Music and performing arts
From the stalls: observe a performance and explain its effect
Describe an observed performance choice, support an interpretation with evidence and explain its possible effect on an audience.
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Head of Creative and Performing Arts
Yusuf Karim
I coordinate Art, Music and Drama while keeping each discipline’s assessment criteria distinct, using moderation and shared preparation to support practical work without flattening the separate craft.
Explore the collectionA little about me
Art, Music and Drama sit within one faculty, yet their work is assessed against different criteria. I lead across all three practical subjects, so moderation has to support consistency without making the subjects look interchangeable. The distinction matters when teachers discuss what a student has made and what feedback will help next.
The annual July showcase is our shared faculty project. It brings the disciplines together for one event, while each performance or piece still needs the language and standards of its own art form. I value coordination that makes this collective work manageable and leaves room for the separate craft of each subject.
When planning assessment support, I start by asking what is being judged in that discipline. A common process can help colleagues compare decisions, but it should not replace subject-specific criteria. I also broker creative-sector career links used by the wider programme. That connection belongs alongside, not in place of, each subject’s own assessment criteria.
How I approach a lesson
Before moderation, agree which subject criterion the feedback addresses.
Plan showcase logistics with the separate demands of each art form in view.
Connect practical arts teaching with the creative-sector career links I broker.
Templates I'd use with my class
Explore these templates and decide what fits your own setting.
Planning template
Project brief and production planner
Create a production plan that assigns roles, orders shots, schedules tasks, anticipates risks and records permissions needed before filming or sharing.
Music and performing arts
Music practice log: focus, evidence and next target
Record a focused practice goal, what improved, what remains difficult and a next target across individual or ensemble sessions.