Teaching the curriculum through the arts

What went well? What could have been improved?

We have found it easy to identify targets because they are nearly always the same: to improve behaviour, co-operation, concentration, reading, comprehension, speaking and listening, and a target for the particular artform being taught.

At the outset, we had very clear outcomes in mind. These have become a little less specific as we have become more settled as a school and know our artists better. We ask artists we have never worked with before for a detailed breakdown of how we are going to work together. Staff work closely with the artist at this stage, so that the project is seen as a partnership.

It has been vital to spend time embedding activities and working with the same artists from year to year. It has been a privilege to work at the school and we are all much older and wiser as a result of this fascinating, but exhausting, process. We have ideal conditions for the work:

• the school was new and all the staff share a vision of teaching through the arts;
• the governing body supports us totally;
• the accommodation has practical areas that make working with the arts easier;
• we have a lot of visitors, which brings its own tensions and stresses but means that we always try our hardest as we are observed most days;
• we are able to work with a lot of artists to enhance our own areas of expertise;
• staff turnover has been fairly low;
• staff have a half-day non-contact each week, when they can observe each other, team teach and so on;
• learning musical instruments has turned us all into learners, alongside the children.

The behaviour of the pupils limited the outcomes in the first four terms, as did an OFSTED inspection. Money is a constant constraint -- we spend a great deal of time applying for funding, but it has been worth it.

The work is ongoing and will probably never reach perfection. The children are making huge progress and we have all changed because we have been here together. The parents love what we are doing.

We believe that our approach could be replicated in other schools, but it takes time and utter determination. Since we changed the curriculum we have all had a new surge of energy and enthusiasm in a school that was already full of life. Children's attainment is increasing -- admittedly from a low baseline. We are glad that we introduced the curriculum gradually, spending three years getting to the point that I expected to reach in a term. We believe that everyone should teach in this way -- in fact, some local schools already are.