Creative Curriculum

At St Dominic’s we like to take a creative approach to delivering the national curriculum with new and exciting ways for the children to learn.  Every Friday, the school day has no traditional subjects such as English and Maths taught in isolation, but instead all departments work together.  The students in Key Stages 2 and 3 are grouped vertically on these days, and cover all areas of the curriculum as part of one topic, which changes each half term.  The topics are chosen to be of interest to the children, and so far have included the Countryside, Comic Strips, and ‘Narnia’, to name but a few.  Trips out are regularly included, as well as workshops presented by visiting specialists. 

Lessons are tailored around the exploration of the theme across all areas of the curriculum, with the emphasis on learning from experience.  In this way, each National Curriculum subject is covered but because it merges into the topic, it becomes a fun way of learning.  For example, on the theme of ’Out and About—the Countryside’, the children visited various local places of natural beauty, and  learned about animal and plant identification, and life cycles as part of Science, as well as weather conditions and the environment for Geography; Maths was used for collection, handling and interpretation of data, alongside skills required for English lessons such as speaking and listening, reading and writing; Health and Safety issues were discussed and photography skills practised; topics on understanding the principles of stewardship, and the concept of awe and wonder brought RE alive, and ICT was used for further research in a variety of areas.  There was also therapy input in terms of increased levels of sensory awareness, the use of individual and collaborative skills, and eye/hand co-ordination.  Music brought the whole school together for themed concert performances, involving percussion sessions, drama, dance and stagecraft. 

For the theme of ‘Narnia’, an end of term drama production was planned.  The students made posters to advertise the production, and programmes to hand out to the audience on the day.  All the children studied 1940’s graphics, and learned what it might be like to have been an evacuee at that time.  Some worked on the design and creation of the fantastically impressive set; some made the wonderful costumes, or worked on the musical backing for the show; and some took on challenging acting roles and had to learn their lines for the big day.  

All the children agree that they learn a lot, but find it's more fun without the formal lessons on our Creative Curriculum Fridays!