? Outdoor Listening Cards

Outdoor listening

Fourteen prompts for noticing sounds outdoors. Offer one card on a listening walk, pause together and compare what children notice.

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Listening Sound Walk — Checklist & Tally Sheets

Indoor & outdoor listening

Pause to notice sounds around you and choose a checklist or tally sheet if recording adds something useful.

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Water Sound Posters

Sound in water play

Use the posters alongside water play to notice, describe and experiment with water sounds.

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Draw What You Hear

Listening & sound awareness

Listen to a sound and use marks, pictures or a conversation to share what you noticed.

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My Favourite Sounds

Listening & purposeful marks

Notice a sound you enjoy and use marks, drawing or adult scribing to record what it brings to mind.

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Songs, nursery rhymes & movement

Keep favourites available to revisit. Picture props can help children choose a song, request another verse or bring music into their own play.

Browse collection

Nursery Rhymes

Song & rhyme collection

Browse familiar songs, picture props and nursery-rhyme resources for singing and revisiting favourites.

Explore collection

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Songs I Love to Sing — Booklet

Singing, preferences & purposeful recording

Collect favourite songs through pictures, marks and adult scribing. A Free Access sample is also included on this page.

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Old MacDonald Activity Pack

Songs and voice play

Song posters, picture sequences and illustration sheets support a familiar favourite. Add animal toys and let children choose the next sound or verse.

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Row, Row, Row Your Boat Activity Pack

Songs and shared movement

Lyric posters, sequence cards and illustration sheets for shared singing. Use the pictures to revisit the song and invite gentle, child-chosen movements.

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Dingle Dangle Scarecrow Activity Pack

Action songs

Song posters, picture sequences and illustration sheets for singing and movement. Children can choose actions and revisit a familiar song in their play.

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Five Little Speckled Frogs Puppets

Song props and counting

A pond setting and frog puppets bring the song into play. Move the frogs, sing familiar phrases and explore the beat with claps or percussion.

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Incy Wincy / Itsy Bitsy Spider Puppets

Song props

Puppet props for revisiting the familiar spider song. Combine singing, gestures and child-led storytelling as the spider climbs, falls and tries again.

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If You’re Happy and You Know It — Action Cards

Action songs and body percussion

Large picture prompts help children choose and remember actions. Sing together, add body percussion and welcome their own ideas for the next verse.

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Hickory Dickory Dock Puppets

Song props and rhythm

Clock and mouse props invite children to revisit a familiar rhyme. Move the mouse, join repeated words and explore tick-tock sounds together.

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Animal Dance Cards

Movement and music

Picture prompts with adult cues for expressive movement, with or without music. Invite children to choose an animal and show their own way of moving.

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Animal Dance Cards — Adverbs

Movement and descriptive language

Extend animal dances with words describing how to move. Explore contrasting movements while responding to music or to an adult’s spoken cue.

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Animal Dance Cards — Verbs

Movement and action words

Use illustrated animal action prompts to develop a shared movement vocabulary. Choose, demonstrate and combine actions during music and movement play.

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Responding to music & expressing feelings

Different people can respond differently to the same music. Offer pictures, movement, marks or words as choices for sharing a response, without expecting one correct feeling.

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This Music Makes Me Feel… — Emoji Cards

Listening, expression & communication

Offer pictures as one way to communicate a response to music. Children may choose, point, gesture or describe their own feeling.

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This Music Makes Me Feel… — Colouring Emoji Cards

Colouring card format

Choose or colour an emoji card to support a conversation about a personal response to music.

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This Music Makes Me Feel… — Emoji Mat

Mat & colouring format

Use a picture mat or colouring activity to support choosing and talking about a response to music.

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This Music Makes Me Feel… — Playdough Mat

Optional sensory & expressive response

Explore a response to music through playdough, expression and talk when the mat adds a useful starting point.

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This Music Makes Me Feel… — Mark Making

Music, drawing & expression

Invite marks or a drawing in response to music, with room for each child’s own interpretation.

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Explore rhythm & listening ↓

02 · Follow a musical interest

Choose a way to explore

Go straight to covers for listening, singing, sound-making, movement or a new musical idea.

Make & change sounds

Try a voice, object or instrument, notice the sound and change the action.

Explore sound-makers ↓

Clap, copy & create rhythms

Share a short pattern, leave a pause and see how someone responds.

Sing, move & revisit favourites

Use familiar songs and picture props to choose, join in and invent.

Explore songs & movement ↓

Listen outdoors

Notice nearby sounds and explore the sounds of water and outdoor materials.

Explore outdoor listening ↓

Feel, imagine & express

Respond to music through movement, pictures, playdough, marks or words.

Explore musical responses ↓

Design a sound-maker

Choose suitable materials, make an instrument and explore how it sounds.

