Nurturing Creative Relationships Between Primary & Secondary School Levels
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NURTURING CREATIVE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN PRIMARY & SECONDARY SCHOOL LEVELS Sharing the Learning of the Hear My Voice Project The Citizens Theatre presents the results of a 3-year creative arts project, delivered in Nurture rooms within Glasgow Learning Communities. CONTENTS Introduction to the Project Pages 2 & 3 Schools and Learning Communities Involved Pages 4 & 5 Aims and Expected Outcomes Pages 6 & 7 Key Principles & Strategies of Hear My Voice Pages 8 & 9 Examples of Activities Pages 10-17 Project Successes Pages 18-21 Hurdles Along the Way Pages 22-23 Case Studies Pages 24-25 Project Legacy Pages 26-27 Recommendations Going Forward Pages 28-29 Thanks Page 30 INTRODUCTION TO THE PROJECT In 2017 the Citizens Theatre developed an innovative the first block of the project, pupils work within their During the joint workshops, the pupils participate in year. At this event, the pupils are presented with their creative arts and storytelling project called Hear My familiar small groups, comprised of pupils the same age a variety of creative activities. They work in pairs, in books, reminisce about the fun they’ve had during the Voice. The theatre’s Learning team had several years as them. Over a matter of weeks, trust is slowly built small groups and also in larger groups, to encourage project and some pupils share their experiences by experience of working in Nurture rooms in Glasgow, and the pupils enjoy a variety of creative tasks which them to form new relationships. doing a presentation for the invited guests. delivering creative arts projects at both primary and are carefully planned to gently encourage discussion, secondary levels. self-expression and social interaction. In the final term, the older pupils are taught how At the heart of the Hear My Voice project is the to use computer design software and they create simple concept of bringing Nurture pupils from key Staff from the Citizens Learning team felt there was Near the end of the first block, the pupils are a commemorative book which contains highlights transitional stages together, so they can learn from a natural progression to all the work that had gone introduced to the idea of joining forces with pupils of what has been achieved throughout the project. each other, build trust and unlock their creativity in a before and embarked on an exciting journey to develop from within their Learning Community who are at a During this term, the pupils work on a one-to-one basis safe environment. the creative practice of Hear My Voice. different stage to them. The older pupils are taught with Citizens Learning staff, with each pupil responsible facilitation skills, to prepare them for leading practical for planning and designing two pages. The book is then This document will explore the impact Hear My Voice In a nutshell, the project focuses on three key school activities with the younger pupils. professionally printed and everyone involved in the has had during its three years. It will highlight the main stages - P1, P7 and S1. Nurture pupils from each project receives their own copy. successes of the project and analyse what didn’t work of these stages participate in practical drama, art, Eventually, all three age groups are brought together so well. storytelling and creative writing workshops which are for a term of joint practical workshops. Ideally, these Finally, the older pupils plan a fun celebratory event, delivered by professionals from the Citizens Theatre. take place alternately at the primary school and the which all participants, their family members and This document will also present critical success Nurture teachers and Support for Learning staff also secondary school, allowing each group of pupils to be teachers are invited to. This event is the culmination criteria for creative partnerships between primary and join in with every aspect of the programme. During ‘hosts’ at some point. of the project and takes place at the end of the school secondary Nurture groups. 2 3 SCHOOLS AND LEARNING COMMUNITIES INVOLVED At the heart of Hear My Voice is the idea of pupils from different key In Year 3 of the Hear My Voice project, the following schools participated: transitional stages working together. The Citizens Theatre therefore had to identify which Learning Communities in Glasgow had Nurture • Sandwood Primary School in Penilee groups functioning in both primary and secondary schools. The distance • Lourdes Secondary School in Cardonald (the more obvious partner between schools was also a factor, as pupils would be required to visit school would have been Rosshall Secondary, but they were unable to their partner school at various times during the project. However, the participate) cost of taxi journeys was included in the project budget. • Alexandra Parade Primary School in Dennistoun Citizens Theatre staff approached Jenni Kerr, the Nurture Development • Whitehill Secondary in Dennistoun Officer for Glasgow, and