Cultural Capital

STORYHOUSE COLLABORATION

In January 2022, Dorin Park School entered into a partnership with Storyhouse.

This document describes why and how the collaboration came about and its impact on learners.

SPORT

Physical Education (PE) at Dorin Park School provides targeted, inspiring, challenging, fun and inclusive activities which allow learners to be active and engaged in their own time through exploration, play, games and sports. Our PE lessons aim to inspire, encourage and support all our learners to achieve their full potential. We follow the EQUALS ‘My Physical Wellbeing’ curriculum, which allows learners to follow a progression pathway suited to their approach to learning, in each key stage. Where appropriate, our learners have the opportunity to gain accreditations and attend local leisure centres and gyms.

We promote a cross-curricular approach, with learners being active in other lessons (e.g. Active English and Mathematics), and some taking part in sensory circuits and rebound sessions in the mornings and afternoons.

We are very proud of our sports achievements. We offer and train teams across the key stages (either in lessons or lunchtime sports clubs) to compete in various School Games tournaments and Panathlon events, and we often come first or second! We offer weekly timetabled swimming lessons to all of our Primary learners; some eventually enter and win awards in county Panathlon swimming gala finals. We promote, and signpost our learners to, local community sports clubs; for example, Dynamos Cricket at Birkenhead Cricket Club, and Upton-by-Chester Tennis Club.

We have gained the School Games Mark Gold award for the last two years (2020-21 and 2021-22) through our membership of the Cheshire School Sports Partnership (CSSP).

The School Games consists of four unique types of competition:

Intra-School Competition
Local Inter-School Competition
School Games County Provision/Offer
School Games National Finals

These competition formats are aimed at encouraging participation and support our learners to build and extend their skills and confidence.

Our learners’ wellbeing is of the utmost importance to us in every PE lesson (healthy minds, healthy body!).

MUSIC

Music is a powerful tool for learning and development. At Dorin Park music is used not only in lessons but around school through performances, extra-curricular activities and services which use music interactively and purposefully to open the students up to new experiences and concepts.

Events

Live Music Now

Sam Rodwell, guitarist, gave a workshop to learners in EYFS and those on the pre-formal pathway. The event was sponsored by ‘Live Music Now’.

The guitar was especially suitable for the sensory learners who enjoyed a mixture of visual prompts, aural stimulation and sensory touch. The learners listened attentively to the music and some sang and danced along to their favourite Disney songs. The learners thoroughly enjoyed the performance and had a lovely relaxing morning.

Extra-curricular musical activities

The Dorin Park Choir

The Dorin Park Choir has a repertoire of music ranging from classics to popular songs and rehearses once a week. The choir takes part in the major events at school such as the Christmas service, Easter service and Harvest festival. They have more recently performed at the parents coffee morning and the Year 11 leavers’ celebration.

Sing and Sign Choir

The Dorin Park Sing and Sign Choir sing and use Makaton signs to perform a wide range of songs, from Pop music and Christmas carols to songs from the musicals. We meet once a week to rehearse and use ‘Singing Hands’ videos to help us to learn the Makaton signs. We have performed at a range of events, including on the Primary Christmas DVD, at end of term achievers’ assemblies, and the Year 6 transition to seniors assembly for parents and pupils.

DRAMA

Drama plays a vital role in developing the communicative and creative skills of our learners at Dorin Park. All semi-formal pathway learners participate in drama activities as part of their My Communication and My Creativity lessons. These activities tend to be influenced by the drama in education practitioner Dorothy Heathcote, who believed in collaborative, enquiry-based drama activities to develop creativity and problem solving.

Learners on our pre-formal pathway participate in sensory drama experiences. Many of those on our semi-formal pathway participate in drama games to develop their resilience, imagination and turn-taking skills.

Primary learners have the opportunity to develop their performance skills in the Christmas Nativity, and Seniors in their Christmas Show and Dorin’s Got Talent.

We recognise the importance of providing cultural experiences to our students. This year, all of Key Stage 3 have visited Storyhouse to watch Oliver Twist, and we also have an annual performance in school by M&M Theatre Productions.

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