WEST ISLAND SCHOOL
CREATIVE ARTS FACULTY WALKTHROUGH
It is clearly evident that students are recognised as individual learners. Every student makes good progress
regardless of starting points through effective personalisation of learning. The individual needs of all
students’ needs were clearly considered in all lessons seen with excellent examples of effective personalised
learning and use of feedback to feed forward. Film Studies students worked well collaboratively; listening
attentively to presentations and feeding back to each other on strengths and areas for development. Students
were given a clear framework (in line with the board’s marking criteria) which enabled constructive quality
feedback. Art students were asked to reflect on their practical and creative targets; students had critiqued
work from another class (a good example of gallery feedback) and were provided with subject specific
terminology to enable them to evaluate their own lino print and move to the next level. The teacher had
identified early on in the process that some students struggled with setting their own targets and intervened
effectively to ensure all students understood the concept and build on their reflections. Across the faculty
there was a real sense of students being made to think about their learning either through self, peer, group or
whole class assessment; a real strength of Creative Arts.
Effective questioning challenged students in their thinking; a good example of this was seen with Year 12
Drama students. Here differentiated questioning of students and allowing students a choice in how they
approach the task allowed for the three to really develop their own thinking and deepen their learning. They
were encouraged to use subject specific vocabulary in their responses; the teacher modelled this
throughout the walkthrough in her questioning of and prompts given to students hence pushing them to a real
depth of learning and challenge. Effective use of Blooms in terms of language used by the teacher developed
students’ higher order thinking skills. Similarly in Dance students were adding their reflections to a working
board with key phrases and concepts covered during the lesson. Throughout the Dance visit the teacher
constantly encouraged all students to reflect on their performances and challenged them to think of alternative
ways to improve on their piece. Excellent role modelling created a real sense of working in partnership to
achieve the best possible outcomes. Students are fully engaged in supporting each other to improve their
performance skills because routines are clearly firmly embedded within a clear criteria by which they could
evaluate their own and their peers’ progress.
Good collaborative and supportive practice was a key feature in the Lower School Music lessons
seen. Student dialogue was purposeful working on their Garage Band pieces and Year 8 class discussions
and Google sharing when analysing A Space Odyssey were impressive. They were not afraid to question
each other in their thinking and change the direction of their learning through experimentation and
exploration. A concise learning checklist, clear prompt sheets and timely checkpoints to gauge learning
illustrated clear progression for all. The subtle alternation of challenge and support was also a strong feature
in the Art lessons seen. Year 12 students enthused about the opportunity to try out new techniques which
pushed them out of their comfort zone. Lower school students in Art and Music were unified in their
appreciation of having a choice in their direction of learning, having a voice in how to approach tasks and
being given the opportunity and freedom to express themselves.
WEST ISLAND SCHOOL
CREATIVE ARTS FACULTY WALKTHROUGH
The faculty should pride itself on the excellent pedagogical subject knowledge across the faculty. In all
areas of Creative Arts subject expertise was used effectively in a way that connected with the students’ level
of understanding to foster genuine enthusiasm for the subject. Students on entry in Drama were immersed
instantly and engagement was activated instantly with Tsakos video clip and the room clearly organised and
ready for learning. Upper School Art students were completely immersed in their own designs and given the
freedom to explore based on their own research; they were able to verbalise clearly and eloquently their
challenges in the process and their areas for development. Across the faculty students spoke very highly of
their learning experiences; the high expectations, high standards and strong teacher-student
relationships; the genuine care shown and the use of humour, the structure of the course; how well
organised and resourced lessons were and the freedom to explore, experiment and create within a clear
framework. One overriding statement from students spoken to is how much they enjoyed and thrived on the
high
challenge.
Students
are pushed to
think, explore and
develop their
own
ideas
and
interpretations. Strong examples were seen of students working independently and taking ownership of
their learning; developing the desired intrinsically motivated and self-regulated student.
All students learn well in Creative Arts; lessons built on prior knowledge; learning was clearly connected and
planned for progression. Learning objectives were shared and explored as either a class or as individuals; this
gave students a real purpose and context to their learning. In a Year 8 Music lesson mini plenaries were used
effectively to systematically check the learning and address any misconceptions. Art students were
challenged to apply skills acquired in previous lessons to think more imaginatively and create their own aerial
views of the world. Here students were provided with an array of stimuli to activate their learning and
challenged to think more “imaginatively” and not to copy from stimulus provided. Lessons seen showed clear
acquisition of skill to effective application. In Dance it was clearly visible that students had acquired a
range of different techniques and linked what they had learnt to aspects covered in the previous
lesson. Excellent learning conversations were observed between peers and with a good example seen
here of teacher as facilitator.
Across Creative Arts there is a good balance of teacher input and independent learning, and pacing the
lesson for both engagement and reflection. Teachers here have been able to strike an appropriate
balance between opportunities to work independently, to use focused collaboration in groups or pairs and for
direct input from the teacher. The planning and preparation in creating the balance of activities evidently
works well to achieve positive learning experiences and outcomes for all.