School case studies: 2006-2011
School case studies: 2006-2011
Creativity, Culture and Education Great North House, Sandyford Road, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 8ND www.creativitycultureeducation.org Registered charity no.1125841 Registered company no.06600739 July 2012 Contents Introduction 03 Introduction David Parker, Director of Research and Impact – Creativity, Culture and 06 Case Study 1 The Arnold Centre, Rotherham Education (CCE) 14 Case Study 2 Lancasterian Special School, West Didsbury 22 Case Study 3 New Invention Junior School, Willenhall 28 Case Study 4 Minterne Community Junior School, Sittingbourne 36 Case Study 5 Penn Hall Special School, Wolverhampton 44 Case Study 6 McMillan Nursery School, Hull 52 Case Study 7 Prudhoe Community High School, Prudhoe The case studies that follow give an insight into 60 Case Study 8 Our Lady of Victories Catholic Primary School, Keighley Creative Partnerships continues to exert an how Creative Partnerships has had a lasting effect 68 Case Study 9 Fulbridge Primary School, Peterborough influence on education through the shared within schools. Each narrative offers an honest 77 Case Study 10 Thomas Tallis School, Blackheath experience of teachers, creative professionals reflection of where schools are now that the 85 Case Study 11 Accrington Academy, Accrington and young people who participated in the programme and the levels of financial support it programme until it ended in summer 2011. once offered are no longer available. They are While the programme is complete, the stories of adaptation and assimilation and are practice continues to develop in new and testimony to the vision and commitment of education professionals who are driven to help interesting ways. individual learners fulfil their creative potential. A broad range of schools feature here, some of which were showcased in an earlier version of this publication – The Arnold Centre, Lancasterian School and New Invention Junior School have all developed in new and inspiring ways and show how over time teachers take ownership of externally managed programmes and make them their own. In addition a number of schools feature here for the first time, although their association with Creative Partnerships in many cases has been long-standing. Together these schools show how partnerships with creative organisations and individuals can be a catalyst for change, but also point to how much hard work and commitment is required from the school and the staff within it. These are not stories of schools buying in services, but rather tales of long-term partnerships cultivated and nurtured that lead to lasting shifts in practice and educational priorities.
03 Creativity, Culture and Education continues to believe in the power of creativity to change educational practice for the It comes as no surprise to find a broad range of better, but we are themes here. For some schools the development of creative skills in young people was the primary also more conscious stated objective, for others the use of creativity was put to service other needs: reaching out to the than ever before of wider community, building a platform for sustained parental involvement in the life of the school, the effort required by focusing in on a particular subject area within the curriculum, or overhauling the whole of the all the partners curriculum to make every subject area more relevant and exciting to young people. All of these involved to reap the examples and more are set out in the snapshots rewards available. that follow. Creativity, Culture and Education continues to believe in the power of creativity to change educational practice for the better, but we are also more conscious than ever before of the effort required by all the partners involved to reap the rewards available. We hope the case studies here give a flavour of how exciting and far-reaching this creative work has been and illustrate how when programmes end there is no reason why practice should not, despite inevitable new challenges, continue to develop and thrive.
04 05 Case study 1 Arnold Centre
Pilot Enquiry School Programme – Why did School Background the school apply in 2007? Arnold Nursery School is a part of The Arnold Prior to involvement with Creative Partnerships for Centre, which provides education and childcare this Enquiry project, the school had occasionally for children from birth to five years. It gained worked with artists on an ad hoc basis, but this was Early Excellence status in 2002 and was the first time it had worked with artists pursuing recognised as a Children’s Centre in 2006. It is some of the aims of their whole school plan. located in a socially and economically deprived Many pupils enter the nursery with low levels of part of Rotherham in South Yorkshire, in the language and communications skills, and many have middle of three council estates. The children’s little experience of the local community or the wider standards when they enter the nursery are well environment, a lack of richness of experience that below average, particularly in language and hampers the development of communication skills. communication. Most of the children come The school therefore prioritises the development of from white British backgrounds, with an language, communication and literacy in its School increasing proportion from Asian backgrounds. Development Plan and this project was specifically A few children are asylum seekers. A high planned to assist this. proportion of children have identified learning The school wanted to develop language skills difficulties or disabilities. through an inspiring exploration of environment ‘What effect does parental involvement have and by bringing in parents, who in this school are often little engaged in their children’s learning. They on a child’s ability to work creatively and how wanted to give families experiences that they would not normally have. It was important to draw in does it impact on levels of communication, parents in ways that they would find non- threatening, and a participative creative project was self-esteem and achievement?’ considered to be perfect for this. The hope was that parents would recognise the value of supporting their children’s learning and continue to be involved with their children and with the nursery after the project finished.
06 07 The project was highly successful in bringing parents into a partnership with their children’s school.
It was hoped the project would enable children and scale work in wood in the playground. Although the cogs, clay, and so on. The Creative Agent described Impact on creative providers their parents to create pieces of work together, head teacher and Creative Agent were aware that all these as ‘little nuggets of starting points’. For The four artists involved in this project varied in their drawing language out of the children and drawing this was perhaps a stereotyping of gender interests, her ‘Enquiry projects are all about this: not experience of working in these contexts. For instance, parents into their children’s education and school it was certainly a successful strategy. Fathers who incredible resolutions, but starting the the Creative Agent had worked with Creative experiences. Language skills would be developed would probably not have actively volunteered to questioning.’ Partnerships for several years, and felt that her through planning and discussion and through the come into school were drawn in by the chainsaw, the The nursery head teacher, Margaret Hague, felt that learning curve on this project was not steep, while shared experience of visits to look at sculpture. noise and the scale of the project, and the children creative work is particularly good at engaging one of the other artists involved had to change their loved the spectacle and the play potential of the The enquiry question chosen by the school to parents, simply because it is unthreatening, initially over-ambitious plans and re-gauge the work sawdust. This project also enabled the school to encapsulate this was: enjoyable, relaxing; it made parents want to have a to fit the circumstances. make progress on another of their priorities: to go themselves, and unlike maths or science, no-one ‘What effect does parental involvement have integrate indoor and outdoor spaces, providing the can feel there are right and wrong ways to do it. on a child’s ability to work creatively, and how same quality of learning environments in each space. What made the project so successful? does it impact on levels of communication, The area with the sculpture is now used as a After an initial meticulous planning process the self-esteem and achievement?’ storytelling space and a meeting point, giving the Impact on young people work a lasting legacy. Creative Agent handed most of the responsibility for Most of the children at The Arnold Centre not only the project to the school itself. This was since she felt In the third phase, the artist worked intensively with a arrive with poor language, but often with a paucity of What was the project? it was important that they were in charge of what group of parents and children. In some ways the experience on which to use their language skills. The happened. She thought that schools had become The project had three phases, all exploring work was low key, without large-scale products or project at all stages produced more sophisticated more demanding over the years in what they want sculpture, environment and art, connected through outputs, but the quality of work and of discussion language from the children, developing an ability to out of working with creative practitioners, and that the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. The was very high. Carrying on the Goldilocks theme, use mathematical terms related to size and scale, this confidence and equal partnership is an important Goldilocks story proved a valuable linking theme, children and parents made small, medium and large and to discuss their work using creative technical factor in the success of projects. familiar and comfortable to all the families, with books, cushions and ‘hands of friendship’. terms. Teachers observed that children had real opportunities to engage in discussion about understanding of the concepts they were using. The variety of approaches and media chosen by comparative size (small, medium and large). The However, perhaps the most valuable language different artists in each of the three phases also three phases also enabled the school to target What were the project impacts? improvement was in communication between enabled everybody to get something out of some part of the work, but the strong connecting threads of the different groups of children and to attract different Impact on parents children and their parents. Families had to groups of parents, through their varying emphases, negotiate exactly how projects would be undertaken, environmental theme and the Goldilocks story gave Each of the three phases attracted parents in and the skills and qualities of the three artists who who would do what and how to resolve problems an overarching and simple cohesion. different ways, because of the different ways the led each phase. that arose. The feeling of the school was that this artists worked and the various ways parents could was a much richer exchange than these families First, the school took a group of children and their contribute. Many parents were profoundly may usually engage in. What followed the Enquiry School project? parents to Yorkshire Sculpture Park to see the work influenced by their involvement. One parent began The project was highly successful in bringing parents of Sophie Ryder, which involved an exhibition of a to come in regularly to talk to staff, two or three The school had extensive plans to build on the gains into a partnership with their children’s school, and led number of immense animal sculptures. The families mums set up their own group to do similar work made here: parents are setting up a Saturday activity to exciting plans to harness this new enthusiasm and looked at and made sculptures while at the park, without an artist to support them, which continued group, and they will collect sculptural materials so build on the relationships. Perhaps what was most and once back at school continued the work in the until their children moved on to primary school, and a that more sculpture can be made by children and encouraging about these plans was that they nursery with an artist, using the same kinds of large- parents’ group was set up. The school also planned their families. Overall, the approach has proved a originated not with the school itself, but with the scale natural materials as at the Sculpture Park. to consolidate this enthusiasm with a creative day for very successful way of bringing parents into the parents’ own enthusiasm and desire to continue children and parents and regular Saturday activities. In The second phase targeted fathers, who are often life of the school. Staff also learnt to use wider engagement. the longer term the school aspired to have a more difficult to engage than mothers. The school approaches and different creative techniques from permanent ‘atelier’ resource: materials permanently wanted fathers to be casually pulled in by curiosity, each of the three artists involved. and so commissioned a sculptor to produce a large on hand for making sculptural work, wood, rope,
08 09 A more creative approach to teaching has permeated through the entire staff at The Arnold Centre.
independently and which are used for joint activities Three years later with the parents. The school has invested in a moveable unit that can be pushed between Activities classrooms, carrying a variety of craft materials for the pupils to create collages, pictures, picture Since taking part in the Creative Partnerships project frames and more. described above, The Arnold Centre has increasingly integrated creativity into their school. This was done by focusing on the development of what head Long-term impact teacher Margaret Hague called a ‘more holistic creative approach’ within the whole school’s As Margaret Hague said, the expertise of the curriculum, based on supporting children’s creative Creative Partnership practitioners who supported development. the initial projects clearly sparked an interest within the school staff; with three different artists involved Whilst The Arnold Centre did not engage in new in the projects each giving staff different inspirations projects supported by Creative Partnerships, they and ideas. Through providing a choice of different have continued using the ideas and skills gained artistic forms, everyone could identify with some of during the initial project and have run many similar the projects taking place. Teachers have since then projects since then. As in their original project, these become visibly more confident in using the gained have focused on integrating the pupils’ parents, and experiences, transferring them to other curriculum have included activities both in the school’s inside areas and trying out new creative activities. They and outside areas. have also been able to pass their experience on to As the large-scale model work created with the other staff at the Centre: teachers from the Nursery creative practitioners during the Enquiry project was School are supported in class by non-teaching staff so successful, this has been repeated several times, such as nursery nurses and support staff who are resulting in the building of not only a large dragon, drawn into the creative activities. but also a spaceship and similar objects which now In this way, the idea of a more creative approach to decorate the school grounds as ‘outside land art’. teaching has permeated through the entire staff at These were created during regular Saturday and The Arnold Centre, making it an institution-wide holiday group activities, which heavily involve the approach to teaching. As a Nursery School within a pupils’ parents, who often bring their own ideas. By Children’s Centre, other areas of the Centre apart using scrap metal and collected junk for the from the school are also included in this. The sculptures, the school makes sure it uses the funds Centre’s community outreach worker now arranges available for such projects carefully, with the aim of weekly events for parents and children and offers running as many projects as possible. The school creative weekend and holiday activities. This has also introduced ‘Stay, Play and Make Days’, ensures that the Centre is open with creative which take place at least once every half term. They activities readily accessible to pupils and parents all are based on a variety of themes, again involving year round. the parents who come in to take part in creative activities with their children. As planned, workshop Staff are continuing to look into new ways of areas have been established in all the nursery bringing creative and cross-cutting approaches to rooms, which the children are able to use the curriculum. For example, they use a wide range of creative activities on a large and small scale,
10 11 particularly drawing and painting, to develop in themselves, and are taking an active part in ideas with other local infant and nursery schools, children’s fine and gross motor skills. From this ensuring the continuation of these events. some of which took part in Creative Partnerships strong base children quickly learn their first writing projects themselves. They are thus part of a The Arnold Centre has Crucially, it seems that once parents engage in skills, which form the foundation for learning to ‘learning community’ in which new ideas and these activities with their children within the school developed a reputation write in the future. activities are exchanged and schools benefit from environment, they are much more likely to take each others’ experiences. The Arnold Centre also for creative teaching A further important aim that The Arnold Centre is these new skills and ideas home with them into the frequently receives visitors from early years focusing on through their creative activities is the family environment. As the head teacher said, practitioners or neighbouring Local Authorities, who within the teaching development of their pupils’ independence. Children children now regularly tell their teachers about the are keen to learn about the approaches taken at the for example have independent access to the activities they engage in with their parents at home. community – not least school, in particular in respect to their creative nursery room workshop areas and are given the This is also transferred to the pupils’ siblings, who activities. It seems that The Arnold Centre has choice of which materials they would like to work are often brought along to participate in the supported by the fact developed a reputation for creative teaching within with, thus encouraging and developing their ability activities at the school. This means that in effect, the teaching community – not least supported by that they recently won to make decisions for themselves. As a nursery children often benefit from The Arnold Centre’s the fact that they recently won the Quality Mark, school, children only stay at The Arnold Centre for a activities for longer than they are actually pupils the Quality Mark, which which recognised their approach and success in year, before going on to primary school. Whilst this there. Another, more indirect impact on the parents teaching literacy and numeracy. leaves little room to assess the long-term impact is that through taking part in the activities at The recognised their approach these activities have on the pupils, the above Arnold Centre, they are becoming more used to the Future creative activities are already being planned, and success in teaching examples show that activities are clearly geared school environment and have less reservation about such as a Christmas event which will include towards this situation. As Margaret Hague engaging with schools and teachers. As a result, performances of traditional stories, and the building literacy and numeracy. explained, the overall teaching focus is not only parents are also more likely to take an active of a ‘garden room’ to provide children with an based on knowledge, but also on providing children interest in their children’s school life once they have outside creative learning space. Whilst the school with new transferrable skills which will form a moved on to primary school. has not yet explored possible alternative sources of valuable basis for their learning in the future. funding, this is something they are planning to do in the future, seeking to supplement a school budget As the initial project focused on improving parents’ which has already become noticeably tighter. involvement in their children’s school activities, this Future plans Nevertheless, Margaret Hague stressed that The aspect has continued to play an important part in all The Centre’s creative activities are set to continue in Arnold Centre is well adapted to spreading their The Arnold Centre’s creative work. Margaret Hague the future and are clearly very much supported by funds as far as possible. Moreover, the school has a again stressed the importance of creative activities the head teacher, who stressed the importance of good adult-child ratio based on the keen enthusiasm in encouraging parents to be more involved in their providing children with ‘creative ways to get them shown by both teachers and parents, who often children’s school life. As she said, the families do involved in the environment and in learning.’ Whilst volunteer to participate in the activities. This, in the not feel threatened by the idea of ‘making things’ in staff have already become visibly more skilled in end, is the best proof of the success of The Arnold a way they might if they were asked to take part in developing creative ideas, the school is Centre’s activities – and provides confidence that ‘numeracy skills’ activities or similar, and are thus nevertheless keen to continue developing their skills they will be able to continue with their activities in much more likely to participate in creative activities. and is looking at different ways of including the arts the future. The school continues to run their Saturday morning and creativity in the curriculum. As part of this, there ‘dads’ groups’, which are regularly attended by are plans for further relevant training days in the around 10 fathers. Here, participants are next year for both staff and parents, seeking to encouraged to engage in more ‘tactile, messy’ work provide as many people as possible with the with their children – one recent example included insights and experiences in creative teaching which ‘den-building’. Parents enthusiastically bring in their have already been gained. The Arnold Centre own ideas and skills, are becoming more confident furthermore welcomes the opportunity to share
12 13 Case study 2 Lancasterian Special School
including minority cultures present in modern School Background Britain. The school encourages pupils to acquire Lancasterian School is a special school that independence, self control and to take caters for pupils with a wide range of physical responsibility for their learning and disabilities and severe medical conditions. Many development. of the pupils have complex needs including The school had no prior involvement with learning and communication difficulties. The Creative Partnerships. However, it has had an school offers provision for children and young ongoing commitment to creativity and creative people up to 16 years old through foundation, learning for many years. into primary and up to secondary school. They pride themselves on offering Pilot Enquiry School Programme – Why comprehensive speech and language therapy, did the school apply in 2007? occupational therapy, physical therapy and The school had recently developed an ‘environment medical support within the school alongside the control room’; this was a space that contained a normal school life. The team of dedicated staff range of programmable lights, sounds and effects. are committed and have a range of expertise to The idea was for this to be a fully accessible support the learning needs of the pupils. environment where pupils could engage in the Lancasterian believes every pupil has the right curriculum. However, although the room had a lot of to a voice in order to have an opportunity to potential, neither staff nor pupils had experienced its One of the main priorities within the School express their opinions and views. full capabilities so far. The pupils follow the national curriculum at their The assistant head teacher was given the remit to Development Plan was to raise the quality own specific level. Their learning and access to improve creativity within the school as well as oversee the School Development Plan. One of the the curriculum is enhanced by specialist of teaching and learning through the main priorities within the School Development Plan resources. These include sophisticated was to raise the quality of teaching and learning continued development of personalised communication aids and other equipment through the continued development of which support the pupils’ physical access personalised provision with the help of the new provision with the help of the new needs. They also aim to provide opportunities environmental control room. As such, the school felt for pupils to learn about and begin to that the opportunity to apply for the Pilot Enquiry environmental control room. understand the diversity of beliefs and cultures, School programme came along at an ideal time.
