Teaching the curriculum through the arts

What did the school do?

Activities

Year 1 (1999--2000)

In its first year, the school concentrated on singing, drama and art and design. Pupils particularly needed skills in these activity areas and staff already had the expertise needed.

• The school held weekly singing assemblies where pupils and staff were taught basic singing techniques. This led to the school's first performance -- an opera that all pupils from year 2 upwards performed in.
• Drama was used increasingly throughout the first year to teach large parts of English and history.
• Art and design lessons focused on drawing and colour mixing. This had a big impact on the quality of pupils' art, which made them feel good about themselves and impressed their parents.
• A poet was employed as the school's first artist-in-residence. At times, working with key stage 2 was like entering a war zone, but the school felt it was important to give the same opportunities to all classes, regardless of behavioural problems.

Year 2 (2000--1)

In its second year, the school established a tradition of staging a whole school dance production in December and a music production by years 2 to 6 in the spring. It also began to employ artists-in-residence on a regular basis.

• As part of the Year of the Artist, the school employed a composer and librettist to write a music theatre piece for years 2 to 6, using pupils' community languages for chorus work. Singing continued on a daily basis and the school set up recorder clubs.
• The whole staff took part in training days on sculpture and shared their knowledge with the pupils. Pupils also entered a local annual art exhibition.
• The whole school dance production raised the profile of dance and staff began to experiment with using dance to teach maths and English. The school took part in a local children's carnival, working with costume designers and choreographers.

Year 3 (2001--2)

In its third year, the school built on skills already taught and employed a growing number of visiting artists to inspire arts work.

• Pupils worked with professional dancers to choreograph a major dance production. All key stage 2 pupils began to learn Indian dance during curriculum time.
• Staff began to investigate teaching science, RE and geography, as well as English and history, through drama.
• The composer who had already worked with the school returned for a second residency. This time his grant stipulated that he should compose with the children. Kodály work was introduced to the whole school so that pupils would have a basic knowledge of notation to use in their compositions.
• Particular progress was made with instrumental teaching. The school introduced dhol and tabla lessons free of charge for all pupils in years 4 to 6 who wanted to learn. And from April 2002, free violin and cello lessons began for all year 1 and 2 pupils, 15 pupils from years 4 and 6, and 25 out of 30 staff. The older pupils act as mentors for the younger children, organising practice sessions at lunchtime. The staff have discovered what it is like to learn an instrument and can support the pupils.

Year 4 (2002--3)

The school now teaches the curriculum through a topic-based approach (see Teaching strategies, below). The arts are used to teach every topic, taking a multicultural approach wherever possible, and each topic culminates in a performance.

• In art and design, the school is concentrating on drawing, as an arts audit found that there was scope for improvement. Various artists are working in the school, including a sculptor, an etcher and a painter.
• A dance specialist and a professional dancer led the school's annual dance production. Dance is now used to teach English and maths, with lessons on symmetry proving particularly successful.
• Kodály work is continuing throughout the school. The composer has come back for a third residency and is writing a symphony for all the cellists and violinists, backed by a professional band with a final choral movement.
• Every class is going on at least six visits involving the arts.

Teaching strategies

In September 2002 the school reorganised its curriculum. It now teaches PE, music and mathematics separately (with the exception of shape and space and data handling). The rest of the curriculum is organised into topics, each of which lasts between 2 and 14 weeks. The rules for topics are:

• the arts must be used;
• every topic must finish with a performance;
• different ways of recording work must be used, for example drama, video, digital photography, hot-seating;
• pupils must be taught to work co-operatively in different groupings;
• children must develop creativity and thinking skills;
• ICT must be used.

For example, year 4 pupils now study the Tudors through an arts-based approach. The school employs an etcher to work with the pupils for six days. On the first day the class visits the National Portrait Gallery to study and draw the Tudors, before spending three days at school perfecting their drawings and transferring them to plates. The pupils then visit the artist's studio for two days to see how the prints are made. They learn about history, art, design, speaking and listening. They make diaries about their week, covering English. They do little maths or PE, but catch up later with these subjects.

This topic-based approach to teaching means that staff spend less time planning than when they were teaching separate subjects each week. They have more time to teach the pupils, as they do not have to do introductory sessions, plenary sessions and tidying up each hour (on average this saves 15 to 20 minutes an hour). Teachers feel that this is freeing them up to be creative and to use all their skills and enthusiasms.

Use of time and resources

The school invests as much time and money as it can on the arts. All of the staff at the school are involved. One NQT has a drama degree and uses her knowledge throughout the school. Another teacher is a singer and there is also a dance specialist who is an advanced skills teacher.

In the first year, staff had two days' INSET from the LEA drama adviser and three days when he worked in school showing teachers how to use drama to teach different subjects. Similarly, teachers had three days' INSET from the LEA art adviser and three days when he taught in every class to improve teachers' skills. The LEA dance adviser led several INSETs in school to show how dance could be used to teach other subjects. This pattern of professional development has continued, with whole staff training days in the arts.

Artists-in-residence also provide invaluable expertise -- since January 2000, over 70 artists have worked with the school. The length of time they spend in school varies from one to several days, with some artists returning each year for substantial residencies. The school applies for grants and is generally successful, although meeting potential funders, completing application forms and administering the residencies takes up a great deal of time. Funding has come from a wide range of sources, including the Poetry Society, the London Arts Performing Rights Society Foundation and Youth Music. Some artists and arts organisations have now started to use the school to evaluate new projects, which means they give their time freely.

Last year, musical instruments and lessons were funded by a large financial organisation and from the school budget. However, the school is still looking for funding for this year.