Kakatsitsi’s educational performances and workshops have links across a number of areas of learning, from the Early Years Foundation Stage through Key Stages 1 and 2.
The strongest direct curriculum links are with Music and Physical Education, but the programme also supports learning relating to communication and listening, relationships and respect, cultural understanding and Geography.
Because the programme combines explanation with live performance and active participation, children encounter these areas not simply as abstract subjects but through direct interaction with Ghanaian musicians and dancers.
Early Years Foundation Stage
Kakatsitsi’s programme has particularly strong links with several areas of learning within the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS).
Understanding the World — People, Culture and Communities
The EYFS encourages children to develop their understanding of the culturally and socially diverse world in which they live.
Meeting Kakatsitsi gives young children direct experience of people from a different country and cultural tradition. Through music, dance, stories and explanation, children are introduced to life and culture in Ghana and encouraged to recognise both differences and similarities between their own experiences and those of other people.
The programme can help children develop:
curiosity about other countries, peoples and cultures;
awareness that different communities have different traditions and ways of expressing themselves;
respect for cultural difference; and
an understanding of some of the similarities shared between people and communities.
Communication and Language
Participation in Kakatsitsi’s performance requires children to listen carefully, respond to instructions and communicate as part of a group.
Call-and-response singing, rhythmic exercises and participatory dance encourage children to listen and respond appropriately, maintain attention and take part confidently in collective activities.
Personal, Social and Emotional Development
The programme encourages children to participate alongside others, take turns, cooperate and develop confidence in expressing themselves.
Group music and dance also provide an immediate experience of how individual participation contributes to a successful collective activity.
Expressive Arts and Design
Children encounter professional musicians and dancers performing live and are encouraged to participate themselves through rhythm, singing and movement.
The programme therefore supports children’s opportunities to explore music and dance, respond creatively to performance and develop confidence in their own artistic expression.
Music — Key Stage 1
At Key Stage 1, the National Curriculum requires pupils to use their voices expressively and creatively, play tuned and untuned instruments, listen with concentration and understanding, and experiment with and combine sounds.
Kakatsitsi’s programme gives pupils opportunities to:
experience high-quality live music performed by professional Ghanaian musicians;
listen closely to different drum, bell and percussion patterns;
use their voices through songs, chants and call-and-response singing;
play drums and percussion instruments;
maintain a timing pattern while different rhythms are played around them;
hear how different musical parts combine to form a complete ensemble;
explore the relationship between rhythm, singing and movement; and
participate collectively in music-making.
Music — Key Stage 2
At Key Stage 2, pupils develop greater confidence and control in performing, listening and composing, while developing their understanding of how music is organised.
Kakatsitsi’s programme supports this by giving pupils opportunities to:
perform with voices, drums and percussion;
develop rhythmic accuracy and control;
listen with attention to detail;
maintain their own musical part while listening to other performers;
understand how different rhythmic patterns interlock;
explore the bell’s role as a common timing reference within an ensemble;
experiment with rhythmic variations and simple improvisation;
experience call and response in both singing and drumming;
explore pitch, rhythm, timbre, texture and musical structure; and
encounter music from a cultural and musical tradition which may be different from those they already know.
Physical Education — Dance and Movement
Dance is an important part of Kakatsitsi’s educational programme and provides a direct link with the National Curriculum for Physical Education.
At Key Stage 1, pupils are expected to perform dances using simple movement patterns, while at Key Stage 2 they develop a broader range of movements and learn to link them into sequences.
Through Kakatsitsi’s performances and workshops, children:
learn and reproduce traditional Ghanaian dance movements;
develop coordination, balance and control;
respond physically to rhythm;
link movements together into sequences;
learn how movements can respond to the calls of the master drummer;
develop confidence in physical expression; and
dance cooperatively as part of a group.
Relationships Education and PSHE
Primary schools must provide Relationships Education, while schools also commonly teach Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education (PSHE).
Current statutory Relationships Education places considerable emphasis on respectful relationships. Pupils should understand the importance of respecting other people, including people whose backgrounds, preferences or beliefs may differ from their own, and should understand how stereotypes can be unfair or damaging.
Kakatsitsi’s programme provides a positive encounter with people from a different cultural background and encourages children to approach cultural difference with curiosity and respect.
The participatory nature of the programme also encourages children to:
listen to other people;
take turns and respond to others;
cooperate as part of a group;
recognise the importance of everybody’s contribution;
develop confidence in participating alongside others;
respect different forms of cultural expression; and
question simplistic or stereotypical ideas about Africa and African cultures.
Traditional Ghanaian ensemble music itself provides a useful practical model of cooperation. Each participant has an individual contribution to make, but the music succeeds only when everybody listens to one another and works together.
Listening, Concentration and Working Together
Listening is central to Kakatsitsi’s approach.
During the educational performance, children learn the timing pattern played by the bell and reproduce it on their knees. A drummer then introduces a different rhythm and the children are challenged to maintain their own timing without becoming distracted, listening carefully to the bell as their reference point.
As the music becomes increasingly complex, they experience directly the importance of concentration, selective listening and maintaining their own contribution within a collective activity.
The same principles continue in the workshops. Children learn individual rhythmic, vocal or movement parts while also learning to listen and respond to the people around them.
These activities support skills which are valuable across school life, including:
sustained attention;
careful listening;
concentration;
cooperation and teamwork;
following instructions;
confidence;
creativity within a shared structure; and
understanding the relationship between individual and collective achievement.
Geography
Kakatsitsi’s programme can also provide a valuable cultural context for geographical learning.
Children are introduced to Ghana and its capital, Accra, and learn that Kakatsitsi come from Jamestown, a historic Ga fishing community on the coast of Accra.
Through the educational performance they encounter aspects of the relationship between people, place, culture and economic activity. For example, they learn about the importance of fishing within Jamestown and how traditional fishing songs accompany collective work.
For younger pupils, this can complement learning about the world’s continents and countries and the study of places outside Europe. For older primary pupils, the programme can contribute to a broader understanding of places, peoples and human activity beyond their immediate environment.
Schools wishing to develop this connection further can use Kakatsitsi’s visit as a starting point for classroom work on Ghana, West Africa, Accra, coastal communities, fishing and the relationship between culture and place.
Cultural Understanding
One of the particular strengths of Kakatsitsi’s programme is that children encounter Ghanaian culture through direct contact with Ghanaian artists.
The educational performance introduces children to subjects including the Ga people of coastal Ghana, Jamestown’s fishing traditions, call-and-response singing, traditional instruments, libation and spirituality, social occasions, community music-making and traditional dance.
Children are able not only to hear about these traditions but to see, hear and participate in them, and, where time permits, ask the musicians questions themselves.
This direct encounter can encourage curiosity about other cultures while helping children recognise shared human experiences — including music, dance, family, work, spirituality, celebration and community.
Further Information
The programme can be adapted for different age groups and schools are welcome to discuss particular curriculum priorities with Indigenous People when planning a visit.