Performing Arts

Curriculum Overview

Performing Arts is vital for our students because it provides students with the opportunity to engage the mind and body to develop expression. Through performance, students explore and present great themes and ideas whilst exploring emotions and feelings.

Performing Arts allows children to be themselves, whilst building confidence, having fun and developing life skills including communication and self-expression, understanding who they are, and being resilient.

Through the Performing Arts students look at dance, drama, stagecraft, script writing and stage design. This allows students to not only learn about the performance elements of the arts and the process required to present something on stage but to engage in the behind the scenes and design elements also.

The key skills, concepts, knowledge and understanding that we aim to promote within the Performing Arts curriculum that we offer are :-

Develop understanding of different genres of dance.
Choreography and making dance.
Musical theatre and professional production studies.
Performance skills and techniques including confident building
Stage design and design process

How does Performing Arts fit into the Rumworth Curriculum?

Performing Arts comes under our wider curriculum umbrella area of “Creative Arts”.

Performing Arts links in with other subject and curriculum areas such as Music, English, and PE because it promotes the development of rhythm and timing, speech and language, language understanding, movement and technique.

Students in Performing Arts will also develop a range of life skills that are transferable to other subjects and experiences throughout school these include:

Confidence
Individuality
Teamwork and collaboration
Self-awareness and self-discipline
An open mind to experiment different ideas and themes
Communication skills
Analytical, critical and research skills

Curriculum Strands

Pre-formal Strand

Within this strand, Performing Arts is designed to be incorporated into the “Creativity” activities that students would experience. The Performing Arts offer for students working in the Pre-formal Strand would be largely based around opportunities for self-expression and confidence building whilst promoting communication and interaction with others. They will also develop teamwork, collaborating with others and self-belief.

Students would experience the arts through many different forms.

Dance - different dance styles and creative movement making

Drama – developing character, role play and design.

Semi-formal Strand

Within this strand, Performing Arts is delivered to classes at KS3 and KS4 as a discrete curriculum subject. The Performing Arts offer for students working in the Semi-formal Strand has a heavy emphasis on self-expression and confidence building whilst promoting communication and interaction with others. They will also develop teamwork, collaborating with others and self-belief.

Students would experience the arts through many different forms.

Dance - different dance styles and creative choreography

Drama – developing character, reading and devising scripts and stage design.

It is designed to encourage students to experience and participate in a range of individual and group activities, whilst trying out a wide range of performance elements. Some students may progress to perform scripted work for an audience, and some may perform solo piece of learnt dance/drama as well as their own work. Students may take external accreditation in Performing Arts at KS4 and KS5 at various levels to suit the needs and ability of the individuals.

Formal Strand

Within this strand, Performing Arts is delivered to classes at KS3 and KS4 as a discrete curriculum subject. The Performing Arts offer for students working in the Formal Strand has a heavy emphasis on self-expression and confidence building whilst promoting communication and interaction with others. They will also develop teamwork, collaborating with others and self-belief.

Students would experience the arts through many different forms.

Dance - different dance styles and creative choreography

Drama – developing character, reading and devising scripts and stage design.

Feedback and Assessment

Feedback is given verbally by teachers and TAs to students during all learning activities. Students also have the opportunity to share their views about their own work and others in peer assessment and feedback tasks in Performing Arts. This is done in a variety of ways, dependent upon the ability of the students. Student achievement within Performing Arts is a mix between recordings as mini film clips that staff and students can then view and comment on, and written work such as design elements. Student progress is determined using our 100 Steps to Progress, and through external accreditation measures at KS4 and KS5, where relevant.

External Accreditation

This is offered as:-

Arts Award (from pre-entry 3 to Level 2)
BTEC (Entry 3)
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