Explore instrument making ↓

03 · Find a starting point

Choose by age & setting

These are flexible starting points, not fixed stages or a scheme. Select materials, songs and adult support for the children taking part. Every link below leads to a cover on this page.

Babies · 0–18 months

Begin with warm, responsive singing, familiar voices and pauses for the baby to respond. Adults can use the song collection for their own repertoire; printed tasks are not needed.

Baby Room Continuous Provision Maps ↓
Nursery rhymes — repertoire for adults ↓
Favourite songs — an optional record for adults ↓

Toddlers · 18–36 months

Repeat favourite songs, explore suitable sound-makers and let children tap, shake, move, pause and begin again. Pictures can support choosing and anticipating.

Music & Sound setup guidance ↓
Music & movement within the Creative Toolkit ↓
Old MacDonald — familiar songs & voices ↓
Rhyme Time Week — optional mini-project ↓

Preschool · 3–4 years

Offer child-chosen instruments, body percussion, singing and listening games. Join in, model a possibility and leave space for children to create their own sounds.

Making Sounds Game ↓
Clapping Cards ↓
Sharing a response to music ↓
Listening & sound-awareness guidance ↓

Reception · 4–5 years

Support children to create, revisit and change patterns, songs or sound stories. Use pictures, marks and talk when they help children remember and share an idea.

Auditory Memory & Sound Sequences ↓
Make a Musical Instrument ↓
Draw What You Hear ↓
Reception progression — including EAD ↓

Childminders & mixed ages

Build a manageable offer around shared songs, everyday listening and suitable sound-makers. Adapt participation, volume and materials for each child.

Home-based continuous provision guidance ↓
Row, Row, Row Your Boat ↓
Outdoor listening prompts ↓
Animal Dance Cards ↓

KS1 · Years 1 & 2

Adapt selected resources for comparing sounds, organising patterns, making instruments and explaining musical choices. These are flexible resources alongside your teaching.

Instrument-making STEM pack ↓
Design a musical instrument ↓
Explore guitar parts ↓
Create & change sound patterns ↓

04 · Try a free resource

Free music & sound resources

Explore song prompts, playful voices and familiar nursery rhymes. These resources are included with Free Access membership.

Free Access

Songs I Love to Sing — Free Sample

Free song booklet sample

Record a favourite song through pictures, marks or an adult-scribed note, with a reusable inner page.

Included with Free Access membership.

Free Access

Onomatopoeic Sound Cards — Free Sample

Free voice-play sample

Explore playful voice sounds and try a short call-and-response pattern using picture cues.

Included with Free Access membership.

Free Access

Nocturnal Animal Sound Cards — Free Sample

Free Access · Listening and voice

Six animal sound and picture cards for playful listening, vocal imitation and matching. Explore sounds together and let children respond in their own way.

Included with Free Access membership.

Free Access

Dinosaur Sounds Mat — Free Sample

Free Access · Voice play

A dinosaur sound mat for experimenting with playful voices and imagined dinosaur noises. Try a sound, copy a friend or invent a new one.

Included with Free Access membership.

Free Access

BINGO Song Words — Colouring Free Sample

Free song poster sample

Use the song-word sheet alongside shared singing, actions or a chosen colouring activity.

Included with Free Access membership.

Free Access

Five Little Speckled Frogs — Free Sample

Free nursery-rhyme poster

Share a familiar counting song with a colouring words poster as an optional visual prompt.

Included with Free Access membership.

Free Access

The Wheels on the Bus — Free Sample

Free nursery-rhyme poster

Revisit a familiar action song with a colouring words poster for shared singing.

Included with Free Access membership.

05 · Add a useful possibility

Optional music & sound enhancements

Introduce a sound story, new material, cultural song or theme when it connects with children’s interests or a clear teaching purpose. Keep familiar songs and independent sound-making available alongside it.

Instruments, design & performance

Explore an instrument, try making a sound-maker or create a pretend performance space. Children can contribute as players, movers, makers, organisers or listeners.

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Make a Musical Instrument — STEM Support Pack

Optional design & making project

Explore materials and construction methods while designing, making and adapting something that produces sound.

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Junk Modelling Design Sheets

Making instruments

Includes a “design a musical instrument” prompt. Invite children to draw an idea, try materials and revisit their plan as they investigate sound.

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Guitar Parts Poster & Activity Sheets

Instrument interest & vocabulary

Look closely at a guitar using a labelled poster, colouring version and optional missing-label sheet.

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Singing Contest Role-Play Pack

Optional performance role play

Use tickets, signs, badges and recording pages for an optional pretend performance area, adapting the contest elements to your group.

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Sound stories, animals & journeys

Use a picture or character to invent a voice, a sound effect or a shared soundscape. Select a few prompts that fit the play.