14 15 The project was highly successful in providing the Lancasterian pupils with a voice.
The school asked the following enquiry question: 2. The second phase involved the older students pupils. Some more reticent or shy pupils became What made the project so successful? mentoring the new students in the techniques increasingly forthcoming and eager to be involved in ‘Can we develop the creative skills of our they had previously learnt. Students decided on the project as it progressed. An autistic student who The project was highly successful in providing the pupils, who have very limited experience of new characters and storylines, this time choosing rarely initiates conversation began making Lancasterian pupils with a voice. The role of the the outside world as a result of reduced to act the parts. The students designed and made suggestions. Creative Agent, Jude Bird, was a key factor in the mobility and medical conditions, using the all the costumes, as well as scripting and acting success of the project. She provided invaluable Whenever the project was running, there was an multimedia room (Environment Room) and out the parts. Finally, the film was edited by the advice in both the application and planning phases. unexpected energy and buzz that ran through the its equipment?’ students themselves. ‘As a school, we can’t thank her enough for senior school. Pupils were talking more, asking brokering the partnership with WFA. They are a In answering the above question Lancasterian and answering more questions, listening and then fantastic contact, who have considerable wanted to be able to develop the pupils’ interest in reflecting. Peer mentoring had also been an What were the project impacts? experience and expertise at working with the world by encouraging them to become more unexpected outcome from the project, with pupils children with special needs.’ creative in their ideas, and in turn more Impact on young people fully embracing the ‘mentoring’ role. enthusiastic about their learning experience. Lancasterian made good progress in developing Sadly, many of the pupils’ imaginations are the pupils’ creative skills. These will eventually What followed the Enquiry School profoundly underdeveloped as result of their impact on the pupils’ learning experiences and their Impact on the school project? physical and medical conditions. perception of the world. The project allowed Lancasterian staff to realise that they needed to widen their horizons. The teachers Following the above project, the school applied for The co-ordinating teacher commented that the learnt to allow pupils to use their own initiative. specialist status in communication and What was the project? project had allowed them to discover hidden In a special needs context, it is common for staff to interaction, seeking to access additional funding talents in the pupils. One pupil, for example, who become controlling over the structure of the lesson, which would allow them to further develop services The Creative Agent facilitated and then brokered the had never used the particular Paint package, took to for their pupils. The application did indeed prove partnership between the Workers’ Film Association normally planning every minute, thus possibly it very quickly and concentrated for long periods of missing other outcomes by being too inflexible. successful and the co-ordinating teacher felt at the (WFA) and Lancasterian School. The WFA had three time. The staff had never realised how artistic he time that the school’s involvement in the Enquiry years experience of working with special needs was. School staff encouraged him to develop his Due to the success of the project, it was also School programme helped them gain the specialist schools at this point. As an organisation it has a interest, which led him to take a course in computer decided that WFA should run a subsequent status. The application was made with the hope that wealth of experience and excellent new media tools graphics. Another pupil was offered work Continuing Profession Development (CPD) session it would have a huge impact on the pupils’ learning, and techniques. These are ideally suited to giving experience by the WFA. for the school staff at Lancasterian, to allow staff to their quality of life and their ability to lead exciting young people a voice and helping them share their develop a clear perception of what is possible The pupils really listened to the artists and fed off and fulfilling lives. The school wanted to empower ideas, experiences and aspirations with a wider through digital media. their pupils to give them the one thing they can audience through the dynamic and creative process each other’s work and ideas. The use of multimedia has added another dimension to the pupils’ control: finding their voices and leading the lives of filmmaking. The WFA approach fitted well within they deserve. Amongst other things, the additional the school and its School Improvement Plan. creativity and learning styles. Several pupils asked to Impacts on creative partner have the programmes they used in the sessions put funds were thus used for substantial building The WFA had not previously worked with pupils that The project was split into two phases: on their laptop so they could use them at home: this alterations to provide pupils with a ‘skills base and have the specific types of communication social area’ within the school, as well as for a 1. In the first phase the pupils created characters indicates the development of ideas and retention requirements Lancasterian pupils have, and this speech and language therapist. together and then drew them on simple Paint of skills. Many of the pupils have memory recall project therefore represented a valuable working packages. These were then dropped into a issues and would not normally have had such clear The creative partner WFA also asked the school to experience for them as well. To maximise the PowerPoint where other students created recollection of events. get involved in another project outside of Creative experience, WFA staff involved in the project were backgrounds and storyboarded ideas. All the Partnerships. This next project, a project focusing on Pupils really engaged in the sessions and often asked to pass on the learning from their work students added sound and animation effects to the creation and use of puppets, aimed to allow asked members of staff when the artists were with the Lancasterian pupils to the team of the overall presentation. pupils in Key Stage 3 to benefit from some of the coming in next. There was also considerable impact artists WFA works with, who come from different outcomes the other pupils had gained during the upon the confidence and communication skills of art disciplines and work with a wide range of groups Enquiry School Programme. and organisations. 16 17 Staff have taken the skills they gained during the project and... have been able to transfer these skills to new subjects and ideas. Most directly, the school has continued to use their writing their own poetry, which was subsequently ICT equipment in lessons as introduced during the presented at a Specialist Schools Conference. Their Creative Partnerships project, and pupils remain work has just been published in a book called ‘Yes, busy creating new storyboards or using techniques No, Maybe’, published by Cheers Ta Publications. such as stop-start animation to create short films. Each of the pupils involved received a copy, and the Staff have taken the skills they gained during the school has successfully sold the book at various project and, supported by a range of CPD events events and conferences they have taken part in. For delivered by both the practitioners and by teachers both groups, the project represented an important who took part in the projects, have been able to way to develop pupils’ creative and communicative transfer these skills to new subjects and ideas. For skills. The workforce development project in turn example, ICT was used for a series of lessons specifically addressed the relationship between the discussing fairy tales with younger pupils. school’s teaching and physiotherapy staff in Key Stage 1, which has been greatly enhanced since the project. Both received relevant training together, delivered by dance practitioners and aiming to bring Three years later therapy and dance elements into the classroom. This joint approach, in which the teaching and physiotherapy staff’s skills complemented each other Lancasterian School’s Change School during the training, has proven so successful that Programme further CPD events like this have been planned. The school is now planning for teachers across the school In September 2010, Lancasterian School became a to take part, with the aim of bringing the benefits to Creative Partnerships Change School after being other, older year groups as well. approached by their former Creative Agent Jude Bird. Jude had initially worked with a different school, and The school also regularly runs ‘Creative Thursdays’ – when this fell through suggested that Lancasterian afternoon classes for primary and foundation years School take over the previous school’s Change which include pupils from local mainstream schools. School status. The idea was to create a whole new Together, the children work on creative activities three-year Change School project to be run within the which don’t fit into normal lessons, such as one remaining funded year of the Change School photography, artwork, gardening or eco-themes. programme. Lancasterian were happy to accept, and Although these events were already running before with Jude’s help created their own Change School the school’s initial Creative Partnerships project, many programme. of the ideas gained during Creative Partnerships activities have filtered into these sessions. The programme included three separate strands – the development of the school’s outdoor area with the help of an expert practitioner, projects on the Long-term impact theme of ‘finding our voices’ with different year groups, and a targeted workforce development Four years on, many of the approaches and strand. As part of the ‘finding our voices’ project, techniques introduced during the initial ICT project pupils in Key Stage 3 worked with a disabled theatre and subsequent Creative Partnerships activities group, resulting in a joint staged performance. At the continue to be used in different subject areas same time, Key Stage 4 pupils worked with a poet, throughout the school.
18 19 Impact on young people For example, another important part of the initial pupils recently completed an enterprise project As seen above, Lancasterian has a strong focus on project, which has been extremely useful to the during which they created their own music DVD, Importantly, the school supporting pupils’ communication skills. This is for school, was the new project recording and drawing on many different subjects in the process. observation approach it introduced to them. example reflected in the school’s decision to use Whilst being aware that it will be difficult in future has also developed links Baseline techniques were used to assess how the part of their specialist status grant to pay for a to find large sums of funding for creative projects, children developed and responded over several speech and language therapist who has worked Kira Buhler seemed confident that Lancasterian with other Creative weeks. This gave teachers new tools to better intensively with the pupils. Many of the creative School would be able to find some alternative, assess pupils’ development throughout both the Partnerships SEN schools activities also feed into this objective: peer-to-peer smaller sources of funding for new projects. The initial and all subsequent projects, and in turn means mentoring and the idea of ‘buddying-up’ younger and school plan is to continue inviting practitioners to which they met through that staff are better able to fine-tune projects for more advanced pupils, with this becoming a regular run short creative projects in the future. However, maximum impact. feature of school life. Pupils thus support each other they also feel they have learnt many things that their Creative Partnerships in their maths tasks, shared reading exercises or in Furthermore, the teachers themselves have also can be done in a ‘smaller way’ in the future – activities, and are actively creative activities such as devising their own games. substantially gained from the creative practitioners expert practitioners could for example continue to This approach has been successfully introduced brought in for the projects. Teachers were able to be invited if it was for shorter periods of time, engaged in exchanging even to the school’s primary department. Pupils find observe the activities led by the practitioners, and in which would keep costs down. Importantly, the it extremely useful – through explaining what they many cases could adopt – and adapt – new ideas school has also developed links with other Creative ideas with these schools have learnt themselves to younger pupils they for their own lessons. Partnerships SEN schools which they met through through peer-to-peer deepen their own knowledge, whilst at the same their Creative Partnerships activities, and are time gaining new communication skills and actively engaged in exchanging ideas with these mentoring between school increased confidence in themselves. Future plans schools through peer-to-peer mentoring between school staff. Similarly, the school has established staff. A further substantial impact was gained through Kira Buhler stressed that creativity will continue to links with five primary and secondary schools, as Creative Partnerships’ focus on bringing in expert remain high on the school’s agenda in the future. As well as community partners such as the police, practitioners to work with the pupils. This worked so part of the senior management team at the school, who they have supported with the help of their well that since the initial project, Lancasterian School she herself is responsible for bringing creativity into speech and language therapist and the expertise has brought in many other experts to work with the the school life, making sure that the school is open the school has built up in this area. Lancasterian children on a variety of projects or subjects, including to exciting and innovative ways of teaching. dance, poetry or theatre activities. The assistant School clearly feels that it will continue to benefit To firmly embed creativity within the entire school, head teacher, Kira Buhler, explained that this from exchanging experiences between the Lancasterian School has in the past years continued approach is so successful because ‘outsiders’ school’s staff and a variety of external partners – to heavily invest in their staff, both through internal brought into the school often have new and different something that can be attained on a reciprocal CPD events and through bringing in outside support. ways of looking at and reacting to the pupils. basis, without the need for large sums of funding. They have also included ‘creativity’ within their Children consequently often react differently to School Development Plan and have written a these ‘outsiders’ than to their regular teachers; they creative curriculum for the school. This seeks to appear inspired by the new faces and ideas and embed creativity in all lessons taught at the school, enthusiastically rise to the tasks they have been all the while bearing in mind the questions ‘what do given. we want to deliver to the children, what do they need, and how can we teach them in ways that are Impact on the school appropriate to them?’ What the school is particularly keen on as part of this is to further develop their Importantly, Kira Buhler feels that the projects had cross-curricular activities, avoiding subjects being the most far-reaching impact in terms of the new delivered in isolation. As an example, Key Stage 3 practices and procedures they introduced to staff. 20 21 Case study 3 New Invention Junior School
Pilot Enquiry School Programme – Why School Background did the school apply in 2007? New Invention Junior is a relatively large junior New Invention Junior wanted to explore creative school with a three-form entry situated in approaches to developing children’s mathematical Willenhall in the West Midlands. Approximately thinking, and used their Enquiry project with one fifth of children are from minority ethnic Creative Partnerships to explore the question: groups, mostly Asian. ‘How can enabling year five children to make connections and present mathematical problems visually improve their understanding? Does presentation to a wider audience via digital media promote maths dialogue and improve ability?’
