Curriculum Statements.

The Arts play an important part in the cultural life of the country and enrich our national identity, our communities and our economy. The Arts in schools play an essential part in safeguarding and extending the cultural life of our country. They give children and young people an opportunity to express themselves, to explore their creativity, to work hard at something, persevere and shine. These experiences and achievements stay with them and shape their lives. This is why the Arts are an essential part of a broad and ambitious curriculum for all pupils; not just the privileged few.

Discrete art forms are experienced as subject disciplines in the curriculum. Birmingham Arts School champions excellence in each of these and sees the wisdom of any curriculum plan being rooted in the National Curriculum statements of purpose.

The Arts fuel innovation and imagination, developing lifelong skills that help enable a pupil’s perception, understanding, productivity and wellbeing. The arts are a vital part of life and a school ethos of cultural appreciation and diversity., They equip students with cultural connections and relationships transcending language and barriers, providing knowledge and understanding that will enable them to make better sense of the world and their place within it. Young people can find strength, inspiration, consolation and community in their shared experience of creativity.

In addition to being part of a planned curriculum we recognise the importance of the Arts in occasional opportunities and therapeutic experiences. We support opportunities to learn “through” the Arts and to have classrooms enriched by Arts processes. We promote the value of Combined Arts as well as discrete subject areas and recognise the importance of disparate Arts experiences which can reflect our wonderful world of individual and cultural diversity.

CURRICULUM STATEMENT ART

A high-quality art and design education should engage, inspire and challenge pupils, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to experiment, invent and create their own works of art, craft and design. Children and young people will be empowered to think creatively and critically. As pupils progress, they should be able to investigate and evaluate a wide range of creative outcomes from the past and present to develop rigorous understanding of the many disciplines within art and design. It is important that Art is celebrated and valued for the contribution it makes to children and their lives, the cultural capital it provides and its importance in the curriculum.

Aims

The curriculum for art and design aims to ensure that all pupils:

· produce creative work, exploring their ideas and recording their experiences

· become proficient in drawing, painting, sculpture and other art, craft and design techniques

· evaluate and analyse creative works using the language of art, craft and design

· know about great artists, craft makers and designers from a range of backgrounds and cultures and understand the historical and cultural development of their art forms.

CURRICULUM STATEMENT DANCE

Purpose

Dance is an art form that embodies some of the highest forms of human creativity. A high-quality dance education should engage, inspire and challenge pupils, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to explore, create and perform movement. Dance should be physically and technically demanding and provide opportunities for pupils to become confident in supporting their health and fitness, whilst encouraging expression and creativity.

Aims

The curriculum for dance aims to ensure all pupils:

· Develop competence in understanding and applying technical and interpretative dance skills to progress to the next level of performance quality

· Perform, analyse, review and evaluate dance in a range of styles, created for a variety of purposes and by different practitioners, and using the language of dance.

· Understand how dance is created, including the use of choreographic devices and choreographic processes

CURRICULUM STATEMENT DRAMA

Purpose Theatre and drama embody some of the highest forms of human creativity. A high-quality drama education should engage, inspire and challenge pupils, equipping them with

the knowledge and skills to explore, experiment, and create their own works of art individually and in relationship with others, developing play, storytelling and the use of movement and space.

As pupils progress, they should be able to think critically and develop a more rigorous understanding of theatre. They should also know how dramatic arts both reflect and shape our history, and contribute to the culture, creativity and wealth of our nation.

Aims

The curriculum for drama aims to ensure that all pupils:

· produce creative work, exploring their ideas and recording their experiences

· become proficient in devising and performing through the use of language, movement, space & relationships, increasingly understanding all the supporting elements of technical theatre.

· evaluate and analyse creative works using the language of drama and theatre.

· know about great theatre artists, practitioners, playwrights and understand the historical and cultural development of theatre.

CURRICULUM STATEMENT MUSIC

Music is a cornerstone of the broad and balanced education that every child should receive. It touches hearts and minds, it celebrates and challenges, and it connects us and moves us.

In the same way that we teach children literacy and numeracy to prepare them for adult life, we must also give them the musical tools they need for a lifetime of music-making and enjoyment. For some, music will be the foundation of a career in one of the country’s most important and globally-recognised industries. For others, it will provide experiences and skills which develop their creativity. For many, music will simply be a source of joy, comfort and companionship throughout their lives.

The vision is:

To enable all children and young people to learn to sing, play an instrument and create music together, and have the opportunity to progress their musical interests and talents, including professionally.

Three goals:

1. All children and young people receive a high-quality music education in the early years and in schools

· Early years providers offer a strong grounding in music up to age five

· Schools and trusts promote a broad musical culture, with opportunities to play and sing together, perform, create and experience live music

· All primary and secondary schools deliver a quality music curriculum reflecting the breadth and ambition of the national curriculum, such as the Model Music Curriculum

· All special schools and alternative provision settings have equally high expectations

· Music is represented in every school’s leadership structure, with a designated lead or head of department at school or academy trust level, for primary and secondary

· Staff are supported with appropriate skills development and resources.

2. All music educators work in partnership, with children and young people’s needs and interests at their heart

· A refreshed Music Hub programme with ever stronger partnerships that build a vibrant and sustainable offer of music education in every part of the country

· Schools, academy trusts and Hubs work together to improve the quality and breadth of music education for children and young people

· Music and arts organisations, and the music industry, contribute to music education as partners in Hubs, and working with education settings at local, regional and national level

· All music educators have a stronger understanding of the role of technology in teaching music, including as a creative tool, and in enhancing teaching and in making music more accessible and inclusive.

3. All children and young people with musical interests and talents have the opportunity to progress, including professionally

· Schools and trusts have clear approaches to supporting their pupils to progress music through and beyond the curriculum, including opportunities to study for qualifications, such as graded exams, GCSEs and A level and vocational and technical qualifications

· Music Hubs proactively work with schools and, where relevant, trusts, to support children’s progress, including specifically through group instrumental and/or whole-class ensemble tuition, with opportunities suited to their needs, ambitions and interests

· Hubs, schools and trusts develop an understanding of opportunities for specialist and advanced musical tuition individually and in groups, and support children and young people to access local, regional and national youth music opportunities

· All music educators, including in further and higher education, help young people to understand routes into careers in the music and wider creative industries