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Transport Sound Posters

Optional themed sound play

Explore playful vehicle voices and sounds using transport pictures as a starting point.

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Transport Sound Mat

Optional themed sound play

Use a shared picture mat to choose, imitate or invent vehicle sounds together.

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Farm Animal Sounds Mat

Optional themed voice play

Choose an animal picture and explore familiar or imagined animal voices through playful exchanges.

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Farm Animal Thunderstorm Sounds Game

Optional themed listening game

Adapt a farm-themed board game for animal voice play, taking turns and responding to picture cues.

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Farm Animal Noises

Optional themed sound play

Explore animal voices and listening games using the farm-animal sound resources.

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Dinosaur Lollipop Puppets — Cartoon

Optional story & song props

Use dinosaur picture puppets to invent voices, accompany a song or create a sound story.

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Dinosaur Sounds Activity

Optional themed voice play

Invent dinosaur voices and explore contrasting sounds through imaginative play.

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Dinosaur Sounds Mat

Optional themed voice play

Choose a dinosaur picture and experiment with a voice or sound to represent it.

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Wild Animal Sounds Mat

Optional themed voice play

Use animal pictures to spark listening, voice play and imaginative sound-making.

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Animal Description Cards — Sound Clues

Optional listening & guessing game

Listen to clues and explore animal voices, actions and descriptive language.

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Animal Sounds Game

Optional themed listening game

Share an animal-sound game with opportunities to listen, respond and take turns.

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Seasonal sounds & songs in context

Explore imagined or remembered sounds at a comfortable volume. Share cultural songs with context, drawing on children’s and families’ experiences.

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Autumn Sound Cards

Seasonal sound play

Picture and sound prompts for autumn listening walks, vocal sound play and musical exploration. Recreate a rustle, patter or crunch in different ways.

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Firework Sound Cards

Optional seasonal voice play

Try imagined firework voices and combine sounds into a playful pattern or soundscape.

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Firework Sound Cards — Colouring

Colouring card format

Explore firework sound words with a colouring version of the picture cues.

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Firework Rhythms

Optional seasonal rhythm play

Explore repeating firework sound patterns, then try changing or inventing a pattern together.

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The Pirate Song — Words

Optional themed singing

Use a song-word sheet alongside shared singing, actions or pirate-themed pretend play.

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O Flower of Scotland — Words Poster

Optional cultural song resource

Explore a Scottish song in a relevant cultural context using the words poster as an adult-supported reference.

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Auld Lang Syne — Words Poster

Optional celebration song resource

Share a familiar celebration song in context, using a poster or handout to support participation.

Listening, voice play & spoken-language sounds

Music has value for expression, creativity and enjoyment in its own right. These related resources explore listening and spoken sounds; syllables are parts of words, distinct from the steady beat in music.

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Phonological Awareness — Explore & Investigate Cards

Spoken-language sound awareness

Select playful investigations of spoken sounds, rhythm and rhyme alongside your wider language provision.

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Syllable Investigation Cards

Syllables in spoken words

Explore the parts of spoken words through playful listening and clapping.

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Phase 1 Sounds — Input Cards

Optional listening & language prompts

Use picture and sound cues as a starting point for adult-supported listening and voice play.

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Phase 1 Sounds — Image Cards

Picture cues for sound play

Use picture cues to choose, recall or invent sounds within a listening or voice-play game.

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Phase 1 Sounds — Colouring

Optional colouring extension

Choose a sound-related colouring sheet when it supports a conversation, shared story or voice-play idea.

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A wider wellbeing connection

Select an idea when it fits the child’s preferences and the experience you are offering.

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Mood Booster Activity Cards

Wider wellbeing set · Select relevant ideas

Select a relevant music or movement idea from this wider wellbeing activity set when it suits the child.

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06 · Support choosing & returning

Signs, displays & organisation

Identify the space and keep useful instruments, picture prompts and props easy to find and return. Leave room for children’s own song choices and musical ideas.

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Music Wall Banner & Music Area Sign

Signs & organisation

Identify your music area with an editable banner and A4 sign.

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Wall Display Banners — Pack 1

Music banner within a wider pack

Select the Music Wall banner or another relevant heading from this wider set of display banners.

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This Music Makes Me Feel… — Banner & Emoji Cards

Display & shared listening

Create an interactive display where children can share different responses to the music they hear.

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07 · Develop your provision

Music, sound & practitioner guidance

Explore adult interaction, the environment and responsive planning. The toddler guides include explicit music content; the wider packs support provision, expression, sound awareness and curriculum thinking.

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Baby Room Continuous Provision Maps | 0–9 & 9–18 Months

Babies · 0–18 months

Responsive environment guidance for babies, focusing on exploration, communication, regulation and sensitive adult interaction.