Progress in maths has been the key focus of school development at New Invention. The project aimed directly to teach it in a much more fun way, changing the attitudes of children to the subject and removing their negative perceptions. They also wanted to take real life problems into the lesson to help bring mathematics alive and to explore the possibility that in having to explain their ‘How can enabling year five children to mathematical processes to other children the pupils would develop their mathematical thinking and make connections and present language. They also planned to use digital media to help children refine and develop their mathematical mathematical problems visually improve skills. their understanding?’
22 23 Explaining mathematical thinking to someone else is a powerful way of clarifying learning.
What was the project? What were the project impacts? quickly built up with the maths specialist turned out regularly in maths teaching and the co-ordinating to be a very open, equal and flexible partnership. teacher planned to model this way of working to Initially the school was very open-minded about the Impact on young people other staff. They were confident that ‘it will be in Creative Agent Iris Bertz also pointed out that one best approach to take. They invited a series of The class that worked intensively with the maths the system for a long time, and become just part of of the most important success factors was the co- practitioners in to develop taster sessions with the specialist changed their attitudes to maths and the teaching.’ ordinating teacher herself: enthusiastic about children, using different kinds of digital media. When gained in confidence, and this was visible to their teaching and about maths, but also very open to Adam, a maths education specialist from the class teacher (and to the head teacher, the parents learning new ways of working. Her excitement fired University of Warwick, came in to do his session in and the rest of the school). However, the the project up, and enabled a great deal to be the school then (as Amrit Kaur, the Creative improvement in confidence and enjoyment was also achieved in what was a rather short space of time. Partnerships co-ordinator explained) ‘something tested by conducting an ‘Attitude to Maths’ survey Three years later It also transferred itself to the children. clicked and I thought this is what I want to do more both before and after the project, which showed a of.’ Adam and Amrit developed a plan that continued clear improvement. As the Creative Agent Iris Interestingly, the digital media aspect of the project to evolve and develop over the remainder of the New Invention’s Change School Bertz observed, children seemed to learn new by the end seemed to be the least important factor: Programme project. While some of the other taster sessions had mathematical skills without noticing they were the children probably learnt as much simply by been fun and popular with the pupils, Amrit saw that doing it, began to understand the relevance of doing the maths, and may have gained little in Since 2009, New Invention Junior School has Adam’s approach delivered enjoyment along with maths to everyday life, and still sit down with clear maths terms from the process of filming and being enthusiastically continued to build upon their first significant maths learning. enjoyment to a maths lesson. This was also filmed. In the end, it was the maths itself which steps as a Pilot Enquiry School in 2007-08, The maths specialist and co-ordinating teacher reflected in the class’s SATs results, which, as the was the creative element: as the Creative Agent evidenced not least by the school’s successful worked with children from year five: the pupils were co-ordinating teacher commented, looked ‘pretty says, ‘Creative Partnerships is not art. Creativity application to become a Change School in 2008. given a range of mathematical problems to solve, good’. does not equal art’, and maths is a creative vehicle Whilst the school had initially stepped away from a often quite practical, including magic and puzzles, in its own right. planned focus on ICT and instead concentrated on and a variety of equipment and resources to help creative ways of teaching mathematics as described Impact on the school Finally, the project proved – as it had set out to – solve them. They worked in small groups of about that explaining mathematical thinking to someone above, this has since been picked up again. For the seven children, encouraging them to develop a team The co-ordinating teacher reported in 2009 that else is a powerful way of clarifying learning. past three years, New Invention has thus been approach. Video was used to film the children’s subsequent to the project she looked at teaching working with ICT practitioner Dom Breadmore to discussions as they worked on their problems, so maths in a very different way, and was much more introduce video blogging, green screen filming, flip that a teaching resource could be built up for the willing to give new ideas a go, and more open- What followed the Enquiry School cameras and geocaching activities, which are now school staff, and so that the children could have a minded about trying things. Most importantly, she project? regularly used in lessons throughout the school. The tangible outcome at the end of the project in the said that she loved this new way of working. The school has also focussed on using the Mantle of the form of a celebratory look back at the work. project was talked about right across the whole The co-ordinating teacher had already begun to Expert approach to teaching with support from transfer her learning across the whole school: in The pupils were encouraged that there were no right school, raising the profile of maths teaching and she David Allen, Artistic Director of Midland Actors 2009 she got her old class, who had worked with and wrong ways to approach maths problems. As was able to share her new expertise and ideas with Theatre and a Mantle of the Experts support the maths specialist the previous year, to invent the maths specialist explained, ‘unlike humanities, it other staff and other classes. practitioner. One project funded by Creative some maths problems for her new class. One is much more difficult in maths to say we are all Partnerships involved pupils learning about India by example was how to make a fruit punch, and this going to look at the same problems, but we are setting up an imaginary airline company in India. involved issues of volume and capacity. They then going to do them in different ways. Because we What made the project successful? Children had to find out all the relevant information helped the new class come up with solutions. She managed to convey that, the children realised that about the country themselves, with the teacher At the outset, the school was clear about what it noticed that the impact on the confidence of the old maths could be a creative subject.’ He would ask acting as ‘consultant’. Over the three years, every wanted to achieve but not about how to do it. The class was amazing, and the new class loved them how they got to their answers, and then how class at the school has worked with the Mantle of taster sessions were essential to help them find a learning from their peers. Even parents commented did other people get to the same place: children had the Expert approach on a variety of themes. Other practitioner who clicked with what they knew they on how well the two classes had worked together. to explain to others, clarifying their own thinking and activities the school has engaged in since 2009 wanted. Importantly, the working relationship that The school decided to start using these strategies developing their language. include the creation of a new school garden with
24 25 practitioner Paul Titcombe, which was designed by Another important long-term impact from which the Wolverhampton, who help with projects and the pupils themselves and was supported through school has visibly benefited is their increased lessons and in turn gain experience in New funding from both the National Lottery and Creative confidence in finding and bringing in expert Invention Junior School’s approaches to teaching. Partnerships, and involvement in the Campaign for practitioners to support teachers with particular Drawing’s ‘Big Draw’. projects or events. This has become such a regular feature of the school’s work that, in line with co- Future plans construction, the children themselves are now New Invention has clearly fully committed to their tasked with interviewing the practitioners, and Long-term impact creative approach to teaching ever since their initial involved in the decision making of who to work with. Beyond these individual projects, the school’s entire Creative Partnerships project in 2007-08, and there ethos and approach to teaching has gradually An important result of New Invention’s work as a is every intention of continuing with this approach changed – as Creative Agent Iris Bertz says, Pilot Enquiry School and a Change School has been in the future. In line with this, the school recently ‘Creativity, or rather the idea of exciting learning, is the visible progression of parental involvement in ran a CPD event which focused on how staff will now at the core of all activities within the school – it school activities over the past years. According to continue with their work without future active is not an add-on that needs spelling out anymore.’ Iris Bertz, parents particularly like the school’s support from Creative Partnerships. This development was driven by the school’s head Mantle of the Expert activities, which have given Creative Agent Iris Bertz seemed confident that teacher Anne Tyler, who has been actively involved them a more active role in their children’s learning. the school was in a good position to secure future in all the school’s Creative Partnerships activities. In October 2011 the school organised a Harvest funding for creative projects from other sources. Festival to dedicate the new school garden, in One of the most important developments that has For example, the school has recently been asked which many parents and grandparents joined in. As taken place is the school’s overall adoption of the by their Mantle of the Expert support practitioner A crucial foundation for not much had grown in the garden yet, children so-called co-construction approach to learning, in David Allen to participate in a project in which they created paper vegetables with little messages on the school has proved to which children are actively involved in lesson will look at the chain making industry in the Black them and ‘planted’ them in the garden. Head development. Co-construction was first used in the Country, which is funded through the Black be the efforts they have teacher Anne Tyler mentioned that some of the initial maths project described above, in which Country Museum. The school’s commitment to children who had been involved in the planning of made to spread the children were asked to find different solutions to creativity is also particularly visible in the head the garden, but since moved on to secondary particular problems, which were later compared. teacher’s recent move to ring fence a portion of school, came back for the event, indicating they knowledge and The approach is now used throughout the school, the school budget for future creative projects, a were clearly attached to the project they had been with lessons developed according to the Mantle of decision which was supported by the school experience gained since involved in. the Expert approach to represent one way of governors. their initial Creative teaching on the basis of co-construction. In order to The school has also gained recognition within the A crucial foundation for the school has proved to achieve this school-wide adoption of new teaching wider community and other local primary schools, Partnerships project be the efforts they have made to spread the methods all teachers at New Invention have particularly for their ICT based work. This is knowledge and experience gained since their initial participated in relevant Continuing Professional supported by the school’s increasing experience and throughout the school by Creative Partnerships project throughout the Development (CPD) events in the past few years. confidence in passing knowledge on to others school by peer mentoring. This is certainly set to peer mentoring. These have been further supported by the school’s around them – they took part in the Black Country continue, representing a legacy which, whilst not emphasis on teachers who have been involved in Creative Partnerships Maths Day in 2007 – in which relying on future funding, will nevertheless have a creative projects sharing their experience with other children themselves presented their Maths Project high impact on the school and its pupils in the staff, thereby making their knowledge available to and answered questions. They have also run future. colleagues as well as increasing their own geocaching events for other local primary schools confidence. As a result, all teachers are now aware and in November 2011 participated in a Legacy of and using these approaches in their lessons. Festival for Creative Partnerships. The school also regularly takes in students from the University of
26 27 Case study 4 Minterne Community Junior School
Why did the school join the Creative School Background Partnerships programme? Minterne Junior School in Sittingbourne, Kent, is Minterne Junior School first became involved with a large community primary school with around Creative Partnerships in early 2006. In the previous 400 pupils. The school has an attached unit for year, the school had been graded ‘satisfactory’ in pupils with speech and language difficulties, and their Ofsted report. The head teacher, Bill McGrory, a higher than average proportion of pupils with said that whilst pupils were well behaved, they special educational needs. It has a below seemed rather passive. They were clearly not as average proportion of pupils from minority ethnic engaged or enthused by the lessons as they could backgrounds and a low proportion of pupils have been. The lessons were well planned, but eligible for free school meals. The school has subjects were taught separately in subject boxes, won a number of awards in recent years, more on the lines of a secondary school. including the Arts Council’s Artsmark Gold and Looking for ways to turn this situation around, the Eco School Green Flag awards. head and deputy head teacher went on a one day course on ‘Re-exciting/Re-igniting the Primary Curriculum’ run by HMI inspectors. They came back planning to ‘do things differently’ and to start teaching in a more creative way by developing a more engaging curriculum. To begin with, they met with resistance from staff who, as Bill McGrory says, were reluctant to leave the ‘comfort zones’ of their established plans. Nevertheless, the head and deputy decided to forge ahead, trialling the new The projects seemed to have an immediate approach in year five. Within three months of trialling the new curriculum, and visible effect on the children involved. Minterne was approached by Creative Partnerships, inviting the school to work with them. Becoming a They were much more engaged in their Creative Partnerships School seemed like the obvious next step. As a result, Minterne was able to work than before. involve all year groups in creative activities.
28 29 The teachers...became aware of the visible impact that the projects were having on pupil engagement.
What was the project? project in particular was so successful that it has What made the project successful? more liberated and confident they felt to take risks in become an established part of the school’s order to involve pupils in engaging projects. In the Minterne’s first Creative Partnerships project, ‘Re- curriculum. The year group projects were successful because same year, working as an Enquiry School, Minterne exciting/ Re-igniting’, began in 2006. Each year they created ‘memorable experiences’. The children also celebrated ‘Monster Week’, a week of activities group looked at one subject area that teachers felt were able to engage in, relate to and remember based on the legend of Beowulf and Grendel. These had become rather ‘stale’. The practitioner met Impact on young people these experiences for a long time. Crucially, along projects focused on writing and raising pupils’ writing with each year group in turn to exchange ideas on with the memory of the event, the learning itself The projects seemed to have an immediate and standards. This was a whole school issue, identified how this area could be made more creative. The had also been more firmly embedded. visible effect on the children involved. They were in the School Improvement Plan. Children created artist was particularly good at supporting staff in much more engaged in their work than before, with Bill emphasised that the school never lost sight of their own Grendel monsters and in an end of project ‘thinking outside the box’, and had the skills the year six pupils who recreated Borden village its overall aim of improving standards. The school event, shared what they had written, drawn and needed to translate plans into realities. The being eager to take responsibility for the project. had clear learning aims that the creative projects created at an exhibition to which parents and emphasis in that first year was on transforming Crucially, by experiencing a subject, rather than just complemented. The creative practitioner who was grandparents were again invited. As both these space in the classroom. With three teachers in hearing about it, pupils seemed to find it much easier brought in to support the projects was clearly aware project weeks show, Minterne tries to build a home each year group, all of Minterne’s teachers were to remember what they had learnt. The teachers of this and worked together with the teachers very link into all their activities, engaging parents and involved in the Creative Partnerships projects right were delighted with the outcome. Similarly, the effectively. inviting them to the school. from the beginning. children in year four talked about the individual Year four focused on astronomy and did a ‘sky and planets they were constructing whilst building the space’ project for which children created planets solar system. At the end, pupils had visibly taken Minterne’s Change School Programme out of papier-mâché, re-creating the solar system in information on board much better than usual – when Three years later Following the Enquiry School project, Minterne the classroom. Year five looked at new ways of asked questions, they were all eager to demonstrate Junior School successfully applied to join the teaching religious education and decided to run a that they knew what Saturn looked like, or where in Creative Partnerships Change School programme, project on Buddhism. With the help of the artist, the solar system they would find Pluto. What followed this first phase of which they took part in from 2008/09 to 2010/11. the teachers transformed a classroom into a involvement in the Creative Partnerships In their first year as a Change School, and third year Buddhist temple, and all staff and children wore programme? Buddhist robes throughout the week. All learning Impact on the teachers with Creative Partnerships, Minterne decided to focus on a ‘Green’ theme which would involve pupil and teaching took place in this space with not a Whilst staff at Minterne were initially wary of Since this initial project phase, Minterne Junior voice as much as possible. The idea was that pupils textbook or desk in sight. On the last day, a adopting new ways of teaching, this changed rapidly School has gone from strength to strength, running themselves would be the driving force of the Buddhist monk from Canterbury visited the when the creative practitioners came on board. The a number of projects which have grown in ambition project. To this end, the School Council and Green Minterne temple to lead a meditation session. Year teachers gained as much as the children from the and scale along the way. Team worked alongside teachers, governors and the six ‘re-excited’ a local history project on new ideas and expertise. They quickly became aware In late 2007, Minterne became a Creative practitioner to develop the programme. This neighbouring Borden village. Together with the of the visible impact that the projects were having on Partnerships Enquiry School. In the autumn of that included creating topical films and organising an artist, children took photographs of the buildings pupil engagement and were soon convinced by this year, the Chinese Terracotta army was exhibited at event, attended by the mayor and the pupils’ and constructed a detailed replica of Borden made more creative approach to teaching. Bill McGrory the British Museum and this inspired the teachers to parents. In 2009, the whole school was again of cardboard boxes. This was displayed in the recalls how one teacher working on the planet create a ‘China Week’ at the school. All pupils visited involved in various projects. In year five, as part of school hall, enabling the children to learn about the project told him she felt they were ‘wasting time’ the museum, and back at school children created their Tudor topic, they recreated the ‘Field of Cloth village in a much more hands-on and engaging way. building the planets which could have been spent their own Terracotta Army of 400 clay figures, which of Gold’. The project culminated in a Tudor festival teaching pupils about them instead. Weeks later, the proudly guarded a model of the school building. during which the children were dressed up in Tudor teacher herself told him how much better the Parents were invited to see Minterne’s exhibition costumes, learnt Tudor dances, took part in story What were the project impacts? children seemed to have taken the information on which was, in the head teacher’s words, an ‘amazing telling events and even engaged in risk-free board. Looking back, Bill says that despite the initial sight’. At this point it was felt the school had According to the head teacher, all these projects ‘jousting’ tournaments. Parents were invited to the resistance, all teachers were fully convinced by this ‘somehow cracked it’. By embracing this project were a resounding success, liberating the teachers festivities and, as Bill McGrory said, the whole event from their set ways of working. The Buddhist more creative way of teaching within the first year. independently the teachers had shown how much
30 31 Raising standards through a creative and engaging curriculum has always been the main priority.
was a truly memorable experience for the children. that requiring artists to act as researchers is not The year three project that year was entitled playing to their strengths, as research tasks need to ‘Memories’. Children recreated their memories be carried out by a researcher. This was a learning through song, dance, drama, art and poetry. experience for both the school and the artists. Considering the age of the children, the work was Nevertheless, the school’s confidence in the artists remarkably mature, insightful and poignant. was not diminished by this experience and two of them were subsequently involved in successful As with all previous projects, the emphasis was on projects the following year. quality experiences with quality outcomes and a direct link to the School Improvement Plan. More recently, the school has been engaged in a Although children were clearly enthused by the project on the subject of ‘flow’, a concept which activities, the objective was never simply to have analyses people’s engagement with an activity. The fun. Raising standards through a creative and level of challenge in the activity needs to match the engaging curriculum has always been the main level of skill and when people are in ‘flow’, time priority. This, as Bill explains, is where the link passes quickly. Flow is linked to human happiness between teachers and artists, and their ability to and whilst the experience of it varies between work closely together, is particularly important. Over children, it can occur in any subject from arts to the years, Minterne has learnt that it is essential to maths and science. The school was keen to identify ensure that there are quality learning outcomes where this occurred in school and to maximise its from the school’s engagement with the creative potential. The project was led by a practitioner from practitioners. Working together with artists needs to Christchurch University called Jonathan Barnes, who bring added value to what the children learn. The has written books on the subject of creativity and teachers can focus on the curriculum needs and engagement. He introduced staff to the concept of how to put these across, and this work can be ‘flow’ as well as to ways of assessing it. Teachers enhanced through the skills of the practitioner. then looked at ‘flow’ together with the children, Moreover, the school feels it is fundamentally sharing and discussing ideas. The pupils were asked important that the children’s exercise books reflect to think about where they experience ‘flow’ both in the quality of the experiences. Through lessons school and at home, with the aim of helping them learnt in earlier projects, the school had also realised identify this concept themselves. As part of the the importance of providing staff with sufficient project, the school ran a ‘Flow Day’ with workshops, time for planning. Quality time is needed for staff to questionnaires and a variety of activities including combine the creative elements with the cooking, dancing, maths and drama, aimed at seeing requirements of the curriculum. Thus for the above ‘what makes the children tick, what makes them projects teachers were able to go off-site in year happy’. This provided the school with valuable groups for a day of preparation. insight into how teachers can provide more flow- inducing elements to their lessons in the future. Even with this knowledge and experience, there is no guarantee of success. In 2009/10 Minterne’s project was entitled ‘Boys’ Zone’. The practitioners provided ‘boy friendly’ activities and collected data in Long-term impact a study examining boys’ learning. Although the In line with the school’s focus on outcome based children enjoyed the activities, the resulting research projects which tie in with the School Improvement lacked academic rigour. In retrospect, the school felt Plan, there has been a clear development in the
32 33 aims the school has been pursuing with its creative to put in the extra time to reshape the whole Artsmark for quality arts education and received the projects, based on the substantial experience they projects over the years. Whilst the first year aimed school curriculum. Gold Award, another important recognition of the have gained by now. With this in mind, it looks as if at getting staff to ‘think outside the box’ and take school’s achievements. Minterne is set to continue giving children these The children themselves are unrecognisable from some risks in terms of lesson delivery, the second memorable experiences, which they will be able to the passive learners of five years ago. Pupils love Minterne’s success has not gone unnoticed in the year focused on the pupils’ writing skills – an issue talk, write and remember about for a long time to developing, creating and engaging in the projects, local community and the wider primary education that had been picked up in the 2008 Ofsted report. come. and this has had a significant impact on their overall sector. There is now an annual waiting list for the In recent years, Minterne has focused on giving enthusiasm and attentiveness during lessons. school and other schools are keen to visit. Senior pupils a bigger voice, including them in the Some pupils, who have moved on to secondary management also frequently give talks about their discussion and development of new projects. school, have said that they wish there could be a activities to other schools and groups of head Minterne’s continued progress in developing and Minterne Secondary School, evidence of how much teachers. Schools are particularly interested in delivering creative education has transformed the they enjoyed their time at their junior school. As a learning more about Minterne’s new creative school into a vibrant place. The head teacher says more direct result, the school has also seen the curriculum and the impact it has had on the school. he is delighted with the direction the school has pupils’ SATs results improve. In 2010, pupils taken in recent years and this is fully supported by achieved the best SATs results ever across all staff, governors and parents. Importantly, Minterne subjects, and particularly in writing. This provided Future plans decided to move away from the subject based clear evidence for the school staff of a link between Clearly, creative teaching and learning has come to curriculum, which had contributed to passive creativity, pupil engagement and improved test Minterne to stay. With such a significant impact on learning behaviour of the pupils. The curriculum has results. staff and pupils, as Bill McGrory says, ‘creativity is now been completely re-developed into a cross- Parents have also felt the impact of the school’s now part of the school culture – there is no turning curricular teaching approach within each year group, creative approach to teaching. They have reported back.’ into which creative (cross-curricular) projects can be that their children are now far more willing to talk embedded much more effectively. This is evidenced by the many plans that the school about what they are doing in school. Parents are already has for the future. Additionally, senior Clearly, the school’s now long-standing creative more frequent visitors to classrooms to see the management has secured a service level agreement approach to teaching has had a substantial impact, work at the end of projects. They clearly enjoy with Future Creative (the independent organisation not only on its immediate community as a whole, coming in to see what their children have been that was responsible for Creative Partnerships Creativity is now part of but individually on all those involved. Staff, says Bill doing at school and consequently seem more delivery in Kent), providing Minterne with a McGrory, feel much more liberated than before, are involved in their children’s school life in general. significant sum to enable it to further work with the school culture – there now accustomed to ‘thinking outside the box’ and Children love to share their work with their parents creative practitioners. are more confident in developing their own creative and are keen to show their improving standards. is no turning back. ideas. Frequently, teachers and practitioners act as Minterne is also engaged in taking their ideas into All these developments and changes are reflected co-learners and practitioners have also gained the local community and plan to work alongside in the school’s Ofsted reports. In 2008, Ofsted rated useful experiences working with young children other schools in Sittingbourne in the future, Minterne as ‘Good’ with an ‘Outstanding’ over the years. The teachers have learnt to build on delivering staff development days and getting pupils curriculum; a clear development from their 2005 the creative elements brought in by the to work together. Importantly, their aim is not just to ‘Satisfactory’ inspection. The report in particular practitioners and this has brought out their own tell other schools about their projects, but to work mentioned the ‘memorable experiences’ Minterne natural creativity. Moreover, the continued together, combining experiences and ideas to create created through events such as China or Monster engagement with creative practices led teachers to joint creative activities. As Bill says, in the end, ‘it is Week, and picked up on the children’s enthusiasm design the school’s own Creative Curriculum in late not so much about funding; it’s an attitude.’ Even if and low levels of absenteeism. Following this, the 2009. Whilst initially there was a sharp learning a lack of funding means Minterne cannot bring in most recent Ofsted report rated Minterne a straight curve and an increase in their workload, teachers creative practitioners in the future, he is certain that ‘Outstanding’ with an ‘Outstanding’ curriculum. In could readily see the benefits and so were willing this will not stop them from engaging in similar 2009, the school also applied for the Arts Council’s
34 35 Case study 5 Penn Hall Special School
highlighted the school’s approach to building School Background partnerships with parents, external agencies Penn Hall School is a Local Authority and other providers, thereby ‘[...] making a Community Special School in Wolverhampton much wider range of learning experiences with designated specialist status for pupils with available than would otherwise be possible.’ sensory and/or physical needs and as a special The school’s work has been recognised by school for communication. The school provides several awards, including Sportsmark/ day care for up to 80 pupils aged 3-19 with Activemark, 21st Century Learning Alliance, additional boarding facilities which are used on Artsmark Gold, Eco Bronze, Black Country a rota basis, with pupils boarding at the school Quality Award for Careers Education and between one and four nights per week. The Guidance, as well as being a Creative school runs an outreach service for learners in Partnerships’ School of Creativity. mainstream schools and to this end maintains links with several local secondary schools. The number of pupils eligible for free school meals or from minority ethnic groups is higher How and why did the school join the than usual at Penn Hall, but although a high Schools of Creativity programme? percentage have English as an additional With pupils aged 3-19, of which the majority have language, none of the pupils are at an early physical as well as sensory disabilities (i.e. visual, The school places particular emphasis on stage of learning the language. hearing, multi-sensory impairments), Penn Hall building up pupils’ confidence and self- In addition to teaching the National Curriculum, needs to cater to a wide range of abilities: whilst the school places particular emphasis on some pupils require a specialist curriculum, others reliance as well as developing skills that will building up pupils’ confidence and self-reliance go up to GCSE level and take part in classes in local as well as developing skills that will enable the secondary schools or colleges. enable the children to make decisions that children to make decisions that reflect their This need to cater for very different ability levels own feelings and personality. The success of whilst at the same time having to adhere to the reflect their own feelings and personality. this approach was mirrored in the school’s most National Curriculum early on led to a commitment to recent Ofsted report (January 2010), which creative learning in the school. As the School Of judged Penn Hall to be ‘outstanding’ and Creativity co-ordinator explained, Penn Hall’s pupils
36 37 Creativity is seen as being particularly relevant in helping to attain a purposeful, open and friendly atmosphere. do not fit the common model given from outside (on • enabling students to get more out of the school’s contact with other schools, local organisations, Although Penn Hall had worked with disabled artists which the National Curriculum is based), and in order IT equipment, artists etc, provides for a bigger range of offers for before, Superheroes brought this involvement to a to match lessons to the individual pupil’s needs, the pupils, and helps them become acquainted with new scale and, crucially, provided training for both • exploring and becoming involved in the disability teachers need to keep approaching subjects the world outside of their homes and school. This the artists who had never worked as practitioners in arts movement, creatively and from different directions to achieve encourages and boosts Penn Hall’s whole school schools before, as well as new skills and the required results. Teachers are consequently • increased involvement of parents and local arts ethos in which creativity is seen as being particularly experiences for the pupils. The School of Creativity skilled in ‘thinking creatively’, which naturally resulted organisations, and ‘opening up the pupils’ relevant in helping to attain a purposeful, open and co-ordinator reported that the project was highly in an interest in the possibilities provided by Creative worlds’. friendly atmosphere throughout the whole school. successful and the school would like to see the Partnerships. The school also noted that often These aims are clearly stated in the form of ‘enquiry artists returning for further workshops as well as special educational needs (SEN) schools are left out questions’ in the school’s strategic programme taking the programme into other schools. of national initiatives, and consequently they have plans. In the 2009 - 2010 programme plan, the Project examples As an example of a smaller project focusing on a always made a particular effort to be active in taking school for example asked: In 2010, Penn Hall was involved in a project called specific age-range, one class in winter 2010 worked part in programmes such as Creative Partnerships. ‘What does ‘disability’ mean to different Superheroes, which related to their aim of together with sound and recording artist Iain Penn Hall Special School was involved in Creative groups in the school community? How can becoming involved in the disability arts movement, Armstrong to create a DVD called The Enchanted Partnerships from the beginning, as a Change as well as of making more use of available IT Worlds of Penn Hall School. Again focussing on we break down some of the barriers?’ and Agenda School (2002 – 2005), Innovation Centre and equipment. The project was developed and carried familiarising pupils with available IT, the aim was to Innovation Network Centre (until 2007) as part of the ‘How best to develop music media? How to out together with Working Parts, a partnership of create audio trails of ‘special’ locations chosen by local Black Country Creative Partnerships actively engage our pupils in film making, arts organisations from the Black Country boroughs the pupils in and around the school. Children had to programme, and then as a School of Creativity in the photography and music.’ aimed at involving more disabled people – as artists, create sounds for each location, thus training their national programme from 2009 until 2011. Now in its In the 2010 - 2011 period, the questions included: audiences and participants – in the arts. imaginative and listening skills, sampling sounds third and final year of the Schools of Creativity around the school and using a special computer Led by three artists who created the programme as a programme, Penn Hall was inaugurated as one of • What’s ahead for Arts and Disability, programme to manipulate and edit the sounds. professional development opportunity for ten locally only five SEN schools with School of Creativity Disability Arts and Deaf Arts? Can disabled based disabled artists, Superheroes kicked off with a As a final example, partly in response to an Ofsted status by David Miliband at an event in artists present a positive role model in a conference at the school in September, enabling report, the school in 2010 also put particular focus on Wolverhampton Art Gallery in 2009. The school Special School? creative partners to plan the work and spread the its outside areas, renovating their outdoor adventure initially worked mostly through the local area office • Do students feel they have adequate say in word to other local organisations. This was followed area. At time of writing, the new area (with the which covered the Black Country, which according to what we do? How to ascertain the views of by a series of training days for the artists. working title ‘Media Soup’) was due to be re- Penn Hall’s School Of Creativity co-ordinator was launched together with the artists in summer 2011. very proactive. Since joining the Schools of Creativity those with severe communication difficulties. The artists then ran multimedia workshops with the programme they have been more directly involved • Can we update our media skills in a creative Penn Hall pupils based on the theme of superheroes, looking at the questions ‘What does with Creativity, Culture and Education (CCE), hosting way with ‘hands-on’ learning alongside What are the impacts of being part of visitors from CCE and participating in CCE practitioners? the word superhero mean to you? What are the conferences. physical characteristics of a superhero? What could the Schools of Creativity programme? a disabled superhero do?’ Pupils then went on to Impact on Pupils create their own superheroes in a range of media Activities All of the projects run as part of Penn Hall’s School with the help of the artist. All children took part in Overall aims of Creativity programme have specific aims for the The school projects vary regarding their target group two workshops with different artists, whilst the Although the school’s aim as a School of Creativity pupils involved, ranging from enhancing certain and time frame – some projects take on a cross- older students worked with artists for a whole was initially focused on improving pupil behaviour, creative skills to raising the general well-being of curricular or cross-class approach, whilst others week, creating their own animations. To mark the this has moved in the past two years to a broader the pupils. focus on the age and ability levels of a certain group end of the project the resulting songs, animations, focus on ‘exploring disability’, with the specific – and all are linked to the stated aims of their School films, dances and artworks were performed at an One important skill that pupils have learnt through aims of: of Creativity programme. For example, increased awards ceremony. their participation in projects with outside
38 39 Pupils are now much more open to ‘having a go at everything’ and are losing their fear of stepping forward or performing in class. participants is working as a team. Through making was a very important experience for older pupils the children realise that their own actions not only who are beginning to think about their life after Penn have an impact on themselves, but on others too, Hall and to whom Superheroes showed new the teamwork approach of many of the projects has pathways they might choose to follow. had a big impact on their behaviour. Consequently, Penn Hall is aiming to continue this work in the future, bringing together disabled artists Projects have also had an impact on pupils’ creative who act as role models for the pupils. development, which can be a particularly sensitive area for children with sensory and physical Importantly, it appears that pupils have been able to disabilities. Due to their disabilities many pupils lack transfer these acquired skills well into other life experiences generally picked up during environments outside their school, using them in childhood. By helping pupils to see, touch and hear the school’s residential hostel where they are given new things, or by making the outside world further opportunity to do art, cook and learn to look accessible to them – for example some of their after themselves, at home, or in the mainstream Creative Partnerships projects have explored Forest schools visited by some of the older pupils. One School activities in local woodlands – many of the pupil has even joined a local theatre group following projects are opening up the pupils’ minds to new participation in a theatre project at school. ideas, i.e. impacting on their imaginative skills, as well as communication and physical skills. Impact on Staff Again, communication skills are a sensitive area for children with sensory disabilities. Creative play with Although the school has one central School of the younger pupils as well as creative team-work Creativity co-ordinator, regular meetings are held with older pupils has shown them that they will be with all of Penn Hall’s staff, ensuring that everyone listened to and their ideas taken into account is closely involved in the programme. This is regardless of whether they are able to speak or not. particularly important due to the mixture of whole- Importantly, this has had an impact on pupils’ self- school and small group projects delivered through esteem and self-confidence levels, and the School their Creative Partnerships programme. of Creativity co-ordinator related how pupils are now Being a relatively small school, it is easy for Penn much more open to ‘having a go at everything’ and Hall staff (including teachers, therapists etc.) to are losing their fear of stepping forward or communicate with each other, and teachers are performing in class. open to saying if something has not worked out as Similarly, the Superheroes project brought pupils in planned. Equally, staff know that the school touch with disabled adults who have been able to welcomes new ideas for a project. Often, individual follow their aspirations to become recognised artists. teachers will research an idea by themselves, The artists, several of whom were in wheelchairs or contacting potential external partners and thinking had hearing or speaking disabilities, were great about how to develop it before discussing it with positive role models for the pupils, showing them other staff, students and the co-ordinator. Once the that no barriers are insurmountable and that they too project has taken shape, the school’s Creative Agent could have the chance of becoming actors, gets involved to help formulate the project for photographers or artists once they leave school. As Creative Partnerships application – pulling ideas the idea of post-school time can be frightening, apart and focusing the school on the core of what particularly for young people with disabilities, this they want to do. As the school’s main link to the
40 41 wider web of creative practitioners, the Creative Impact on the whole school Similarly, Penn Hall provides after-school What next? Agent is then vital in helping to locate artists and Penn Hall aims to provide a purposeful, open and programmes for all disabled children in the borough practitioners for the project. Although the co- together with a local theatre group. That local Although unclear what role the school itself will friendly atmosphere, and the co-ordinator feels that take, the co-ordinator stressed that their local ordinator conceded that this approach to creating their School of Creativity status has helped to cultural organisations are themselves becoming new projects is not always the quickest process, more aware of the school’s activities is evidenced Creative Partnerships Area Delivery Organisation is continue developing that ethos, providing means very strong and currently in communication with lots of discussions needed for everyone to be and assistance to meet challenges and move by the fact that Penn Hall was recently approached involved, she stressed that it was not a difficult by local art gallery Media Box to create a portrait regarding possible alternate sources of funding as forward stronger. Creativity is firmly embedded in Creative Partnerships funding runs out. process, and led to a better whole-school the school, and whilst they would try to get pupils exhibition together with the school’s pupils and involvement in the School Of Creativity activities. involved in artistic or creative activities regardless of disabled artist/photographer Lisa Gunn. The Importantly, the whole region appears to be actively portraits, featuring the Penn Hall students on the Due to the nature of the school, which necessitates being a School of Creativity school, this enables communicating about this, and a conference was basis of their own ideas, were exhibited at a creative classroom management where teachers them to do more and provides added possibilities organised in 2011 to which all schools in the area Wolverhampton Art Gallery and featured on the have to be ‘on the ball, creative and lively’, its and stability to their ethos. All School of Creativity were invited. The central message of this guardian.co.uk education website. approach to creativity as a School of Creativity is not activities are linked to the School Improvement Plan, conference was to get schools enthusiastic about a an entirely new way of thinking or handling for the as evidenced by the drive to renovate the outdoor School of Creativity activities have also helped Penn more creative approach to education and, crucially, teachers. It constitutes a ‘natural progression’ which adventure area, or the focus on using music and IT Hall get more in touch with pupils’ parents. show them how this creative approach might has given the school ‘power to do more’. For in their projects. This is consistently monitored by According to the co-ordinator, many children come continue post Creative Partnerships. example, it has helped teachers to become more the schools’ senior management team, who liaise to school from a wide catchment area and through aware that everyone – including themselves – are with CCE through the school co-ordinator, who then organised transport, which makes it difficult to creative in their own way, and that creativity does reports back on project reviews and writes an ‘catch up with parents at the school gate’. not only imply being artistic, but also thinking annual development plan adapted to new ideas and Furthermore, one has to be aware of the added creatively. Teachers gained new experiences not Ofsted requirements. That this is showing success pressure put on parents caring for disabled children, only by organising, but also by participating in the is evident in itself, and the co-ordinator is certain making their after-school life very different from that projects, with one teacher participating in the that it contributed to Penn Hall’s most recent, very of other parents. Consequently, it is often difficult to Superheroes project saying that ‘working with the positive, Ofsted report. bring parents in for discussions. and when they do artists is always an expansive experience, and come in they often feel the need to focus on their especially working with deaf and disabled people child’s medical conditions or equipment, rather than who were artists, and seeing how they interpreted Impact on parents and the wider engaging in educational discussions. Staff are the project.’ (Rebecca Green, Creative Partnerships community however constantly working to improve contact website). Through its Creative Partnerships projects, Penn with parents, both through providing a forum through the ‘Friends of Penn Hall’, and holding The School of Creativity co-ordinator commented on Hall and its staff and teachers have become more regular events to which parents are invited. For how their projects have helped teachers recognise involved with external participants and the wider example, the school ran a Christmas show, which when children are open to going ahead and trying community as a whole. was well supported, and also recently organised a out new things – something staff had previously Certainly, this is the case with respect to school show which was specifically promoted as a only noticed during sports lessons – resulting in involvement with other local schools. For example, family event with the help of the older pupils. them recognising art as an additional outlet for their Penn Hall runs an outreach service, which although The Schools of Creativity pupils. In this way she believed that the Schools of not directly funded by CCE, is nevertheless part of Creativity programme had contributed to positive their activity as a School of Creativity, and in which programme had relationships between teachers and pupils which Penn Hall teachers provide advice to local primary contributed to positive the school believes is a by-product of the school’s schools who have disabled pupils. integrated creative approach. relationships between teachers and pupils.
42 43 Case study 6 McMillan Nursery School
report judged McMillan to be outstanding, with School Background particular reference to the high standard of McMillan Nursery School is a Local Authority teaching, specialist expertise and the children’s maintained nursery school for around 140 confidence, contentment and good behaviour. children aged 3-5. Founded in 1939, the school Positive mention was furthermore made of is situated within a large council housing estate McMillan’s status as a Creative Partnerships’ in the north of Hull; an area with a high level of School of Creativity as supporting ‘[...] the multiple deprivation, which has been a Sure importance and sensitivity of adult-child Start area for a number of years. Due to its long interaction in promoting a personalised and history, McMillan is firmly embedded within the relevant curriculum.’ local community. Most children are from a white British background and the school has a larger than average proportion of children with special educational needs. How and why did the school join the Schools of Creativity programme? The Nursery School forms part of a Children’s Centre, which includes year-round day-care McMillan staff already had some experience in facilities for children aged 0-5, health creative teaching prior to the launch of the Creative professionals, a social services team and Partnerships programme. This was largely due to The school’s overall aim was to develop jobcentre plus services. The Centre runs an one teacher – the current head teacher – who ran adult training programme, and to this end has his own theatre company before turning to teaching. Already involved in running theatre formed a partnership with Hull College to offer strong and lasting relationships with the workshops in schools and having received an Arts creative practitioners ... which would result childcare and similar courses on site. Council England grant for a residency in an Oxford The school’s achievements have been school with the theatre company, he was extremely in them being able to start new projects at recognised through a number of awards, keen to join Creative Partnerships when it was including the then Department for Education introduced in Hull in 2002. a more advanced level, and on which they and Skills (DfES) School Achievement Awards As a small school with a limited budget, Creative and inclusion in the DfES (now Department for Partnerships provided McMillan with a chance to can continue to build in the future. Education) list of ‘particularly successful increase their co-operation with artists, and in schools’ in 2003. The school’s July 2010 Ofsted particular, move away from occasional day long
44 45 The school focused on looking at what experiences it wanted the children to have, and how best to make them happen. projects to develop strong and lasting relationships aspects of the Reggio Approach. Artists worked In their third and last year of involvement in the include the entire school rather than specific target with creative practitioners. This was a particularly alongside staff to look at the entire curriculum, Schools of Creativity programme, the school aimed groups or subject areas. important incentive, as staff felt they needed to find documenting routines, results and interaction with to extend the learning of the previous two years and practitioners who would be able to understand the children as well as bringing in new resources. embed it throughout the whole Children’s Centre, working with children as young as 3-4 and to whom This resulted in a whole school change with new build strategies for sustaining their work in the Project examples teachers and parents would entrust their children. curriculum plans and recording systems, staff and future and disseminate their learning through Year one of the school’s School of Creativity resource development and parental involvement. lectures, training and documentation. The school In order to achieve their aim of developing close and engagement centred on a project called Back to the thus focused on the area of documentation of their lasting relationships with the creative practitioners, Woods which, in accord with the enquiry question, School of Creativity involvement as well as McMillan initially invested considerable time in focused on bringing a Forest Schools programme to continuing to look at the forest theme by looking at finding the artists they worked, and continue Overall aims McMillan and testing the impact of activities taking the following enquiry questions: working with. They eventually teamed up with The school’s overall aim was to develop strong and place in the forest versus being on location at artists who work-shadowed staff without the lasting relationships with the creative practitioners. • How can creative learning and shared enquiry school. Having located a nearby woodland area, the pressure of needing to run creative activities The idea was for them to have a detailed knowledge be made sustainable in a small school? project specifically aimed at learning how young immediately, and observed how staff work with the of the school and vice versa, both groups together children respond to this environment, as well as children. This, according to the head teacher, was generating ideas for future projects. McMillan • How can we develop skills in staff which looking to bond with the pupils’ parents by getting extremely successful in developing a shared considered the development of these partnerships as support sustainability of creative learning them to work alongside staff and teach them how understanding between the school staff and the an important investment, which would result in them approaches? to develop their children’s learning themselves. two artists. being able to start new projects at a more advanced • Can creative Forest Practice engage parents Although presented with obstacles such as health level, and on which they can continue to build in the Originally a Creative Partnerships school, the head in children’s learning? and safety measures and appropriate clothing for the future. Regarding all of the school’s School of teacher (and lead School of Creativity co-ordinator) children, the school considered the Forest School Creativity aims and resulting projects, the school • How can we maximise the impact of creative explained that during the early days, the school’s approach (usually aimed at older children) as an ideal focused on looking at what experiences it wanted practitioner input in the Forest project? experiences tended to be very project-oriented. way of developing this area. Several teachers as well the children to have, and how best to make them Importantly, however, McMillan’s move to • How can Forest Practice support boys’ as one of the participating artists went on Forest happen. becoming a School of Creativity in summer 2008 progress and development? School training courses. The head teacher explained meant that this project oriented approach was In terms of specific aims, the 2009-2010 period of that although working in such a different turned into a whole school approach, aiming at McMillan’s School of Creativity programme centred • What are the most effective ways of environment made participants feel unsure at first, development throughout the whole school. around developing the voice and status of young maximising creative Forest Practise for all by everyone quickly became increasingly confident. This linking on and off-site environments? It seems that this move was largely influenced by a children and their experience of the world, increased was helped along by the artist, a performer who particularly successful project that ran from 2004 - parental and community involvement, staff creativity The specific mentioning of boys’ development encouraged children to develop their imagination 2006. Influenced by the Reggio Emilia approach of and an increased correlation between indoor and linked to the introduction of more activities of through various storytelling techniques on location. outdoor teaching activities. To this end, the school in teaching, McMillan’s then head teacher aimed at special interest to boys as an answer to McMillan’s The Back to the Woods project was continued on a this period focused on the following question, which developing a drawing project similar to Reggio July 2010 Ofsted report, which stressed that boys’ larger scale in the second School of Creativity year, served to consolidate all of the above aims: projects, which use drawing as a means by which communication skills lag behind those of the girls. and consisted of a series of regular visits to the children explore and hypothesise about the world. ‘Will there be impacts on learning and well- forest with a small group of children supported by Although the local Creative Partnerships team being for children, parents, staff and creative parents and staff. The project now involved three originally discarded the project proposal, their practitioners through a structured programme Activities artists and looked at the additional aspect of how to attitude changed after a joint visit by McMillan staff, of ‘Forest Schools’ activity; and will there be Although McMillan also runs specific shorter term link the woodland with the school’s outdoor an artist and the then local Creative Partnerships equal impact on children not visiting the projects, already the pre-School of Creativity environment. This was supported by the performing Acting Director to a conference in Reggio Emilia. forest, but taking part in ‘Forest’ activities drawing project exemplified their commitment to a artists, who for example would create things at Consequently, the scale of the project was school together with the children out of what they based at the Centre?’ whole school approach. This is also evidenced by considerably increased, with the aim of exploring the enquiry questions detailed above, all of which collected in the forest. Children were given the
