Aston Academy - Performing Arts Curriculum

Performing Arts Curriculum

Key Stages 3&4

Performing Arts Curriculum Intent - Key Stages 3 & 4

The intent of our Music and Performing Arts curriculum is to provide high quality learning that enables all students to make progress whatever their ability and to achieve their full potential. We aim to develop students’ passion for learning, holding the highest aspirations and ambitions for our students providing opportunities to grow and develop holistically, preparing them for a healthy, active and successful life. In this current climate alongside the pressures of achieving at school, our practical subjects can provide an essential tool to deal with relieving the stresses of school life and help develop and maintain positive mental health and become resilient.

In our faculty we believe that it is important to provide enjoyable and engaging experiences with a vocational context embedded that positively impacts on our students. Students will develop a broad range of skills including personal development, social (personal and life skills), emotional (health and wellbeing) and physical (practical performance). These skills will enable students to enjoy a healthy active lifestyle within school and throughout their life. They will develop resilience, respect, empathy, improved self-esteem and confidence. These are desirable employability skills that will allow them to make positive contributions to the wider society. In addition to this, students will be encouraged to develop a range of skills including problem solving, collaboration, communication, and performance in a range of contexts including Drama workshops and full theatrical performances. Practical experiences will encourage our learners to develop a range of fundamental motor skills and learn how to implement them effectively.

Through our curriculum we aim to provide a literacy rich environment. Work is tailored to our students allowing challenges and meeting their individual needs. Students will access key vocabulary introduced throughout the units of work defining words as they are encountered in learning referring to these and encouraging students to use in class discussions. Through extensive written activities, students are able to consolidate their learning of key terms from their studies of each area, and ensure they are confident in using terminology, such as those required to understand dramatic devices. Providing them with the opportunity to demonstrate their understanding of key subject-specific vocabulary and how it can be used both in a theoretical and practical setting. Students will also develop their ability to make links between key vocabulary in Music and Performing Arts with other subject areas within the Academy.

In order to develop students’ ability to transfer learning throughout all Key Stages, our schemes of work are planned to ensure that there are clear links to prior learning. In each unit of work the students will revisit relevant content and skills before developing and applying them to new areas of learning. Lesson content will be covered in depth in order to secure student knowledge of recall and retention. Our students are provided with frequent opportunities to revisit both the practical and theoretical aspects of their learning, in order that they can become confident in their knowledge of each of these areas.

Music and Performing Arts is where young people learn from meaningful, relevant and fun activities, which improves physical literacy and well-being for life. Not only do they learn through these practical experiences where they can display creativity and flair, students are encouraged to think critically, evaluate and reflect on their own or/and others strengths and areas for improvement. This could be through class discussion or peer assessment which is conducted in a ‘risk free’ environment where supportive and constructive comments can be made to help each other make progress. Being able to highlight areas for development will also allow students to be able to demonstrate their understanding of our assessment criteria being used and what they need to do to succeed. Through observing professional practitioners, our students are provided with excellent models for feeding back to one another, and this supportive environment allows our students to flourish.

In the Music faculty we offer a wide range of enrichment and extracurricular activities for our students to be able to participate in which will allow them to develop their skills and have access to the many specialist facilities and equipment. These facilities will be available to all of our students before school, during breaks and after school. Students are provided with the opportunity to start or continue with a range of instrumental lessons at the Academy. Where students are given the option to loan an instrument through the music service which will allow them to practice and make progress at home. Students will also be given the opportunity to take part in various concerts and showcases throughout the year at the Academy which will ensure that students of all year groups are provided with the opportunity to champion their learning and enrich their experiences of the subject creating a sense of success and excitement. Students additionally can perform in small ensembles providing them with a chance to work collaboratively.

In the Drama Faculty, through their study of a range of key theatre practitioners, students will be able to develop their understanding of how language and theatrical devices are employed for effect. Students are able to build upon the knowledge they have developed in English lessons, and from this, are able to make links between how language can be turned into a performance, and how playwrights use devices for effect. From this in-depth study of a range of different dramatic texts, both historical and modern, our students are able to develop their own performance styles, and express themselves in the same ways that they do in Music and Physical Education. Furthermore, through the study of such a vast range of texts, students are able to build upon their cultural capital, by learning about theatrical practices over time and across the globe. Extra-curricular activities, such as a Drama club, are also provided, both throughout the year and for celebrations, such as in preparation for Christmas, so that our students can share their talents with their peers.

We think it is important to make links and promote Music and Performing Arts within the local community. Through planning school trips to local events and by promoting concerts and workshops in the local area. Encouraging our students to experience community spirits and develop their love for the subject area.

We believe in order for our students to achieve their best in Music and Performing Arts, the schemes of work need to be broad, stimulating in order for our students to develop a broad and varied knowledge and skill-set. Lessons are differentiated, which allows our students of all abilities to access the wide, and varied curriculum that we offer here at Aston Academy. Creating a ‘low risk’ environment in the classroom will help to build our students’ confidence as performers and musicians. There will be clear short and long term learning objectives which will be monitored by staggered assessment. These will allow our students’ to demonstrate their progress within lessons both short and long-term. Students will receive regular ELT’s allowing them to strengthen and build upon learning in the classroom. This will also help with further collaborative planning, and guiding the teaching and learning focus. This in turn will encourage lifelong learning/participation in Music and Performing Arts. Promoting the importance of establishing good habits with students and their learning, mainly by helping them to build a growth mindset to ensure they are confident individuals that are able to cope with the challenges they will be faced with both in lessons and on a daily basis within their lives.

Performing Arts Learning Plans

Please click the links below to view our Performing Arts learning plans.

Music

KS3 Music Learning Plan

KS4 Music Learning Plan

KS3 Curriculum Map

KS3/KS4 Music Learning Journey

Drama

Coming soon...

Performing Arts Learning Expectations

Please click the links below to view our Performing Arts learning expectations.

These documents show the progress we expect students to make by the end of each term.