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Continuous Provision Setup Guides | Toddlers (18–36 Months)

Toddlers · 18–36 months

Includes a Music & Sound setup guide, with open-ended resourcing, adult interaction and inclusive toddler provision.

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Creative Media & Expression Toolkit | Toddlers

Toddlers · 18–36 months

Includes a Music & Movement Toolkit exploring rhythm, beat, tempo, mood, sequences and children’s expressive movement.

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Phonological Awareness & Early Reading Foundations Guidance

Preschool · 3–4 years

Practitioner guidance for playful listening, sound awareness and oral language, with interaction prompts and inclusive provision ideas.

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Reception Curriculum Progression Maps Toolkit

Reception · 4–5 years

Includes Expressive Arts & Design progression, alongside the other areas of learning, to support teaching, provision and inclusive practice.

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Reception Enhanced Provision Planning Toolkit | 4–5 Years

Reception · 4–5 years

Plan small, responsive additions to familiar provision that deepen learning, support access and follow children’s interests.

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Continuous Provision in a Childminding Setting | Mixed-Age

Childminders · Mixed-age

Guidance for flexible, purposeful provision in shared home spaces, helping you adapt resources and routines across a mixed-age group.

08 · Follow an interest

Optional theme & project planning

Rhyme Time Week focuses on songs and sound play. The other packs are wider toddler and preschool themes already linked from this page: use them as contexts for selected musical experiences, rather than as music schemes.

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Rhyme Time Week — Toddler Mini-Project

Toddlers · 18–36 months

A flexible toddler planning pack centred on songs, action rhymes and sound play, with provision enhancements and adult interaction prompts.

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My Favourite Things — Toddler Mini-Project

18–36 months · Wider theme planning

Follow children’s preferences through this wider optional project, including opportunities to revisit favourite songs and experiences.

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Teddy Bears’ Picnic — Toddler Mini-Project

18–36 months · Wider theme planning

Use a familiar picnic context for shared songs, pretend play and wider experiences within an optional project.

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Food & Nutrition — Toddler Project

18–36 months · Wider theme planning

Explore a wider food theme and select a familiar food song or rhyme when it connects with children’s interests.

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Growing & Changing — Toddler Project

18–36 months · Wider theme planning

Use this wider theme as a context for selected growing songs, movement and shared experiences.

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Light, Dark & Celebrations — Toddler Project

18–36 months · Wider theme planning

Plan wider celebration experiences, selecting music and sound play when they are meaningful to the children.

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All About Me & My World — Toddler Project

18–36 months · Wider theme planning

Follow interests in familiar people, preferences and experiences, including songs that matter to children and families.

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Healthy Bodies & Wellbeing — Preschool Mini Theme

3–4 years · Wider theme planning

Explore a wider wellbeing theme, with music or movement offered when it supports the chosen experience.

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Growth & Change — Preschool Theme

3–4 years · Wider theme planning

Use the wider seasonal theme as a context for selected songs, actions and expressive responses.

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This Is Me — Preschool Theme

3–4 years · Wider theme planning

Explore identity and belonging, with opportunities to share favourite songs and personal responses.

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Celebrations Around the World — Preschool Mini Theme

3–4 years · Wider theme planning

Explore familiar and less familiar celebrations, selecting music thoughtfully within its cultural context.

Music & sound continuous provision: common questions

What belongs in core music and sound provision?

A familiar selection of suitable instruments or sound-makers, songs children know, space to move and opportunities to listen gives children something to return to. Accessible storage and adults who join, notice and respond help children develop their own ideas. Printables can support this offer.

How are enhancements different from continuous provision?

Continuous provision is the dependable environment available over time. An enhancement adds a useful possibility, such as a new sound-maker, a picture for a sound story, a song prop or a material for making an instrument. It need not mean replacing the whole area each week.

Does every music activity need to support phonics?

No. Music also offers enjoyment, expression, creativity, belonging and opportunities to develop musical ideas. Listening, rhyme and voice play can connect with spoken-language sound awareness, but that connection does not define the whole music offer.

How can children participate in different ways?

A child might listen, watch, choose a picture, move, gesture, sing, play one sound or direct an adult. Offer pauses, quieter choices and predictable ways to start and stop. Keep established communication support available and respond to individual sensory preferences.

Do children need to perform or copy a pattern correctly?

No. Copying a short pattern can be an enjoyable shared game, but children also need time to invent, repeat and change their own sounds. Performance is an optional possibility; children can contribute without singing or playing in front of a group.

Do we need to print every resource?

No. Keep adult guidance on screen, share one useful picture or take an idea into play using resources you already have. Choose a printable when it helps a child communicate, remember, explore or revisit an idea.