BEYOND ASSESSMENT

(A BROAD AND BALANCED CURRICULUM)

“Embedding and Developing the Arts in Primary Phase”

With

Andrew FoxArts Engagement Coordinator, Birmingham Education Partnership

andrew.fox@bep.education Tel – 07583 545132

And

Dan JonesCreative Arts Lead at Allens Croft Primary School

Contact - d.jones@allcroft.bham.sch.uk

What in education contributes to producing ‘well rounded’ young people with the resilience, drive and flexibility needed in modern life?

Creativity, self expression, colour, sound, melody and movement all contribute to the education of the whole child, not only in discrete Art form learning, but in wider

learning and through a vibrant and exciting school environment.

An engaging curriculum is an imaginative and creative one that leads to deeper learning and enjoyment.

If classrooms and corridor displays are imaginative, stimulating, colourful and magical they create warm and welcoming learning environments for our young

people

A Framework for Audit and Growth

Curriculum Where do the Arts appear within the curriculum? Are they integrated into creative learning experiences and is there opportunity, progression and coherence within each discrete art form?

Extra-Curricular What clubs and opportunities out of the curriculum are available to the young people and what Art form areas are covered?

Creative Teaching and Learning Enriching pedagogy and learning across the curriculum using the Arts and Creativity to enhance non-Arts subject learning.

Visiting Artists and Partner Professionals Optimizing the impact of visiting Artists with high quality experiences in different Art forms to enhance the curricula, support learning targets, address key challenges and to create enriching and memorable experiences.

Trips and External Learning Experiences What Arts and Cultural trips out of school do the young people (and Teachers) take part in and are they being maximized to support cross – curricula learning?

Staff Skills Making the most of the skills sets within your staff, and finding out what they need to, or would like to learn. Developing a CPD offer to support creative Teaching and learning pedagogy.

Environment and Resources Making the most of your school building, classrooms and corridors to support Arts activities and to create colorful and stimulating learning environments. Are your Teachers well equipped to be able to lead Arts activities?

Budget Creating or ring fencing a budget to support and sustain your Arts Provision at looking at value for money (and quality) to making every penny count.

Community Engagement Using the Arts to support community and parental engagement.

Action Plans Alignment and integration with school priorities (SIP), key challenges and a whole school action plan

Supporting your Arts Coordinator Offering support and creating space for your Lead Arts Coordinator to try new things, support other teachers, develop new approaches and to build your provision.

ALLENS CROFT PRIMARY SCHOOL CASE STUDY

By Dan Jones, Creative Arts Lead

1. Creative Arts Policy

Consistency across disciplines

Consistency of teaching and learning

Consistency of assessment

2. Minimum Arts Offer

Pro-forma for tracking opportunities in each year group

Over an academic year and across a school career

3. Whole School Overview – Assessment Pro forma

Tracking individual and cohort progress

Simple

4. Skills Progression Documents

Ensures arts skills are taught explicitly

Ensures progress within each discipline

Ensures broad and balanced curriculum coverage

a. Drama

b. Music

c. Visual Art

5. Example of Our Home Grown Work

Drama-based units of LGBT work

Equality Act

Willing to share!

CREATIVE ARTS POLICY

Name of School: Allens Croft Primary School

Date of Policy: Summer Term 2017 – Reviewed November 2017

Review Date: Summer Term 2018

Consultation: This policy has been drawn up in collaboration with the governors and staff at Allens Croft Primary School following recommendations, and using guidance, from Birmingham LA.

Type of Policy: Statutory – LA Model – School

Ethos Statement

It is the aim of the Governing Body of Allens Croft Primary School to support the implementation of policies and procedures that support the vision of:

“Aspire, Inspire, Achieve.”

Audience

The policy is for teaching and support staff and is also available to parents on request. A copy is available on the school website.

Aims

The Arts are a child’s first language and help us to create meaning. At Allens Croft, we aim to provide a range of enjoyable activities that are both challenging and achievable that promote skills specific to each discipline whilst educating the whole child more widely through the development of personal and collaborative skills. Allens Croft has pledged a “minimum arts offer” to all children in our care, which details the basic requirement of experiences and opportunities that all our pupils must have (See Appendix A).

