ST. ALDHELM’S CHURCH OF ENGLAND PRIMARY SCHOOL
“A strong and vibrant arts presence is essential to the soul, spirit, and culture of a school and the full development of all its pupils.”
AIM:
To provide an enriching education in the arts to all pupils through the curriculum and through out of hours experiences.
OBJECTIVES:
To teach the Arts through the National Curriculum and Foundation Stage to all pupils;
To encourage all pupils to take part in one or more ‘Out of Hours’ Arts activities and attempt something new;
To provide opportunities for talented pupils to work at a challenging level;
To build links with the community which enable the arts to be promoted within the school.
DEFINITION: The Arts in our school are taken to be Music, Dance, Drama, Visual Art, and Literature. There are aspects of other subjects which develop creative abilities and/ or an aesthetic sense, such as Design Technology, and these need to be taken into account. Sometimes our work in the Arts crosses subject boundaries or combines art forms
TEACHING THE ARTS: The Arts will be taught using the framework of the National Curriculum. The Curriculum Framework for the school provides the structure for the class teacher to plan lessons that effectively teach the learning objectives for each subject. It is a professional decision for each teacher to decide how far the learning objectives can be combined, e.g. within Music and Dance lessons, or whether subjects need to be taught discretely.
The Schemes of Work for each subject provide detail for teachers when planning lessons. QCA documents form the basis for our Schemes of Work in Music, Art, and Dance (P.E.).
The time given to Arts subjects is detailed in the Curriculum Framework.
The National Literacy Strategy provides a structure for the teaching of English. Teachers are aware that a love of Literature will not come from the Strategy alone but needs to be nurtured through the enthusiasm of the teacher!
Through the taught curriculum we intend to give children a minimum entitlement in the Arts, (See Apendix). We are aware that for some children their only experiences of art forms will come through activities they encounter at school.
Art forms will be used to enhance learning experiences in other subjects, e.g. Drama in R.E.
EXTENDING OPPORTUNITIES: We are committed to providing opportunities for all children to gain extra experience in the Arts through Out of Hours learning. Our Music, Art and Dance clubs will cater for children wanting to take part. Further opportunities will be sought in and out of school for children who display talent in one or more art forms. Examples of this type of extension work include the singing workshop at Jackdaws, the Advanced Dance Club run by the school, and performance by talented musicians in assembly.
Children are encouraged to take part in community arts projects such as the Doulting Produce Show, the M.P.’s Christmas card competition, and the Village Hall play.
LONG TERM RELATIONSHIPS: As a school we have developed links with several organisations which support our work in the arts. We are committed to maintaining and developing these links with:
Jackdaws- The Music Education charity near Frome has provided musicians, funding and collaborative projects for our school over the last three years.
ActionTrack- The performance company has worked with us on five occasions since 1998. Their ‘show build’ techniques are vital for the development of personal and social skills as well as artistic skills.
NADFAS- The ‘National Association of Decorative and Fine Arts Societies’ has had a long association with the school. St. Aldhelm’s was the first school in the country to have a youth or Young NADFAS group based in a school. We are committed to the promotion of the visual arts through working on NADFAS projects.
RESOURCES: We aim to keep all Out of Hours clubs free to children and support for these activities will be sought from a variety of organisations such as, ‘Book Trust, Education Extra, New Opportunities Fund, Mendip District Council and the Friends of St. Aldhelm’s.
There is a section of each budget for each National Curriculum subject. These budgets will be used effectively to support our work in the arts. Subject co-ordinators are responsible for monitoring these. There is a separate budget for special initiatives and some arts projects may be funded from this. The headteacher is responsible for the monitoring of this budget.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: The school is committed to providing professional development in the arts for teachers. This will take one of several forms:
· Training for teachers who lack confidence in the teaching of one or more art forms
· Training for subject co-ordinators
· Whole school INSET
· Experience of working alongside a professional artist
EVALUATION AND REVIEW: The National Curriculum Subjects are monitored using the school’s monitoring cycle. Subject co-ordinators are responsible for this. The Out of Hours learning is monitored by the headteacher.
There will be an annual review of the school’s Pupil Entitlement statement, (see Appendix) and the headteacher will report progress to the Chair of Governors..
This policy will form part of the Governing body’s cycle of policy reviews.
Policy written January 2001
Amended September 2003
ST ALDHELM’S CHURCH OF ENGLAND PRIMARY SCHOOL
THE ARTS: A POLICY STATEMENT APPENDIX
During the Primary years we shall ensure that all pupils:
These opportunities will be offered through the National Curriculum and Foundation Stage. In addition all pupils will:
· Have their art work displayed with care
· Have one piece of art work on display at least once each term
· Take part in a drama and/or dance performance
· Watch a professional theatre performance
· Work with an artist
· Have access to out of hours learning in the arts
· Work with a writer
· Learn and perform poetry
· Play instruments
· Visit an art gallery
· Work on NADFAS projects
· Work on a ‘Jackdaws’ project
In addition, some pupils will: