Arts Education Program

Windmill Performing Arts has established a vibrant and structured arts education program. The program is focussed on providing a rich and broad framework for developing a deeper understanding of the impact of children’s learning through engagement with the performing arts.

The Arts Project Manager, Julie Orchard, is seconded from the Department of Education and Children's Services directly through Learning Areas and Curriculum Group (the Arts). The appointment of a seconded teacher endorses the shared commitment of DECS and Windmill to developing partnerships between the education sector and arts industry. Windmill is a working example of the DECS and Arts SA strategy for arts education, ARTSsmart.

In October 2007, the Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA) released the National Education and the Arts Statement. This is the result of a joint resolve by both the Cultural Ministers' Council (CMC) and MCEEYTA in 2005 to set down a vision for the future of education and the arts in Australia.

The statement is underpinned by three principles:

1. All children and young people should have high quality arts education in every phase of learning.
2. Creating partnerships strengthens community identity and local cultures.
3. Connecting schools with the arts and cultural sector enriches learning outcomes.

Windmill's Arts Education program highlights the key areas of collaborative action identified in the report:

• Professional learning
• Curriculum policy and learning resources
• Research and communication
• Partnerships

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Windmill's vigorous Arts Education Program covers:

Arts Education Initiatives

Mimili Anangu School Community Project

In 2006 Windmill established a three-year partnership project with Anangu Education Services and Mimili Anangu School Community. Commonwealth funding from DEST (Department of Education Science & Training) has provided the opportunity to develop a literate resource text to be authored by the students, describing the creative journey of a theatre production.

Performance Literacy - Early Years

In 2008, Windmill is further developing an exploratory project that seeks to examine the function of literacy through engagement with performing arts. The project will examine language development through pre-performance and post-performance activities and how this links to the development of performance literate learners.

Rural Access - 3D

In partnership with the Adelaide Festival Centre's CentrED, Windmill has developed the rural access program '3D'. This provides selected regional schools access to quality in-theatre performances through subsidy. For 2008, the performance selected is Helly’s Magic Cup.

Comp Tickets

Windmill's Community Policy offers 15% of tickets to disadvantaged schools for free. Schools ranked 1-4 are selected in accordance with the DECS Index of Disadvantage. DSP schools are offered the equivalent of 1-2 classes, depending on the capacity of the venue. The offer includes both metropolitan and regional schools.

Travel Subsidies

Through a partnership with Adelaide Metro, Windmill can offer free/subsidised transport to disadvantaged schools (economic/geographic) to attend shows. The subsidy takes into consideration the DECS Index of Disadvantage for government schools, and non-government schools in consultation with Catholic Education and the Independent Schools Board. For more information, contact Windmill's Arts Project Manager.

Teacher-Student Ratio

Teachers are admitted free according to the duty of care ratio:
CPC - Year 2 (1:6)
Yr 3 - Yr 7 (1:10)
Yr 8 - Yr 12 (1:15)