Teaching of each of the artistic disciplines aims to:

• Develop creative and expressive skills

• Develop breadth of understanding across the curriculum by supporting work in other areas, such as the use of drama techniques to support literacy

• Develop skills and attitudes that support wider learning opportunities e.g. concentration, co-operation, confidence, sensitivity towards others and evaluation

• Enable children to acquire the knowledge, skills and understanding needed to make and enjoy the arts through the core interrelated skills of:

Creating: composing, developing and organizing ideas

Presenting: performing or exhibiting a finished piece of work for a variety of different audiences both for the purpose of gaining constructive feedback and the pure pleasure of showing work to an audience

Responding: explore and express ideas and feelings about a wide range of arts including evaluating and making improvements to their own work and to suggest improvements to the work of others

In line with our policy on promoting equality and celebrating diversity, we avoid stereotyping by gender, race, ability etc. This means that children are encouraged to play any role in the performing arts; a boy, a girl, a cat, a dog, a tree etc.

We have an Arts Council, which is comprised of two councilors per year group, who meet to discuss particular arts projects in school, feedback the ideas and suggestions of their peers and to help evaluate pieces of work or performance, such as sitting on the judging panel for our “Singing Factor” showcases.

Performing Arts

Drama

Learning through drama-based activities enables children to understand what it is like to experience different situations in a safe environment. Literacy teaching utilizes at least one element of drama per week and is indicated on teachers’ planning. Drama skills are also expressly taught, presented and evaluated through regular “showcase” sessions.

Dance

Although there is some crossover with the P.E. curriculum, where the focus is on physical activity and controlled use of the body, as part of the Creative Arts, Dance opportunities reflect our commitment to developing creative and expressive skills. Expressive storytelling using the full range of body movement and physical theatre enable the children to communicate in an alternative way to the spoken or written word.

Music

“Musical sound should be the target language of all music lessons.”

“Music In Schools: Promoting Good Practice” – OFSTED 2012

We maximize the opportunities for children to be musical and explore music making throughout the whole music lesson, including body percussion and vocal work in

addition to the use of musical instruments. Singing assemblies provide further opportunities for children to explore and improve their musical understanding through the use of part-singing and harmony work. Once a term, every year group presents a song at our “Allens Croft has the Singing Factor” showcases; a panel of judges responds to the musicality of the performances and there are certificates of achievement in different categories.

Technology is used to enhance musical learning through various apps, websites and software but the focus is always on providing opportunities for children to develop musically.

Visual Arts

• Drawing

• Painting

• Sculpture

• Photography

Each half term, a specific whole-school artistic focus is taken, which could be based on a style, a particular media, or the work of an artist. These are usually chosen to link to a local exhibition or celebration. Year groups present their finished pieces in an exhibition for parents and families at least once a term in order to encourage artistic discussion. The children also share their pieces between year groups, in order to encourage discussion and evaluation between peers. Some of the best will then be selected by the school Arts Council displayed on the Arts display in the corridor, to encourage a sense of pride in their artistic endeavors.

APPENDIX A: Minimum Arts Offer

At Allens Croft, we aim for every single child to experience the following:

Every Day: Singing opportunities (Singing playgrounds, Sing the register, Singing in class, Assemblies)

Every Week: Attend a singing assembly, listen to and appreciate a different style of music in each Assemblies, which changes on a weekly basis

Every Term Every Year

Be exposed to different art methods and skills, which they then apply independently (structured progression)

Every Term Every Year

Be exposed to different art methods and skills, which they then apply independently (structured progression)

Read a play script either as part of a performance or during guided reading

Be exposed to different music skills and have the opportunity to apply these creatively (structured progression; Music SoW launched Sept 2016, expectation of 3 lessons per term).

Performing Arts Week

Be exposed to different drama skills, which they then apply independently (structured progression)

Art exhibition to parents of independently-produced work

Work as a class/year group to present a song for our “Allens Croft Factor” showcase assemblies, each time improving on the previous performance by responding to Judges’ feedback

Trip to a theatre or a theatre-in education company comes to perform to us

Perform singing or music in an assembly, either a class assembly to parents or presenting something from class to the rest of the school/year group

Drama workshop either with external theatre-in education people or DJ

Examples of the arts learning the children have been doing are posted on the school website

Compose a song / experience songwriting

Children’s drama work is showcased within the year group, the best of which are presented at a whole-school showcase

See a staff performance of some kind

Examples of the visual arts learning the children have been doing are displayed

Perform for parents and invited local community figures at least twice (e.g. class

either in the classroom or the corridor assemblies, Nativity, Productions)

Have opportunity to attend a music club (KS1)

Have opportunity to attend a drama club (KS2)

Over the course of School Career:

Learn a musical instrument (Ukulele from Yr 4)

Visit an art gallery

Be involved in local and national cultural events (e.g. Black History Month, Artsfest etc)

Opportunity to record a performance on a School CD

Visit to London (or other major city) to include Arts and Culture experiences

2. Minimum Arts Offer

3. Whole School Overview

4. Skills Progression - Drama

Skills Progression - Music

Skills Progression – Visual Art

5. Example of Our Home Grown Work