46 47 The impact on pupils is not so much concerned with their skills development, as with their personal and creative development and overall well-being. opportunity to explore and handle natural materials not so much concerned with their skills The Back to the Woods project has also had a the teachers stated, ‘I have learnt the importance of and engage in storytelling, imaginative play etc. In development, as with their personal and creative visible impact on the children, influencing their having the appropriate risk assessments and both years, a celebratory event for all pupils and development and overall well-being. awareness of their surroundings, their confidence management.’ This, consequently, has led to staff their families took place in the wood at the end of and well-being. Thus, ‘observation in the garden feeling happier and more empowered to try out Many aspects of the projects that have taken place term, with over 50 people taking part in the second showed all the children moving confidently around their own ideas, falling into the role of a leader who have had an effect on particular cohorts or particular year. Parents and carers were encouraged to the space, solving problems and issues without can judge the risks being taken. issues that needed addressing and their attainment. document and disseminate their experiences in a adult intervention.’ According to the 2010 Ofsted As an example, the head teacher mentioned the The project’s whole school approach meant that all variety of media, with the aim of taking on their report, children showed an ‘excellent understanding school’s changed approach to drawing lessons and teachers were involved, which in turn has lead to outdoor learning at the school’s own outdoor spaces for their age of how to stay safe and live a healthy how this has had a particular impact on gender new experiences of working as a team. as well as in the family and wider community. lifestyle’, being quick to point out potential hazards issues due to girls and boys having different Furthermore, the project was organised so that staff and asking an adult for help. The project In addition, the school’s own outdoor environment approaches to such activities. Previously, teachers were in regular direct contact with the creative furthermore had a visible impact on the children’s was re-developed by a project called Open Spaces, would ask children to paint a certain object and find practitioners, leading to a deep relationship between communication skills, extending their vocabulary as in which staff initially worked with children to that many children, particularly boys, would not the two, which the teachers considered very well as becoming increasingly confident in joining develop their ideas for the outside area. Again, this engage, but would rather be lying on the floor, important, especially in such a challenging the storytelling activities – one EAL (English as an linked to the Ofsted report which had given scribbling and humming to themselves. Staff started environment. Additional Language) boy for example joined these McMillan full marks for its indoor areas but asked to see that that this was a more kinetic, narrative activities through mime, getting involved without Importantly, these experiences have also had an the school to enhance its outdoor space. The way for children to engage with their task, for using any language at all. Finally, children clearly impact on teachers’ own self confidence and creative practitioner also made contact with local example painting a story about driving a car or enjoyed the environment, activities and, importantly, satisfaction, with teachers claiming the experience dads’ groups as a further way to involve fathers in similar. Thus teachers moved away from specifying bonding with their parents – many of the parental of ‘being thrown in at the deep end’ to be affirming the development. a particular object and took on a new approach of evaluation forms said how much the children had and inspirational. As the head teacher stressed, making up stories with the children and drawing This year, McMillan plans to carry on with the above enjoyed the experiences and talked about it at home teachers were prepared to give a vast number of children’s ideas whilst they tell them. In this way outdoor activities whilst putting additional focus on to other family members. hours to the project, and their ‘motivation for this children are learning that being imaginative – giving presentations about their experiences around commitment grew from the sense that this project drawing a story – is a good thing, and they have By definition, the head teacher stressed that school the country. For example, they recently ran a is central to key issues in the day to day learning become much more imaginative and confident in space and home space should not be considered as workshop at an Early Arts Conference on how to and teaching experiences of children, practitioners telling their stories. Children who had previously separate in children that young, meaning that the adapt the Forest School approach to young children and artists.’ One teacher furthermore mentioned been disruptive in lessons are now happily involved developments experienced in children at school are and how to use it to engage with parents. This year how worthwhile the project had been made by in what the whole class is doing. This has boosted carried forward to their everyday life outside school. McMillan is involving an IT specialist to help them hearing from parents what an enormous impact (particularly the boys’) communication skills and create a documentary film of their work and collate their work had had on their lives. represents an important step towards their future the large amount of documentation collected during writing and meaning-making skills. Impact on Staff the past years. The head teacher feels that this will provide for a great resource which can be passed This is a good example of McMillan’s approach to all It seems that the Back to the Woods project has Impact on the whole school had an equally fundamental impact on the teachers on and will help to make their activities sustainable. their projects: putting particular influence on As a whole school project, Back to the Woods as on the pupils. One of the most important observing the children’s play and building on their inevitably challenged all aspects of the school and developments has been staff’s confidence about findings to provide for more engaging and was key in terms of whole school change in the being in a more unregulated environment with their What are the impacts of being part of stimulating activities for their pupils. This visible past years. The head teacher highlighted the pupils. Whereas they were horrified at first at the the Schools of Creativity programme? sensitivity towards their own interests has provided importance McMillan has been putting on aligning idea of taking children to a wood with a lake or a massive motivation for the pupils and has thus the Schools of Creativity programme to school Impact on Pupils letting them sit at a bonfire, they quickly learnt from had an important impact on their social and objectives – as he said, being a School of Creativity and adapted to these challenges and now feel Due to the young age of the pupils involved, it is emotional development, something that is is not seen as an addition to school life, but needs confident and more relaxed with them. As one of important to highlight that the impact on pupils is particularly important for children at that age. to be a core part of what you are doing. This is
48 49 visible for example in the way School of Creativity for example an Ofsted inspection, it is has example, instrumental in bringing two further and McMillan aims to build on and benefit from this. activities were used to address Ofsted’s requests to traditionally been very difficult to try and involve nursery schools in Hull into the Creative This quite clearly represents a move away from focus on boys’ communication skills or enhance the parents in school activities. Partnerships programme. Furthermore, staff have McMillan’s earlier focus primarily on sharing good school’s outdoor areas and activities. Here again, been active in providing training sessions for primary practice without thinking of charging for this service. Importantly, Back to the Woods has had a the fact that McMillan has put particular weight on schools, sharing their documentation with parents However, the head teacher stressed that they remarkable impact on the parents, who felt much establishing long lasting relationships with their and schools and giving workshops at a variety of simply cannot continue like this if they want to be more confident in joining their children and staff in Creative Agent has been particularly important, with relevant conferences. able to provide activities at their school in the future, an outdoor environment. This was particularly visible the Creative Agent being very much aware of the and have now come to recognise the financial value in the fathers, many of whom are in the army and School Improvement Plan and active in addressing of their experiences. Both McMillan’s current could relate much better to the activities and such issues. All this has also fed back and Schools of Creativity funded activities around environment of the project. This was considered What next? contributed to McMillan’s recent very positive documenting their findings and experiences, as well particularly important due to the predominantly Quite clearly, McMillan see their School of Creativity Ofsted report, as the inspectors clearly saw the as the planned partnership with Hull University are female environment in which pupils usually find activities – for example their forest project – as an amount of work and thought that had gone into steps in this direction, with the aim of eventually themselves at school, as only the head teacher and ongoing process that has resulted in fundamental addressing, for example, the outdoor play area or developing as a training and research centre for one of the caretakers are men. It seems that the changes within the school, which are not going to the school’s engagement with parents. Early Years education. As the head teacher said, creative practitioners played an important part in this simply be revoked once Creative Partnerships others need to understand that their experiences – The head teacher also mentioned the ‘scaffolding development; parents enjoyed working together funding winds up. and sharing them – come at a cost. Based on the effect’ that their School of Creativity involvement with the artists and were visibly influenced by the Based on the experience they have already gained interest McMillan has already been generating, he had had over the years, with participants challenging teamwork between teachers and artists and, in providing training and documentation to other seems confident that this will be one way to each other and together approaching the idea of importantly, their interaction with the children. education establishments, the head teacher is generate income for new activities in the future. how things that are more challenging could be done Increased confidence has also led parents to learn planning to roll this out in the hope that it will in a safe way. This approach, in which teachers are to speak for themselves and be at ease socially with develop into a future potential income source. prepared to try out new things without being scared the other adults. This has also allowed them to let Indeed, McMillan has already been approached by off by potential risks and challenges, seems to have their children do things independently and for them other schools to give training days and, importantly, turned into an ethos for the whole school, which to enjoy being outside with their children. As Ofsted received the support and a financial contribution considers it as an ongoing process in the future. wrote, ‘The feedback received from the families that from the Local Authority. Most recently, McMillan attended the sessions in the woods has been so has been active in trying to establish a partnership Impact on parents and the wider positive and has [even] resulted in two of the dads with Hull University to become involved in their applying to become school governors.’ This certainly Graduate Teacher Programme (GTP) and Post community represents an enormous change from the very Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) courses, Due to its long history as a community school, limited involvement shown by many parents prior to with the idea of establishing a ‘centre of excellence McMillan from the outset enjoyed good the project. Indeed, several parents have now relationship’ with them and become increasingly relationships with the pupils’ parents, many of signed up for childcare courses at the Centre; here involved in Early Years education research. whom attended the school themselves. it is important to highlight the availability of courses The head teacher stressed the importance of Nevertheless, difficulties present themselves at the Centre, as parents are much more likely to highlighting the value of their School of Creativity through many parents’ lack of confidence and skills, take this step rather than travel into town to attend status, which is not only ‘another badge’, but which which limit their ability to engage with their courses. With most families living close by, all this is has provided McMillan with the experiences children’s learning. As the head teacher explained, having an inevitable impact on the whole McMillan see their School detailed above along with the opportunity of many of the parents left school at 15 and now find community, with parents taking newly acquired engaging with people and establishments with of Creativity activities ... themselves back in a school environment for the skills and attitudes with them into their daily lives. first time in a while. This means that although whom they would not otherwise have come into resulted in fundamental parents show strong support for the school during McMillan has also been helping other local schools contact. Many establishments both in the United benefit from their experiences and was, for Kingdom and abroad have become aware of this, changes within the school.
50 51 Case study 7 Prudhoe Community High School
Why did the school join the Creative School Background Partnerships programme? Prudhoe Community High School is a smaller When Creative Partnerships was first established in than average secondary school situated in Nothumberland in 2005, Prudhoe had already Northumberland. Students are from a started developing creative learning at the school. predominantly White British background and the Right from the start the school hoped to work with proportion of students eligible for free school other local schools on their creative activities. meals or with special educational needs (SEN) Prudhoe is based in an isolated area with a relatively is below average. homogenous community. By collaborating with other schools Prudhoe aimed to provide pupils with The school holds Specialist Technology College new influences and give them the confidence to status and works in close partnership with move outside their own community. The school also numerous local schools and colleges. It leads generally knows which feeder primary schools their on enterprise within the Tynedale Virtual students will come from. Prudhoe was thus keen to College, a development supporting collaborative involve local feeder schools in order to let pupils learning projects for sixth forms in the area. benefit from their creative activities as soon as Prudhoe has won a number of awards in recent possible. In the past Prudhoe had battled to engage years and has received the Department for in activities with outside partners to the extent they Children Schools and Families (DCSF – now envisaged, and Creative Partnerships offered new Department for Education) Creative & Media ways for them to do so. By collaborating with other schools Prudhoe Diploma. Demographic developments in the area have What was the project? aimed to provide pupils with new influences meant a gradual drop in the school’s pupil The first project which Prudhoe developed with the intake, resulting in a necessary downsizing of support of Creative Partnerships was called and give them the confidence to move school staff in recent years. ‘Anthem for Northumberland’, and it started in late 2005. The project focused around the theme of film outside their own community. music, and teachers aimed to test the feasibility of this becoming part of the music curriculum. The activities consisted of pupils learning to compose and perform new musical pieces for film scenes.
