Arts

Following consultation with pupils, staff, parents and governors in 2005-06, we chose to complement our curriculum as a Technology College by selecting Arts as our second subject specialism within the ‘high performing specialist schools’ option. Arts College status ensures that each of the core subjects is represented within our targets as a specialist school by bringing in English and that our entitlement as a comprehensive school remains broad and balanced. We have interpreted the Arts in their broadest sense and in addition to our Expressive Arts, we aim to draw in Humanities and Languages. Our Arts provision is outstanding and we are currently pioneering the development of Arts pedagogy across the school to build on our pupils’ learning power and promote creativity.

In Expressive Arts, we offer an entitlement to discrete Music and Drama lessons in Key Stage 3, and specialist GCSE and/or applied courses in Music, Music Technology, Drama and the Performing Arts. There are opportunities for cross-curricular learning and plenty of extended curriculum and enrichment activities. These include participation in a range of ensembles, concerts and whole school productions and exposure to an Arts culture through our links with local production/touring companies and events hosted within school. Pupils from Deer Park often work alongside pupils in our feeder primary schools. We recently introduced the Young People’s Arts Award and currently over 60 pupils are working towards achieving this accreditation. The Expressive Arts team seek to embed this within the Arts curriculum.

In English there is a strong emphasis on ‘Making Good Progress’. Within a DCSF pilot initiative, targeted pupils in Key Stage 3 receive up to ten hours one to one tuition and some pupils benefit from our intervention programme LIFT which uses synthetic phonics to ensure reading and spelling recovery. All pupils follow English and English Literature to GCSE, with some completing early entries in Year 10. The English team seek to promote literacy across the curriculum and two members of staff are recognised as lead teachers within the Local Authority.

As a specialist school for the Arts we are committed to ‘Arts for all’:

• raising attainment and the quality of teaching and learning in their chosen arts subjects for all their students, using this as a catalyst for whole school improvement;
• using the arts to improve learning in other curriculum areas and are lead practitioners in the use of specialist ICT as a means of enhancing learning;
• leading in the provision of the Diploma in Creative and Media;
• promoting enjoyment of many different artistic forms and encouraging participation in a wide variety of artistic and creative activity;
• enabling students to work in school with professionals from the arts and creative industries and to enjoy artistic and cultural experiences outside the classroom;
• maximising the opportunities for young people to achieve in the arts and progress into employment, further education/training and higher education in the arts;
• being committed to the professional development of staff in centres of excellence for the arts, sharing resources and developing and sharing expertise with other schools and their wider communities.; and
• playing a key role in Government strategies to increase the number of artistic activities available to young people and to develop young people’s cultural and aesthetic understanding and appreciation.

For more information about the Arts follow this link: http://www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/specialistschools/what_are/arts/?version=1