The Arts at SMMA

Arts are an integral part of the curriculum at SMMA Primary.  They are a powerful mode of communication through which students explore and construct a sense of self and develop an understanding of the world around them. Arts provide students with a wide range of opportunities and means to respond to their experiences and engage with historical, social and cultural perspectives. The students are stimulated to think and to articulate their thoughts in new ways, and through a variety of media.  

Arts promote attitudes such as empathy and appreciation, and skills such as analysis, that help us to see the uniqueness of each person as well as explore the commonalities that connect us. Work in arts is a way of conveying meaning, sharing a culture, developing one’s sense of self, and expanding knowledge. It provides opportunity to reflect on aesthetic experience, to engage the imagination and explore what is uncertain. Through engaging with and creating artworks, learners are encouraged to reconsider familiar concepts and think about issues of culture and identity. By responding to the work of other artists, they are invited to situate their own creativity within a broader context.

Each of these arts is a significant discipline in its own right, and we provide opportunities for them to be taught separately, but the transdisciplinary nature of our curriculum gives them relevance throughout the curriculum.  Equally our location in London brings with it different opportunities locally to engage with one-off Arts events, exhibitions and workshops which are relevant or enhance our pupils’ experiences

We also work in partnership with the other Church of England schools in England to curate special events. Below is a video of the Year 1 students across the school participating in a musical opportunity.