52 53 Prudhoe particularly welcomed the opportunity of becoming part of a national network of similarly minded schools. Prudhoe aimed to involve a large range of What made the project so successful? wider sense in some of the creative projects. In leadership skills, to employ creativity to further Northumberland schools in the project. This was 2007, the school ran two projects on Brazil, the first encourage the school’s outward-facing approach, and achieved by setting phase one of the project aside From the beginning, Prudhoe realised that they based on the film City of God and looking at the to look at which new technologies could best facilitate to tour local schools, meeting teachers and running needed to navigate a dynamic tension between their diverse communities of Rio de Janeiro. The second creativity amongst students and staff. To support workshops with the pupils as a way to get them aim of teaching in a creative way and the responsibility introduced pupils to the Brazilian culture, in order to these aims Prudhoe decided to create a new website, ‘on board’. of delivering the curriculum. This awareness meant ‘introduce the idea that culture can provide a sense increase their networking activities and focus on the that the school was careful in selecting the of identity and worth and can transform people’s building work which had been designed by the pupils Over the year the young people worked together practitioners they worked with, making sure they lives.’ in the previous years. In terms of individual projects, with musicians to compose their pieces, first in were aware of the need to be flexible in developing the school again aimed at spreading projects across small groups across the different schools, and finally In an overarching project from 2006 to 2008, their projects and working with the school. Equally year groups and subjects, and getting as many composing one piece for the whole group. The Prudhoe brought in an architect to help students and noteworthy is Prudhoe’s ambition to involve the whole teachers and young people involved as possible. In process was filmed and culminated in a staff to investigate the internal and external school school as well as local partners, rather than focusing 2009 Prudhoe engaged in a school-wide ICT project performance at The Sage, Gateshead. Prudhoe environment. The creative practitioner worked with their project on a specific year group or subject. More looking at how ICT could support the development of pupils were so enthusiastic about the project that teams of pupils in different subjects to create than an add-on, increasing ‘outward-facingness’ was a ‘thinking and learning skills’ and create cross-curricular they decided to create a TV programme based on proposals for a new school development. In parallel, fundamental part of the project and informed its links. The project aimed at enhancing the sharing of their experiences to document the project. To mark Prudhoe looked into funding avenues to finance the development. This is reflected in the valuable time learning resources across the school and increasing the occasion, the school hosted a ‘TV show’, winning project. In this way the pupils became that was allocated for the project leads to tour local teacher confidence in this field. Interestingly, the inviting the pupils from the other schools along. involved in a design for an actual building for the schools to discuss the project and ‘recruit’ pupils. project was further developed to include pupils’ school, having to think about what was needed most leadership skills, when it became apparent that some Importantly, Prudhoe was keen to assess the impact urgently and how best to turn it into reality. What were the project impacts? the new creative opportunities were having on the of the young people had such advanced ICT skills that young people and their academic achievement. To do As Prudhoe had always focused on outward-facing they were able to deliver training to staff themselves. By providing new experiences and concrete projects which would involve large parts of the so they looked at sample groups of young people, The most visible and ambitious project Prudhoe networking opportunities the project gave the school as well as outside partners, they seemed comparing their achievements as indicated by embarked upon, was the development of the building school a head start in running collaborative projects ideal candidates for the Creative Partnerships’ attendance levels and SATs results before and after plans that students had previously worked on. The with local partners. According to Tim Smith, Schools of Creativity programme, for which they the project. This was complemented by pupil school successfully bid for funding to support the Prudhoe’s Creative Partnerships lead contact, the applied in 2009. As Tim says, the school was very interviews. In this way, the school hoped to gain enterprise, receiving £4 million from the DCSF inclusive and cross-curricular nature of the project proud when they were successful, considering it a valuable data to inform future activities and practices Diploma Exemplar Scheme to build an on-site also resulted in ‘blurring the boundaries of the ‘badge of honour’ for the creative work they had in the school. Far from merely adding entertainment to Creative & Media Centre. Building work began in curriculum a bit’ within the school, resulting in done so far. Prudhoe particularly welcomed the the curriculum, Prudhoe clearly aimed for their creative August 2010 and took roughly a year to be completed, subjects being seen in a less insular way. This opportunity of becoming part of a national network activities to be an important part of teaching, with building progress documented through video paved the way for the development of future cross- of similarly minded schools, and being able to attend expecting them to deliver positive results. installations. Created as a physical representation of curricular activities. More directly, the group work network meetings. Tim says they felt much more the school’s creative activities, the Centre contains gave pupils a chance to work together with connected to the whole Creative Partnerships high quality TV and radio studios, a cinema and practitioners and pupils from other schools, giving network from then on. 2006-2008 performance space, design and art rooms, meeting them new confidence to move outside their rooms and an incubator space. The students and immediate surroundings. Teachers gained new skills Since their first collaborative project with Creative architect decided to design the building on the basis and experiences in working with outside Partnerships, Prudhoe has engaged in a number of Prudhoe’s School of Creativity of de Bono’s Thinking Hats. Each room in the building practitioners and teachers, which they could pass smaller and larger projects each year. The school has Programme represents one of the six thinking hats, with the on to their colleagues. continued to focus heavily on engagement with local schools and society, and projects have taken on a In Prudhoe’s overarching School of Creativity computer room acting as the ‘information’ enquiry-hat variety of themes and subject areas. Just as their strategy the school decided to focus on three main and other rooms focusing on creative thinking, engagement with other schools is a way to broaden points: to equip students to act as creative learners reflection and production. The idea is that a class can young people’s horizons, this is also reflected in a and co-constructors with an aim of developing their focus on a certain subject and go from room to room,
54 55 The school aims to be creative, imaginative, enquiring, adventurous and ready to challenge established facts, views and motives. researching the theme, developing creative activities Once the initial project had been completed, its and producing these. The Centre thus inherently success set a precedent and the idea of creative lends itself to the continuation of the teaching teaching ‘rippled’ throughout the school, with more approach promoted by Creative Partnerships. It gives teachers opting to become involved. Certain subject students the opportunity to learn through their areas naturally leant themselves more directly to creative activities and provides a firm base for future creative activities than others. Nevertheless, perhaps creative learning activities at the school. To support because involvement grew organically, relying on the this, the school invested in Continuing Professional ‘buzz’ that projects created, all departments soon Development (CPD) training for staff with regards to bought in to the approach and it is now firmly the use of the Centre’s technical equipment. anchored within the whole school. This is reflected in the fact that creative learning has been included in In a similar project, the school focused on the Prudhoe’s current School Development Plan. The development of a carbon-friendly outdoor learning school aims to ‘be creative, imaginative, enquiring, and social space to address a lack of outdoor areas adventurous and ready to challenge established available to be used by pupils socially and as learning facts, views and motives.’ In its own words, it is spaces. The school again brought in the Media committed to do so through collaboration with the Centre’s architect, who together with students in arts, with a focus on engaging in performing arts. years 9 and 10, developed a plan for a carbon- friendly outdoor Eco-Shelter. Projects are always closely linked to the curriculum and aimed at tackling areas that have been identified During 2010/11 Prudhoe developed a strategy which as needing development. ICT projects were sought to integrate creative learning further across developed to build an ICT skills base amongst the school and continue equipping students as co- teachers and pupils upon which further projects can creators in the development of the curriculum. The be built. The Creative & Media Centre and Eco- school is also working to further encourage creative Space were created to provide the school with teaching amongst their local partner schools, helping space to socialise and learn together. Projects are to develop an even more connected style of also used to tackle problems with a narrower focus. teaching and learning in the future through new and A 2008 project focused on tackling existing networks. underachievement within a specific identified group in Key Stage 4. The aim was to raise the profile of Long-term impact the pupils’ creative skills and thus indirectly focus on their achievements in order to improve GCSE The overarching long-term impact that Prudhoe’s performance. work with Creative Partnerships has had on the Prudhoe is aware that it is not enough to simply re- school clearly include the experience as well as the use successful projects. Projects need to be adapted infrastructure to continue teaching creatively. Most and new projects developed to retain the excitement notably, this is reflected in the Creative & Media and enthusiasm which is so essential for their Centre, which is ready to be used for future creative success. The school has also learnt to remain flexible projects. All this represents a fundamental once a project has started. As Tim says, flexibility is development for the school, which previously felt key in delivering an ultimately successful project, itself to be in a ‘constant battle’ in wanting to do even if it differs from the project originally envisaged. things differently. The ICT project the school ran in 2009, for example,
56 57 Prudhoe is keen to continue providing networking opportunities within the region and intends to focus on fostering both new and established partnerships. was adapted to allow pupils to deliver some of the huge motivating impact the creative work has on the practitioners it works with and supported them by artists its use in return for supporting new creative training. This turned out to be extremely successful; pupils. Pupils’ self-esteem and confidence in their own brokering new relationships between them and local projects. This might also address the negative teachers were provided with necessary skills, whilst skills have also increased, and new skills such as pupils’ industry and education partners. Since becoming impact Tim feels the end of Creative Partnerships the reversal of roles boosted the pupils’ self-esteem. creative and problem-solving skills are developed along more experienced, the school also welcomed the might have on local practitioners and freelance the way. An additional important aspect, Tim feels, is opportunity of working with younger, less artists, who can no longer rely upon the work A further factor that Prudhoe considers essential is the way these activities open up the pupils’ eyes to the experienced practitioners who were new to provided through the programme. the close relationship between everyone involved in creative sector. As he explains, schools often miss the Creative Partnerships. the projects, with the school, Creative Partnerships’ A new area that Prudhoe is also keen to start chance of bringing the outside world into the school. In Creative Agents, creative practitioners and local developing is that of parental involvement. Parents collaborating with a range of practitioners and partners, partners working closely together. Tim stressed the have seen the positive results creative projects are Prudhoe does just that, showing pupils that there are importance of building up long-term relationships Future plans having on their children and many are keen for such more ways forward than the linear school – university – with the creative practitioners coming to the school. Prudhoe is keen to continue providing networking activities to continue. Some parents have already job approach and bringing them into close contact with This is important in order for creative practitioners to opportunities within the region and intends to focus offered to support the school’s activities now that the creative sector and the opportunities it offers. acclimatise themselves to the school environment on fostering both new and established partnerships. Creative Partnerships is ending and the school is and to provide sufficient time to establish a They are for example looking at setting up a finding it harder to run projects. The school feels successful project. Above all, Tim highlighted the Impact on Teachers partnership with local SEN schools and have started that they should encourage this and do more to importance of pupils having the time to build up a giving presentations to interested parties about their foster parental involvement in the future. close relationship with creative practitioners, as they Through the many years of working with Creative experiences as a School of Creativity. Importantly, Prudhoe is well aware that it will get more difficult might feel abandoned if practitioners came and went Partnerships and practitioners, as well as targeted CPD they have gained significant confidence in their to find the necessary funding to run their projects to regularly for short projects only. events, teachers have gained a range of skills and learnt network activities since gaining School of Creativity the extent that they have been able to so far. Tim, how to apply them in practice. This is supported by the status. The school even tried setting up a school’s focus on cross-curricular and inter-school for example, says that it is difficult for the head nationwide Schools of Creativity network last year. teacher to ring fence any funding for creative Impact on the pupils collaboration. Teachers do not often get the chance to As Tim says, this would provide a great chance for work outside the classroom and this new framework projects. Nevertheless, with the skills the staff have The school has realised the need to challenge young all schools who were involved in Creative provides a chance to work more closely with gained, the available resources at the school and the people and to keep them engaged in order for them Partnerships and beyond to share their experiences colleagues and ‘outsiders’ and share resources, skills support from enthusiastic parents, pupils and the to benefit fully from the projects. Pupils are involved and resources, building up a database of project and ideas. This has had a fundamental impact on their local community, it seems that Prudhoe has a in the development and deliverance of projects and ideas for all schools to benefit from. job satisfaction. Many teachers have said that these strong base for continuing its creative activities in play an active role in moving the curriculum on in activities remind them of why they decided to become Prudhoe is also looking at how to make the most of the future. new ways. Some students were thus given the teachers in the first place. They are more confident to the new long-term resources they have developed opportunity to lead in key areas such as the school look outside the school for inspiration and have learnt on site, such as the Media Centre. They are keen to web development, and others were tasked with how to apply what they are passionate about to the continue developing staff and student skills with identifying ‘good learning’ examples across the subjects they teach, making their lessons more regards to its technical equipment and are hoping to school. This has enhanced pupils’ engagement with engaging in the process. foster a community element to the Centre, possibly their school and learning in general. They are more providing adult training and inviting local schools to proactive in developing new skills and are willing to make use of it. The school is delighted at the way take ownership for the projects they are involved in. Impact on creative practitioners the building has been accepted by local residents as As Tim says, he often sees young people who are a community resource. However, it is an expensive Over the years Prudhoe has been committed to keen to help practitioners, and ask to be given new resource to run and the school needs to look at new supporting the practitioners they work with. Artists tasks. avenues of providing funds for both the Centre as have been given the opportunity to develop their well as future projects. One idea is to ask other The school concedes that it is hard to measure the practices and work on new ideas for future work. The schools to pay a small fee for the use of the centre; impact of these activities on the pupils’ academic school has continuously broadened the group of abilities, but feels that what is so important is the another, to introduce a ‘bartering system’, offering
58 59 Case study 8 Our Lady of Victories Catholic Primary School Yorkshire and Humber in the ‘Learning Outside School Background the Classroom’ awards, for their inspiring and Our Lady of Victories Catholic Primary School is exciting approach to getting children out and in Keighley, West Yorkshire. It is a Voluntary about. Aided Catholic school administered by the governing body in association with the Diocese of Leeds and the Bradford Education Authority. How and why did the school join the There are 200 full-time pupils on roll in Key Stages 1 and 2, with a 30 (full time equivalent) Schools of Creativity programme? place nursery. The school building was opened Creative Partnerships helped to attract the current in 1960 and has undergone extensive head teacher to the job; he therefore inherited the refurbishment over recent years, including the school’s existing involvement in the programme. addition of a purpose built Early Years Unit. It Surprisingly once in post he quickly recognised that has its own extensive playing fields and is despite a good premise, the school’s experience hadn’t been a positive one, and teachers involved in adjacent to Our Lady of Victories Church and its delivery were on the verge of pulling out of the Presbytery. The school works closely with the scheme. Despite being involved for a year from Keighley and Skipton Catholic Partnership of 2005, prior to the head teacher’s arrival there had schools, as well as placing great emphasis on only been a few small one-off projects and an ‘At Our Lady of Victories we provide a rich partnership with the parish. expensive staff visit to London. The head teacher and varied learning environment using The school serves an area of substantial saw the value in the programme and was keen to disadvantage on the outskirts of Keighley and make it work, in order to put things back on track he despite being a Catholic school, less than 20% decided to scale things down. This focused around stimulating and creative teaching strategies developing a school radio project in 2007-08, of its pupils are Catholic, a significant proportion involving seven pupils from throughout the school. which take account of different learning of pupils are from minority ethnic backgrounds This project was effective and gave more structure (45% of pupils are Muslim and a further 35% and focus to the programme. It should be noted styles, challenging and encouraging all our are of no faith). that this all occurred before the national restructure children to reach their true potential and The school has achieved the Healthy Schools of the Creative Partnerships programme. and Sportsmark awards; in addition they have Following the restructure in 2007, Our Lady of become motivated and independent learners.‘ also recently become the regional winner for Victories joined the Creative Partnerships Change
