HARVILLS HAWTHORN

PRIMARY SCHOOL

ARTS POLICY

2017 - 2018

S. Allen

September 2017

The Arts

At Harvills Hawthorn Primary we consider the Arts to encompass Art and Design, Music, Drama, Dance and Creative Writing. We see these as a means of developing our children’s creativity and providing opportunities that allow them to be expressive.

Aims

We aim to provide children with:

  • opportunities to engage and succeed in the Arts
  • opportunities to creatively express themselves in and through a variety of art forms
  • opportunities to explore, share and value both their own and other cultures in the Arts
  • opportunities to develop a progressive range of skills and vocabulary relating to specific art forms
  • Arts activities that access other areas of the curriculum
  • a range of Arts activities that develop their social skills, confidence and self esteem
  • opportunities to create, present, perform and make critical judgements about the Arts
  • opportunities to achieve high standards through a creative and enriching curriculum

Achieving our aims

To achieve our aims we will:

  • provide the Arts as part of the core curriculum and through our thematic curriculum
  • provide a creative, safe environment which fosters children’s interest in the Arts and celebrates their achievements
  • develop and use high quality resources for teaching and learning each of the Arts forms
  • provide good quality teachers including some who specialise in the Arts
  • use a variety of strategies to teach the Arts
  • enable children to experience the work of professional artists through visits to art galleries, museums and theatres, through working with artists in school and by bringing theatre companies into school
  • provide children with access to Arts activities during out of school hours
  • allow children to learn about and develop an understanding of different cultures through the Arts
  • provide Arts opportunities to all of our children regardless of race, gender, disability, capability and background
  • provide opportunities for Gifted and Talented children to participate in Arts projects
  • provide opportunities for the school community (staff, parents, governors) and the wider community to access and celebrate the Arts in our school through performances and exhibitions on the school website
  • monitor the provision of Arts to ensure access for all children and progression throughout the school

Planning and teaching the Arts

The Arts are usually planned within year groups, using National Curriculum learning objectives. When planning, teachers consider the variety of teaching and learning styles that are highlighted on all planning.

In all three Key Stages the Arts are taught both explicitly and through a cross-curricular thematic approach.

Throughout the year we have focus weeks.During this time the whole school focuses on an area of the curriculum. A theme is chosen and children are provided with a range of creative activities that culminate in a performance or an exhibition of work that celebrates their learning.

Outside of the curriculum, the Arts are taught through: Foundation Stage singing sessions

Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 singing assemblies

Weekly choir/Performing Artsclub

Peripatetic music lessons for individual children

After school clubs, e.g. Arts Award Club

Showcase Assemblies

Harvest, Christmas, Easter and end of year concerts and performances

Visits from artists, musicians and theatre companies

Visits to art galleries, museums and theatres

Speech, Language and Communication including Collaborative Learning

Beginning in the Early Years and following throughout the whole school, children are actively encouraged to speak, communicate and listen in all areas of the curriculum. Opportunities are given for school, class, small group and individual discussions, expressions of ideas and presentations. Children will use collaborative learning strategies as part of their everyday learning in the Arts.

Examples of such strategies are:

  • Snap 2 – paired talk
  • Snowball – group talk
  • Thought shower
  • Listening triangles
  • Envoy
  • Rainbow groups
  • Jigsaw
  • Round Robin

Children will:

  • Listen and respond with constructive comments, questions and answers in a variety of speaking and listening activities, developing wide ranging and suitable vocabulary
  • Listen to and follow instructions
  • Plan and discuss work co-operatively

By the time the children leave us, our aim is for them to have the fluency and confidence to use language to convey information, ideas, comments and personal views in a socially acceptable manner appropriate to the purpose and audience.

Assessment, recording and reporting

Learning outcomes are structured and matched appropriately for each lesson. These are shared with the children.

Summative and formative assessment focuses on the key skills from the National Curriculum.

Children’s work is evaluated by teachers and by the children.

The arts curriculum is recorded through photographic and videoed evidence, thematic books, sketchbooks and final pieces of artwork that are monitored by subject leaders.

Parents are informed of their children’s progress through consultation days and an annual report.

Assessment as Learning

As part of the learning process children will discuss, with their peers and or with a relevant adult, the outcomes of their learning, its merits and the ways in which it can still be improved.

This will be done on a regular basis and will involve:

  • Children’s conversations to help determine whether success criteria have been met
  • Conversations with teaching staff to help determinewhether success criteria have been met
  • Children’s written feedback as a result of the conversations

All of the above will support and augment the school’s formal assessment procedures.

Monitoring

Monitoring of the Arts is undertaken by subject leaders. They willreport to the Head Teacher, Senior Leader Team and to governors.

Equal Opportunities

We are committed to providing an environment that promotes equal opportunities for all children.

We plan activities to challenge and involve all children appropriately regardless of capability, ethnicity, gender or background.

We use materials that avoid stereotyping and present children with work of artists of both sexes as well as from a variety of ethnic backgrounds.

We deal with issues clearly and sensitively when they arise.

Resources

We have a variety of facilities and resources including a school hall with a stage, lighting and audio system, a radio recording system, green screen and video recorder, a studio used for dance/music/drama, a range of brass instruments available for loan and well-stocked art resources.