Raising attainment in Art

The Vision:

During a period of intense national pressure to “raise standards” I have been asked to write an article on raising attainment in Art at Nova Hreod Academy.  Whenever attainment and Art are mentioned in the same sentence, it is usually followed by the gender gap in results between boys and girls. This continues to be a real focus and for good reason. As reflected in the 2009 Ofsted report about boys' engagement in Art and Design, “On average, boys do worse than girls at secondary level. Girls get higher grades: 80% achieved A* to C grades in 2008, compared with 63% of boys. Often [boys] were seen to lose interest and make limited progress". The report noted that ‘Boys are put off art and design at secondary level because lessons are too focused on drawing and painting rather than computer design and digital photography’.

I would like to change the above to talk about any student who is not naturally exceptionally talented at drawing, or willing to put the hours into perfecting the craft (and I mean hours – not the hours dedicated to Art in the classroom, but endless hours of drawing and re drawing the same thing, at home in their spare time). In reality the majority of students opting for Art do so, because they enjoy it. Arguably drawing underpins any artistic endeavour – but what if you are not good at it? Does that mean you are destined to get a ‘D’ grade in your Art and Design GCSE? Even though you have done everything asked of you by your teacher and you have worked consistently throughout? Surely the answer has to be a resounding 'no', so how do we go about engaging low ability students with the subject and supporting them to achieve higher grades.

My aim is to give some context to the challenges faced here at Nova and the strategies put in place that helped us to bridge the gap between where we were (49% A/C with the average grade being a D-) and where we wanted to be (in line with national averages with an average grade of C or above). I have been Head of the Art Department at Nova Hreod Academy for two years now and have seen a significant increase in engagement and attainment from low ability students (here I mean students who are not naturally good at drawing, not low prior attainers).  When I arrived at Nova Hreod Academy, there was a focus on drawing in the Art department that was allowing the top students to achieve exceptional outcomes; however the majority of students were struggling to achieve the top grades. The main barrier to achieving these grades was the notion that to be good at Art you have to be good at drawing. Over the year that followed there were five key areas that needed development.

Equipment:

According to a three-year study of Art and Design in 180 schools published by Ofsted in 2009, “Boys do better when they are given more practical opportunities.” Again, this could be changed to low ability students or students struggling to draw. The first step to being able to offer students access to the desired technology to engage them is equipment. No longer is it sufficient for Art departments to be stocked with basic Art and Design paraphernalia, departments need to invest in equipment that allows and promotes experimentation in a wide range of media, even spray paint.

Broad and engaging curriculum:

The second issue is what is actually being taught? Not only what skills are being developed, but also, what themes or topics are being covered? One of my first actions was to overhaul the schemes of work. I set about creating an exciting and engaging curriculum; I tried to choose themes that will engage students, with a keen focus towards something that is assessable. For instance, this year I was planning a trip to London, so I planned a scheme of work on Landmarks, as the students will be able to have a wealth of first hand imagery and inspiration from the trip. Likewise, I avoid topics such as ‘under the sea’ because there are obvious limitations to students accessing the theme first-hand.

Teaching staff subject enhancement:

As an Art specialist I would describe myself as jack-of-all-trades, my degree allowed me to explore a number of interdisciplinary specialisms. I am not a painter biased by the materiality of paint or a ceramicist endeared to the qualities of clay. I love it all. This is something that I try to instil in the students, they are encouraged to try a broad range of techniques and find the one that suits them. This allows them some autonomy about how they learn in Art.

To facilitate this style of learning, the members of staff teaching the schemes of work have to also be confident to stretch and challenge students by showing examples of excellence in a range of media. There is a constant need to improve and update subject pedagogy.  This is no simple task, in this academic year I have had to improve my knowledge of spray paint to support a disengaged student wanting to work in this media. Graffiti Art is not a personal strength or interest of mine and has taken a growth mind-set that Carol Dweck would be proud of, however these efforts have enabled a student on track to achieve a D/E to achieve a C grade in my subject.

Assessment and feedback policy:

A key way to ensure progress in any subject is to track prior knowledge and give valuable feedback to students to enable them to make improvements. It seems simple, yet in Art it can prove challenging to evidence. Students are given 1:1 coaching every lesson, from a 1:1 teacher demo, to a student being paired with a strong peer, all students receive feedback every lesson and written feedback every two weeks.

As a Head of Department I regularly analyse our data to assess what we are doing well and where we need to make improvements. It was obvious when I arrived that PPG students underperformed compared with non-PPG students, so we have looked at breaking down the barriers to learning for PPG students. Feedback from student voice implied that students simply did not have access to the equipment they needed at home. To combat this we now provide a sketchbook and a portfolio pack of basic Art supplies to PPG students, they also have free spaces allocated on any trips or extracurricular events we offer.

Out of classroom learning:

In all honesty for students to achieve top grades in Art and Design at GCSE, they need to be dedicating at least 2 hours a week outside the classroom towards their artwork. Here at Nova we have bred a culture where I often have to 'kick' students out of my room at the end of the day! We run a 5 year GCSE with early intervention for year 7-10 students, and offer after school clubs and regular competitions to raise aspirations and engagement with the subject. There is excellent engagement in such extracurricular activities and attendance levels are high for any additional provision we put on. This is at times exhausting, (with catch up sessions that run most nights of the week) but the satisfaction I receive from walking through corridors full of exceptional artwork on display is by far worth the time and effort expelled.

In conclusion, as I set up an exhibition for the moderator visit, I am astounded at the varied outcomes our students have created this year. In a department that has embraced non-traditional Art methods, the students have flourished. Last year students achieved exceptional outcomes and were able to show progress over time with 82.1% of students making 3+ Levels of Progress and 46.2% of students making 4+ levels of progress. Not only were we above national averages, but we have also had a huge increase of 35% from the previous year. This year we have predicted 85% A-C with 32% A/A*.

The main challenge now is not A/C percentages, or the low ability/gender/PPG gap, but how we sustain a trajectory of success within the Art department, and more importantly how we exploit the above strategies and results to help other departments make similar gains. The above gains would not have been possible without the continued support of members of the senior leadership team, department technicians, out of subject teachers – especially Technology, and also the amazing enthusiasm and subject knowledge shared by our trainee teachers on placement with us.

Sophie Fegan