asked for help in identifying potential schools and teachers who would be keen to participate. Jenni’s help was The number of Glasgow secondary schools that have a Nurture invaluable and schools were quickly identified to participate in Year 1. group is far lower than the number of primary schools that run These were: a Nurture group. Therefore, secondary schools were generally identified before partner primaries were then found. • St Bernard’s Primary School in Nitshill • St Paul’s High School in Pollok It is also important to mention that the way Nurture groups run is slightly different depending on the schedule of each individual school. Generally, • Sandaig Primary School in Barlanark* P1/2 groups have many similarities across different schools, with pupils • Bannerman High School in Baillieston spending time each morning with the Nurture teacher and then, usually, pupils are back in their own classrooms each afternoon. All of the schools that participated in Year 1 of the project already had established Nurture groups and school staff were keen to participate and The secondary school set up has much more variation between schools. fully on board. Neither primary school had a specific Nurture group of P7 Some secondary Nurture groups meet only once or twice per week and pupils, so a handful of pupils were identified to participate. These pupils some meet daily. Some secondary groups include S1 pupils and some had either been involved in the Nurture programme when they were in include S2 pupils. P1/2 or would have been involved, if the school had run a Nurture group historically. *Unfortunately, by the time the project started in Sandaig Primary School In Year 2 of the project, the following schools were involved: the Nurture teacher was no longer in post. The school was still keen to participate in the project so plans were adapted. A small group of • Cleeves Primary School in Nitshill P1 and P2 pupils were identified to take part and Citizens Theatre staff • Hillpark Secondary School in Mansewood delivered weekly workshops with this group of children. • St Timothy’s Primary School in Carntyne • St Andrew’s Secondary School in Carntyne Again, all schools involved in Year 2 had functioning Nurture groups. 4 5 AIMS & EXPECTED OUTCOMES Hear My Voice had a number of aims and expected All activities that were planned and delivered during outcomes. The main aims of the project were: the project worked towards achieving these aims. • To amplify vulnerable young people’s voices within The expected outcomes for pupils who had a safe environment participated in the project for one academic year were: • To nurture children’s creativity and imagination • An increased ability to express their feelings • To build children’s confidence and emotional • An increased ability to listen to others resilience • An increase in confidence when speaking in public • To support positive relationships between pupils • An increase in ability to socially interact with peers from three key transitional school stages • An increase in confidence in use of ICT equipment • To develop the pupils’ collaboration skills • Increased enjoyment of reading / listening to • To develop the older pupils’ leadership skills stories being read to them • To develop the pupils’ literacy skills • An increase in confidence when leading group • To develop the older pupils’ ICT skills activities • To develop skills in teaching creative arts (for • An increase in willingness to opt-in to activities teachers and Support for Learning staff) 7 KEY PRINCIPLES & STRATEGIES Hear My Voice follows the Nurture Principles which are A great deal of time was spent gaining the trust of pupils, already at the heart of every Nurture room: with creative activities introduced that gently challenged them to contribute, offer an opinion and to feel confident in 8 1. Children’s learning is understood developmentally (NP1) expressing themselves in front of their peers. 2. The classroom offers a safe base (NP2) 3. The importance of nurture for the development of • Provide opportunities for pupils to take wellbeing (NP3) on leadership and decision-making responsibilities. 4. Language is a vital means of communication (NP4) 5. All behaviour is communication (NP5) This was achieved by developing practical activities with the 6. The importance of transition in children’s lives (NP6) pupils’ input and then working with pupils to successfully deliver these activities. When the older pupils were Hear My Voice also follows the principles of GIRFEC, with preparing to facilitate activities with the younger pupils, its methodology linked closely to the SHANARRI wellbeing they would be guided by the leaders, practice beforehand, wheel, which states every child and young person should be: talk through concerns and trouble-shoot, so they would be confident by the time they were ‘doing it for real’. • Safe • Active • Respected • Healthy • Create opportunities for pupils of different • Responsible • Achieving ages to work together collaboratively, to • Nurtured • Included develop trusting relationships and learn from each other.