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Oaklands School

Building Foundations for Fulfilling Futures

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Oaklands School

Building Foundations for Fulfilling Futures

Creativity and the Arts (including RE)

Whole School Intent

  • Build understanding, respect and tolerance of those around them in school and in the context of Leicester city
  • Learning through the arts and from religion develop communication, awareness and helps to underpin skills in all aspects of the curriculum.

Creativity & the Arts and Religious Education

(C&TA)

Whole School Implementation

  • Functional and cross curricular reinforcement
  • Specific and engaging learning experiences
  • Mastery approach.
  • Use of real resources including Educational Visits and Visitors

Across the Pathways

Willow

Elm 

Cherry

Intent

  • Developing self-awareness
  • Encourage listening, communication and interaction skills using sound and movement
  • Develop understanding of the world round them using colour, sound and movement
  • Encourage and support interaction with the world around them.

 

Implementation

  • Big Days
  • Visits and visitors
  • Sensory experiences
  • Mastery approach
  • Using C&TA and RE as a tool to meet targets set through OPAL and link to EHCP outcomes
  • Embedding C&TA across the school day.
  • Learning powers: Explore, Connect and Persevere.

 

Intent

  • Developing self-awareness and awareness of others
  • Encourage listening, communication and interaction skills using sound and movement
  • Support understanding of the world around them.
  • Developing understanding, tolerance and acceptance of why they and others live their lives.

 

Implementation

  • Big Days
  • Visits and visitors
  • Short activities
  • Functional and active learning opportunities.
  • Repeated opportunities to practise skills.
  • Mastery approach
  • Using C&TA and RE as a tool to meet targets set through OPAL and link to EHCP outcomes
  • Learning powers: Explore, Connect, Persevere and Feel

 

Intent

  • Developing self-awareness and awareness of others
  • Developing understanding, tolerance and acceptance of why they and others live their lives.
  • Developing communication skills and using C&TA as a tool to communicate and self-regulate.
  • Understanding that others see and interpret the arts in different ways.

 

Implementation

  • Big Days
  • Visits and visitors
  • Functional and cross curricular links
  • Whole class or small groups
  • Mastery approach
  • Using C&TA and RE as a tool to meet targets set through OPAL and link to EHCP outcomes
  • Learning powers: Explore, Connect, Persevere, Feel and Reflect

Curriculum Content

  • Big Days: There will be at least one Big Day per term. There is a rolling cycle of different religious festivals to ensure depth and breadth of coverage. Humanism is also included in the cycle. During the Big Days, the whole school will be completing planned activities on the same day in an immersive manner. The students will also be visiting a place of worship or spending time with a visiting member of the wider community to learn more about the faith and the festival. During the Big Days the students will be learning through religion as well and about religion.
  • Drumming Sessions: The Cherry and Chestnut pathways have weekly drumming sessions with Talking Rhythms. Simon, from Talking Rhythms uses a well planned series of sessions and uses djembe drums to develop listening skills with the students, working on rhythm, tempo, timbre ad pulses. Simon is also skilled in using music therapy strategies to develop communication and PSHE skills within the sessions, he works on feelings, turn taking etc.
  • PE Dance: Moving and responding to music and the dance curriculum.
  • Cross Curricular Opportunities: Creativity and the Arts is used as a tool to deliver many aspects of the curriculum, mark making using a range of media, transition songs, phonics, learning through songs, Tac Pac, playdoh and other mouldable media, spinney sessions.

 

Curriculum overviews and planning have been developed as appropriate for each pathway. The typical time budget for each pathway, including embedded practice and ‘teachable moments’ is as follows:

Willow

Elm

 

Cherry

  • 1 Big Day per term of RE immersion
  • Transition songs developing listening and responding to music interwoven throughout the day
  • Sensory experiences, exploring media, mark making, interwoven throughout the day
  • Learning through movement or music, such as a transition song or lesson starter involving numbers, active learning, interwoven throughout the day
  • Visits from local members of the community linked to places of worship, once per term
  • Visits from artists, musicians and performers as they are available and where appropriate
  • 1 Big Day per term of RE immersion
  • 4x20 minutes phonics each week
  • Transition songs developing listening and responding to music interwoven throughout the day
  • Sensory experiences, exploring media, mark making, interwoven throughout the day
  • Learning through movement or music, such as a transition song or lesson starter involving numbers, active learning, interwoven throughout the day
  • Visits from local members of the community linked to places of worship, once per term
  • Visits from artists, musicians and performers as they are available and where appropriate
  • 1 Big Day per term of RE immersion
  • 4x20 minutes phonics each week
  • Transition songs developing listening and responding to music interwoven throughout the day
  • Sensory experiences, exploring media, mark making, interwoven throughout the day
  • Learning through movement or music, such as a transition song or lesson starter involving numbers, active learning, interwoven throughout the day
  • Visits from local members of the community linked to places of worship, once per term
  • Visits from artists, musicians and performers as they are available and where appropriate

Willow & Elm

Cherry

 

  • 1 Big Day per term of RE immersion
  • 30 mins per week drumming
  • 4x20 minutes phonics each week
  • Transition songs developing listening and responding to music interwoven throughout the day
  • Sensory experiences, exploring media, mark making, interwoven throughout the day
  • Learning through movement or music, such as a transition song or lesson starter involving numbers, active learning, interwoven throughout the day
  • Visits to local places of worship once per term (where stage appropriate)
  • Visits from artists, musicians and performers as they are available and where appropriate
  • 1 Big Day per term of RE immersion
  • 30 mins per week drumming
  • Visits to local places of worship once per term
  • Visits from artists, musicians and performers as they are available and where appropriate
  • Involvement in performances, such as the Curve, De Montfort Hall and other opportunities as they become available (where stage appropriate)

Strengths

  • Staff have a strong understanding of the needs, interests and talents of their pupils
  • The inside/ outside nature of the RE curriculum, creating links for pupils so that they develop a greater understanding of themselves, their own families and those in our School/Leicester City 
  • Creativity and the Arts skills are generalised across a range of curriculum opportunities, as well as during specific Big Days, Educational Visits etc

Areas for Development

  • Maximising links with the wider community; religious leaders, places of worship, local schools
  • Use of staff learning from SENsory Atelier to further impact on planning in C&TA

Resources, Training and CPD

 

Staff CPD-see staffshare & OneDrive CPD folders: 

Planning and advice guides within C&TA and RE folder

 

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