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Peforming Arts Facilities in Schools – 20 starter questions local navigation

Performing Arts Facilities in Schools

20 starter questions for school managers

  1. What is our vision for school property in the long term? What are our priorities and gaps?
  2. How do the performing arts and arts facilities fit into the whole-school plan? How could other property plans be adapted to include the arts? What health and safety issues might there be with the existing facilities?
  3. What is our vision for the arts curriculum at least five years out, especially if we have staff and roll changes? How will this improve student learning? What will our students need to access in the future to maximise their learning?
  4. Do we see the arts as an integrated faculty or separate programmes, now and in the future? Will the arts be taught in standard classrooms or in specialist arts spaces? Are there differences between facilities for performance needs and facilities for student learning? If so, what are they?
  5. What are our baseline needs in terms of the arts curriculum and the programmes we intend to run? How well do our current performing arts facilities enable us to deliver the arts curriculum? What additional functionality do we actually need? How will our students work together (independently and collaboratively) to learn in, through, and about the arts? How will they share their creative work with each other and the wider school community?
  6. Do the needs of each arts discipline differ? Can we meet all of these now?
  7. What will the facilities be used for 90% of the time? Can these uses be prioritised?
  8. What benefits and ramifications could there be beyond the arts programme if arts facilities are improved?
  9. How much of what we require could be managed now? Is this the first stage of a multi-phase project or is this our one chance? Is there a likelihood of more funding in later years?
  10. Could we collaborate with other schools in the local area? (for example, build a super-centre for performing arts)

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  11. Can we adapt and enlarge current facilities, or should we start afresh?
  12. Can we use local non-school facilities for any aspect of the curriculum?
  13. How can we design an initial facility so that we avoid problems later if we want to add to it?
  14. Can some curriculum needs be met through joint-use facilities (like access to computers, quiet study spaces, sound and video recording spaces)?
  15. Is staff recruitment and retention an issue? Will better arts facilities contribute to better staff conditions and morale? Will better arts facilities encourage more students to consider arts learning? Will better facilities impact on student achievement? How?
  16. How will the public or community be involved, if at all? Could better facilities encourage students to be involved in community arts event?
  17. If we enlarge the project by seeking community or commercial funding, will there be any expectation for public use? Will this compromise curriculum use?
  18. What are the school's needs for non-curricular assembly or event spaces? How will these impact on curriculum use? (in reality, not just in principle)
  19. What is the school's attitude to multi-use facilities? Could such a facility be beneficial? Does the school have protocols around multi-use facilities?
  20. Could we justify what seems like an ambitious development with some added extras for the school as a whole? (For example, providing a multi-purpose kitchen, a new school frontage, additional office spaces, improvements to a neglected outdoor space, a useful facility for the community, or the capacity to generate income.) Would these extras help or hinder the teaching of curriculum arts programmes?

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