Teach-Secondary-Issue-14.5

IMMERSE yourself in art Give your students a whole new appreciation of art and design via a school-wide arts week – Hannah Day shows you how... A s we approach the end of the academic year, we have the opportunity to consider how we might want to use this time differently. One way is to organise a whole-school arts week. An arts week will allow you to celebrate students’ achievements through participation – focusing more on how students can engage with, and support one another, rather than on the evidence they can produce, while also encouraging students for whom creativity is at the heart of how they connect with the world. Put simply, celebrating loudly the joys and benefits of the arts seems like a great way to round off the year. So here are some ways of doing just that... Get organised Decide when and for how long you intend to hold the event. If a week seams too long, perhaps look into organising a two-day event and expanding next year, once you’ve had more time to plan ahead. Will there be any budget available, or will you need to organise some fundraising? Will some elements – like organised trips – involve any additional costs?What will be the key roles and requirements expected of staff once the event is up and running? Having given due consideration to those areas, you’ll then need to reflect on the following questions regarding logistics: • On what days of the week will your arts sessions be taking place? • Will any sessions be repeated for different classes or year groups? • Howmany students should there be in each group? • What is the cost per head likely to be? Thinking about these sorts of questions will enable you to create a timetable, complete with costs and details of how the event will be resourced. Where possible, try to offer more options than you’ll actually need, so that students are more likely to get their first choice of activity, and end up in manageably sized groups. Give it breadth Make sure that this is a school-wide project. Having just completed timed assessments, marking and possibly an end of year show, your art teamwill be tired. Who else can help, and who will be responsible for what? The week can, and should be about creativity in all its forms. Yes, include the visual arts, of course – but don’t forget about dance, drama, music, creative writing and poetry. If students are given a broader range of options to choose from, you’ll be able to spread the weight of responsibility more evenly and ensure that there will be several different departments all contributing to making the event work. Beyond that, what skills might teachers from other departments be able to contribute? Youmay well find a maths teacher who happens to be a keen watercolourist, or an RE teacher who regularly writes poetry in their spare time. Thinkbig, think small. For some students – those who love creativity, and who feel confident in their creative ideas and skills – this may be the most exciting week of the year. For this group, think big . Devise a couple of week-long projects they can choose between – such as painting a mural on a school wall, mounting a mini theatre production devised by the group themselves, or perhaps a group composition that combines the musical talents of a mix of students. Others might prefer to dip their toe into a wide range of comparatively low stakes activities. For them, a series of day-long options, combined together to form a full week, could up open up many different creative avenues they’ve yet to experience. Workshops for teaching knitting; collage; basic photo editing and more – without the requirement “The pressure is off, letting studentswho might not consider themselves as‘creative’ tofindout that perhaps theyare...” 48 teachwire.net/secondary