Creative Arts & Design Technology
Curriculum Statement
The over-arching ethos of the Creative Arts & Design Technology Department is one of inclusivity and inspiration.
Intent
Our curriculum has been designed to meet the needs of all learners at Regents Park, using innovative and creative strategies and creating a life-long passion for the arts. Through the curriculum and extra-curricular offers Creative Arts & Design Technology engender an appreciation of the world through creativity and challenge. We have created individual links from Key Stage 2 through to Key Stage 4 in all our discrete subjects. We pride ourselves in the diversity of learning in all aspects of the creative arts and work with other departments to ensure learning remains a ‘whole’ concept for our students, including emphasis on literacy and numeracy within our teaching. One of our leading strengths is our extra-curricular offerings. We enable all students to have the opportunity to be involved in our productions, exhibitions and concerts either on stage or in the back ground creating sets, costume, music, lighting and sound, thus including all not just those who are part of our curriculum courses.
Implementation
We ensure our students have the most suitable opportunities on offer in the creative arts sector of education, which can be found in greater detail on our curriculum provision maps on our website. We strengthen our students learning and knowledge through homework and the use of Google Classroom, enhancing their understanding and enjoyment of our subjects.
Art, Drama and Music are all taught discretely at Key Stage 3 by subject specialists and in specialist rooms at least once a week. Design Technology is currently taught on rotation to ensure that all students have the opportunity to experience the different specialisms within the ‘Design Technology’ area. The Design Hub has recently undergone a major refurbishment to include the latest state of the art equipment in brand new rooms and a dedicated ICT suite is central to the new building and supports the learning in Design Technology.
Creative Arts & Design Technology offer a number of popular Key Stage 4 options and include Art, Photography, Textiles, Music, BTEC Performing Arts (Drama and Dance) and Hospitality & Catering. All have three lessons throughout the school week, with most being doubles. The Bronze Arts Award is offered to Year 10 as an alternative to Modern Foreign Languages and provides students the chance to further develop cultural capital and their interest in the arts.
Impact
The Creative Arts & Design Technology Department is extremely high profile both in curriculum time and within our extra-curricular offers. We aim to ensure the ‘whole’ student is educated not only for their future within education but also their life and the world around them. To that end, we combine our curriculum offer with an extended extra-curricular offer through the Bronze Arts Award in the first instance, to bolster the grades and results with which the students will ultimately leave Regents Park.
All students are monitored primarily by their classroom teacher who ensures students are progressing as they should be after every half termly project has been completed. Secondly the Curriculum Leader ensures that the school’s protocol for reporting and assessing is completed in a professional and timely manner; formally presenting to the Senior Leadership Team once a term. Parents are contacted by classroom teachers to update them on their progress and attitude to learning via phone calls home or at parents’ evenings. On-going assessment and progress at Key Stage 4 are directed by the exam boards and mock exams throughout the courses. Predicted grades are calculated using teacher assessment and mock exams and again reported to parents either in person at parents’ evenings or via ‘live’ reports throughout the year.