All pupils at Accrington Academy have an entitlement to an outstanding education in the arts. Drama requires a clear sense of discipline and direction from both pupils and teachers combining subject specific theoretical knowledge with skills transferable to any higher educational institution or career. Outstanding drama education empowers all concerned; we all learn by doing and experiencing for ourselves so the drama curriculum at all key stages, allows students to explore and experience a range of genres, themes and practitioners.
For many of our pupils, we are their primary access to live theatre, making our role even more important. We are also often their route to exploring different values, cultures and traditions. They are shown how the knowledge and skills addressed in drama lessons are relevant to life in our society, giving them new insights into the world and the means to communicate their ideas and responses to issues in effective and creative ways. Through this, pupils at Accrington Academy become independent, critical thinkers. They develop skills enabling them to respond, reflect, develop and articulate their imagination, thoughts and feelings and those of others. Drama helps young people become the well-rounded, confident and creative adults we believe that they can all become. Whether they become business entrepreneurs, artists, health professionals, key workers, travel experts or world leaders, we aim to give them the skills and experiences to allow them to be active, positive members of society.
How we explore the UL principles:
Entitlement:
Pupils receive 100 minutes of discrete Drama teaching every fortnight at Key Stage 3. The curriculum encompasses themes from outside of the classroom and builds pupils’ imaginations, creativity, confidence and cultural capital.
Coherence:
It is more important for pupils to fully understand the key concepts and skills presented than to cover lots of curriculum content. These become more assured as the curriculum content is sequenced. By working in this way, students gain depth to their skills as well as experiencing a variety of themes and dramatic genres.
Mastery:
The curriculum is based on a mastery model, in which the ambition is that all pupils are taught and achieve the essential knowledge and skills in each of the years of the curriculum so that both knowledge and skills can be re-used effectively in future learning to achieve greater depth of learning and outcome. Students will be given the opportunity to specialise as they progress through their school curriculum, working in specific styles and practitioner techniques to ‘master’ over time.
Adaptability:
Drama in United Learning schools is likely to look different. Our distinctive schools each have a unique offer based on the individual strengths of the teaching staff, the size of the team and the space and resources available alongside other factors. It is important to develop the strengths of each school whilst also recognising the need for a locally determined curriculum that meets student needs.
Representation:
The drama curriculum in our school is unlikely to remain static for long periods of time. It needs to respond to the changing nature of the school and society. A curriculum that recognises themes, issues and stimuli that children and young people experience or would benefit from experiencing, building on this prior learning and experience, will resonate with pupils.
Education with character:
Drama plays a vital role in delivering a creative education, aiming to:
- Give our pupils ambition: to develop skills and performances over time that they can feel proud of.
- Build confidence: to express themselves creatively and to develop confidence in their verbal and physical presentation.
- Foster creativity: to develop a performance with skill, building on prior experiences.
- Instil respect: for each other in their work and performances as well as appreciating and respecting drama styles and stimuli from all backgrounds.
- Drive enthusiasm: to pursue dramatic talent, strive for excellence in performance and develop a passion for drama through an engaging curriculum and extra-curricular activities.
- Encourage determination: to persevere and strive when rehearsing, refining and improving performances.