Drama

Drama curriculum statement

Introduction

At Castle Primary School we believe that through drama, pupils should be given the opportunity and encouragement to develop and demonstrate their creative talents. As with all arts, drama involves imagination and feeling, and helps children make sense of the world. It does this through the creation of imagined characters and situations, and the relationships and events that they encounter. Through engagement in drama, pupils apply their imaginations and draw upon their own personal experiences. Their increasing knowledge and understanding of how the elements of drama work enables them to effectively shape, express and share their ideas, feelings and responses, making use of language, space, symbol, allegory and metaphor.

We believe that all pupils should be enabled to participate in and gain knowledge, skills and understanding associated with the artistic practice of drama. Pupils should be able to adopt, create and sustain a range of roles, responding appropriately to others in role. They should have opportunities to improvise, devise and script drama for one another and a range of audiences, as well as to rehearse, refine, share and respond thoughtfully to drama and theatre performances.

Intent

Castle Primary School aims to:

• encourage imaginative and creative processes and responses by involving pupils in a range of drama methods and activities.
• develop the capacity to express ideas and feelings through drama by encouraging constructive responses to drama work, sharing ideas and selecting appropriate drama methods.
• develop oral and physical skills, including using language and movement appropriate to role, through poetry and drama activities and responding to drama.
• offer pupils the opportunity to experience aspects of theatre by rehearsing and presenting their work to others.
• provide the opportunity for script reading and script writing skills through structured activities and lesson plans.
• provide opportunities to see and hear different types of performance and drama.

Implementation

The drama curriculum ensures students perform, listen, and evaluate. This is embedded in the classroom activities as part of English lessons. During these the children are given opportunities to read aloud their own work in lessons. Role-play in English is a key part of rehearsing stories and developing oral skills. There are regular opportunities for the children across the school to perform and participate in drama activities as part of the class performances including Easter, Harvest and Christmas.

Impact

Our drama curriculum ensures our children will have the opportunity to develop self-confidence and sense of self-worth through their participation in performing for an audience. Through these performances to parents and families the children will develop their sense of teamwork and collaboration. The children will develop a heightened awareness of drama opportunities available in and outside of school in the hope that access will be increased. The children will be able to appreciate varied drama performances.