60 61 Pupils became more open to ‘risk taking’ as they took a risk by going on camera and recording their thoughts and feelings. School Programme and decided to work on raising Overall aim Activity school have a creative learning journal that is used to the aspirations of their pupils through a project titled record creative activity. These were previously used ‘The world is your oyster’. The project involved Following the school’s involvement in the Change Year 1 for writing about their ‘Wonder Weeks’, another taking children into work places and filming their School programme, the school successfully applied During the first year of their School of Creativity project where for a week in the school classes come experiences. This was also linked to the school’s to the second round of the Schools of Creativity Programme Our Lady of Victories developed and led off the curriculum and follow an interest. Through the mission statement: ‘Achieving together in god’s programme in 2009. As part of their duty as a an inter school partnership with five other schools in current project which is still in delivery, the creative love’. In collaboration with its pupils the school has School of Creativity the school were committed to the local area and introduced them to the Creative practitioners are working with staff to develop their created the following ‘Creative Learning’ statement: their responsibility to disseminate best practice from Partnerships approach to creative learning and the thinking of creative learning and how it can develop their Creative Partnerships projects to other local creative curriculum. One member of staff from Our emotional intelligences and critical thinking as well as At Our Lady of Victories we believe that learning: schools in the area. This forms part of their overall Lady of Victories went into each of the schools as a creative subjects. This project aimed to impact upon • Must be fun and exciting aim to develop a sense of place and pride in mentor. Around 30 children from each setting every class from Nursery up to Year Six. Projects Keighley, to celebrate the things about the area, to • Must be creative and personal participated in the project. underway at the time of writing included a Year One counteract negative images of the town and to project using the ‘Three Little Pigs’ story as a • Is an adventure encourage a sense of a cohesive community in This collaborative partnership centred on the ‘Hidden Keighley’ project which saw children using stimulus for creative writing and a Nursery project what is a diverse and divided area that is also rather involving some of the children and parents filming the At Our Lady of Victories we believe that learning insular. technology to record their learning of Keighley and should be a rewarding and enjoyable experience for to communicate it with other children from different local area. all. We seek to establish our school as an excellent During the first year (2009/10) as a School of schools in the community through a blog. There centre for learning for both pupils and staff; where Creativity Our Lady of Victories in collaboration with was also a launch day which saw each school we can all learn new and exciting things in a their Creative Agent chose to answer the following develop a box of their objects which they then hid What are the impacts of being part of Christian atmosphere of love and care; where self enquiry questions: around the town. Each school then went on a the Schools of Creativity programme? esteem, self confidence, self-respect and positive • Enquiry 1: How can we use 21st century discovery trail to find what the other schools had Impact on pupils relationships are fostered. learning and teaching methods to enhance hidden. This whole process was filmed and at the end of the project the school hired the local cinema, Through the ‘Hidden Keighley’ project, staff and At Our Lady of Victories we provide a rich and the curriculum and involve the local creative practitioners reported a change in children’s varied learning environment using stimulating and community in order to raise children’s enabling all the schools to come together for a celebratory awards ceremony. confidence levels which was illustrated by their creative teaching strategies which take account of aspirations and give them pride in the local willingness ‘to have a go’. The children developed different learning styles, challenging and area? In addition, throughout the project the six schools ICT skills through recording sound and film footage encouraging all our children to reach their true continuously shared ideas and skills through a series and editing the results. They were also taught how to • Enquiry 2: How can we work with other potential and become motivated and independent of informal think tank meetings which were held use new technologies such as flip phones and learners. schools to disseminate good creative outside of the school setting. Our Lady of Victories minidisc recorders. Staff noticed improvements to curriculum practice? We believe that children learn in different ways. We wanted to develop a model of continued learning speech and language skills. These were gained believe in creative, personalised learning and this is In the second year (2010/11) the school set about and disseminate creative learning best practice. through pupils learning new technical language and reflected in the delivery of our curriculum. answering the following enquiry question which vocabulary relating to history, asking questions, was an unanswered question from the first year’s speaking clearly for recording, speaking to an At Our Lady of Victories we believe that creativity is programme: Year 2 audience and negotiating with each other. These core to learning and to experiencing the world. We In the second year the school decided to focus on skills stretched back into the classroom. want all of our children to be given the opportunity • Enquiry 3: How can we document and the enquiry question they were unable to answer in to shine, and to use the talents given to them by Pupils also became more open to ‘risk taking’ as assess children’s creative learning? the first year’s work. Following a very ‘outward’ God. they took a risk by going on camera and recording looking project in the first year the second year was their thoughts and feelings, as well as speaking in more ‘inward’ looking. The school chose to focus on front of people. For example, one child said to the working with staff to document the children’s head teacher: ‘It’s made me feel more confident by creative learning journey. All the children in the hearing my own voice on the radio.’ The children also
62 63 used Stanley Knives and power tools. For some, risk The teachers valued the various platforms in which taking came in the form of collecting their award they were able to reflect on the benefits of the and giving a speech in front of a whole cinema project. These included communicating with: the which included children from the other schools and children; creative practitioners; staff in school and local dignitaries. the staff from the other schools; the think tank group; and smaller more informal group sessions. The head teacher reported that he took some of his students along to the National Media Museum in The head teacher stated that getting his own staff Bradford to talk at a conference about some of the to take ownership of the projects had been a projects that the school had undertaken. He was relatively easy process. This ultimately came down astonished by the pupils’ confidence, self-esteem to his style of leadership which was focused on and pride, and stated: ‘I was very proud and soon gentle persuasion and encouragement of staff to realised I didn’t need to be there.’ develop their own areas of interest. The second year of the programme is very much about pursuing Interestingly, there were a number of unexpected this and building upon the staff’s confidence. outcomes from the project. These included children spending their own time outside of school on the project, the amount of local history learnt, the Impact on whole school number of local people who wanted to tell their stories and the extent of networking with other Overall, the school’s Creative Partnerships work is schools. strongly linked to the School Improvement Plan; it is core to the principles and vision of the school. The head teacher stated: ‘If you’re truly going to commit Impact on staff to something then you have to embed it properly, everybody has to be aware of it and there has to be The staff reported that they gained knowledge and justification for why you’re doing it. It is therefore skills in how to use ICT equipment and editing crucial to have ‘creative learning’ defined in the software. They said they were able to learn new School Improvement Plan otherwise it’s seen as an ways of doing things that were actually simple. One add-on and not significant in the school’s of the teachers from the partnering schools stated development, especially when it comes down to that she would be sharing the learning with all the governors.’ staff at her school. The school was assessed by Ofsted under the Taking the children out of the curriculum was a huge strand of ‘creative learning’ and the feedback from risk for staff and they felt as though this required this visit was positive. The inspector judged the them to make an ‘act of faith’ as they weren’t sure overall effectiveness of ‘creative learning’ as good where things were going. However many did report and remarked: ‘The children thoroughly enjoy that they had been able to find ‘new ways’ of developing technical skills and are making very good doing things. progress in early reading and writing skills.’ In The reflection process has also been particularly addition it was reported that: ‘The high emphasis on beneficial for the staff involved and they have creative learning resulting in outstanding personal discovered lots of local places and walks they can development. Pupils have high levels of confidence do again. They have also learnt a way to run a in taking the initiative and following decisions project and topic that is able to engage everybody. through.’ In the school as a whole, the head teacher
64 65 The school is known for its work around community cohesion. During one of the school advisor’s visits she sat in and observed some of the Christmas community events where all the children were actively engaged and parents from the local community came along. She remarked that ‘the school has a calm, warm welcoming and cohesive atmosphere.’
involved in both the ‘Oyster’ project and ‘Hidden disseminate and advocate the benefits of this Keighley’. Parents are also invited into the school approach to other schools in the region while the whenever there is a ‘Wonder Week’, and this is programme was running. always well attended. The ‘Parental Survey’ run by In terms of what happens next, the end of Creative the school demonstrates that parents are very Partnerships funding will not stop the school happy with the school environment. continuing this kind of activity in their own school as The whole School of Creativity first year project was it is thoroughly embedded into the school ethos and developed around enabling the school to share their the creative teaching packages that have been experiences of their creative projects. They are keen developed. This is illustrated by the Wonder Weeks to enthuse other schools to be brave and take risks, project, the School Radio, the Hidden Keighley felt that since becoming involved in Creative Impact on parents and the wider i.e. moving beyond the ‘ring binder version’ of the project and all the new smaller projects that are Partnerships there had been an increased community national curriculum in order to work in a creative and currently in development. attendance level at the school. The school is known for its work around community a flexible way. They foresee this will be an ongoing Where the school may struggle is in continuing with cohesion. During one of the school advisor’s visits area of work for them. Unfortunately the school’s approach to creative the dissemination, especially when it comes to she sat in and observed some of the Christmas learning fares less well with the Local Authority as advocating ideas to new schools who weren’t community events where all the children were they have subcontracted the education service out involved in the Hidden Keighley project. The head actively engaged and parents from the local to ‘Serco’ who are mainly focused on delivering What next? teacher envisages that without the Creative targets and have no interest in the school community came along. She remarked that ‘The The head teacher stated: ‘The single best thing Partnerships stamp of approval and no environment and whether it’s a happy one with school has a calm, warm welcoming and cohesive about being a School of Creativity is that as a school accountability element they will struggle. confident pupils. The head teacher acknowledges atmosphere.’ you get recognition for your hard work’, he also Nonetheless the head teacher will continue to talk that this is an ongoing battle, but continues to The school produce weekly podcasts on their remarked that it feels as though you get a stamp of to people whenever he can, and will build upon develop what he has always set out to achieve. projects and also have a radio show at 3pm every approval for your effort and vision that you don’t what they have learnt as a school. He will, however, Friday which the local community can tune in to. always get from the Local Authority. This is one of miss being ‘part of something bigger’. Local members of the community have been the core reasons that the school was so keen to
66 67 Case study 9 Fulbridge Primary School
How and why did the school join the School Background Schools of Creativity programme? Fulbridge Primary School is a large primary school Prior to gaining School of Creativity status in 2008, that serves a socially and economically deprived Fulbridge Primary’s involvement in Creative local community in the Peterborough area, with Partnerships was limited to a CARA (Creativity most pupils living in the immediate vicinity of the Action Research Awards) project in 2004; this was school. The school has approximately 700 pupils funded by Creative Partnerships and run by CAPE from over 30 different countries. This accounts UK. After the new school opened, the head teacher for over 70% of the children’s families at the was particularly keen to focus on ‘curriculum school, with 60% having English as their second enrichment’. Upon hearing an inspirational speech language. The local community has been by Roger Cole on how ‘The arts could be used as a described as being rich in both social and cultural transformational tool within the curriculum’, he decided to explore implementing a ‘creative diversity and the school is proud of the high curriculum’ in order to help create an environment levels of racial harmony within it. Approximately where the pupils and staff were more engaged and one-third of the pupils have special educational willing to learn. needs (SEN) which is above the national average. Fulbridge were keen to build upon the The head teacher realised there was a demand for The school opened as ‘Fulbridge Primary School’ this type of work in other local schools and legacy of ‘Oasis’ and through being a School in 2004 following the closure of the Infant and following a meeting to test the idea further, 33 Junior school that was previously on the site, schools decided to collectively form an arts-based of Creativity they wanted to continue to before its closure the Junior school had been put creative network called ‘Oasis’. Each school signed on ‘Special Measures’ between 2001-2003. In up to the network on a membership basis to share encourage the children to be independent, May 2008 the school opened a Children’s Centre, ideas and learn from each other, a coordinator was which also offers nursery classes to children also employed to coordinate activities. determined, collaborative and effective aged 0-4 years old. The network was set up outside of the Creative The school environment is constantly evolving in Partnerships scheme and ran successfully for three learners, as well as life-long learners who years. Although the network wound up, Fulbridge order to provide its pupils with an exciting and were keen to continue developing a creative are able to pursue their learning outside of varied curriculum. Fulbridge has also achieved curriculum. With the help of the Oasis co-ordinator several other awards including: Artsmark, they explored other funding opportunities, the co- the school environment. Activemark, Healthy Schools and Race Equality. ordinator who was also a Creative Partnerships
68 69 The experiences outside of the usual classroom setting had enabled the children to stimulate their imaginations. Creative Agent suggested submitting an application In the second year of delivery the school chose an Project examples of High/Scope practice. This then fed into to become a Creative Partnership School of area of their creative curriculum that needed to be collaborative planning between themselves and Creativity. Fulbridge applied in 2008 and after a refined. They achieved this through answering the In 2009 / 2010 the school chose to focus their each class of reception children, a delivery session successful application started Creative Partnerships following enquiry questions: projects around using outside space to stimulate and a reflective blog post. delivery in 2009. and engage learning. The core project worked with • Enquiry 1: How can we ensure that at the year three pupils to create an ethos of how to learn The second enquiry question had two distinct areas: point of entry our pupils are actively engaged with a group. During the summer term year three the first was to continue their relationship with CTN and the mini agents. A group which consisted of the Overall aims and supported in their learning? were split into six groups of fifteen pupils and they visited different seaside locations on the Norfolk Creative Agent, creative practitioner, the school co- Fulbridge were keen to build upon the legacy of • Enquiry 2: How can we use new coast. Each group was partnered with a creative ordinator, the school IT co-ordinator and the mini- ‘Oasis’ and through being a School of Creativity they technologies as a tool for documentation and practitioner who facilitated experiences that agents visited CTN’s London office to work with wanted to continue to encourage the children to be reflective practice to share and disseminate explored curiosity, intrigue and interest through their creative team to develop the content for their independent, determined, collaborative and effective our learning? using their initial responses to the environment. online learning resource. The mini agents were then learners, as well as life-long learners who are able to When the children returned to the classroom they supported by the school’s IT co-ordinator to take pursue their learning outside of the school then captured the essence of their research through over the school’s content managed system element environment. Activity a caravan installation and man-made beach in the of their website. This allowed them to upload further content in relation to their creative Rather than continuing to work with their existing Over the last two years the school has worked in school to engage the whole school and wider curriculum and topics. The second enquiry area Oasis co-ordinator, the school was to partner with a close partnership with cultural organisations and community, followed by a celebration day. The involved the reception teachers and practitioners new Creative Agent; despite having initial creative practitioners, as a result the projects that practitioners were required to link the children’s attending a ‘Digital Footprint’ conference. reservations they quickly realised that this was an have been undertaken were specifically tailored to ideas to support key literacy skills. important part of bringing new life to the existing the needs of the school’s ‘creative curriculum’. The A further strand which developed into a more creative curriculum. programme of work has evolved dramatically and substantial element than initially anticipated was the the school has learnt that nothing is ever a finished What are the impacts of being part of During the first year as a School of Creativity role of the ‘mini-agent’, pupil representatives from product and can be easily built upon in the future. In the Schools of Creativity programme? Fulbridge, in collaboration with their Creative Agent, each year group. This role developed beyond their addition the teachers involved have realised that chose to focus on the following enquiry questions: planned contribution of supporting the Impact on pupils ‘change’ isn’t necessarily a scary concept, for documentation of the seaside trips, classroom When the creative practitioners were asked to • Enquiry 1: How can we facilitate example the school co-ordinator remarked: ‘We’re activity and celebration day. In addition the group of reflect on how the first year programme had able to work on things and have realised that we opportunities for our pupils to explore writing mini-agents led a media campaign to source a impacted on the students they reported that the shouldn’t be afraid of change.’ through focussing on key skills by using caravan, liaised with and reported to a creative experiences outside of the usual classroom setting external agents to support and encourage Through the previous work developed via the Oasis consultant and developed a ‘client’ relationship with had enabled the children to stimulate their alternative structures to writing and network, the school were experienced in creating the corporate partner CTN (a London based imaginations especially when it came down to motivation? ‘truffle moments’ for their pupils, these focused on communications agency). their motivations in relation to writing. Despite being • Enquiry 2: How can we explore our giving the pupils a hands-on experience before During the second year of delivery the school in an alternative environment the pupils were still launching into classroom based work. The most curriculum links with writing through looking refined their enquiry questions and decided to pair able to maintain their focus when it came down to successful projects developed were around how the projects they were working on and they learnt at specific mediums such as sculptures, film, up three reception teachers with three creative they had used the corridors to create spaces to re- practitioners. Once paired up they all attended to be adaptable, flexible and engage with animation and drama as the tool to success? enact specific topics in the classroom (e.g. a Tudor specialist High/Scope training. The teachers and different staff at different times. Interestingly the • Enquiry 3: How can we capture, explore and feast and a WWII trench), and they have continued practitioners worked together for three days a pupils developed ‘different’ relationships with the develop the senses, emotions and to develop this concept as a School of Creativity. month for a six month period, they also partnered practitioners in comparison to the relationships they vocabulary experienced by our children with another school in Grantham. Each month they had with their teachers. during school trips? would meet at a totem pole to explore an element
70 71 Being a School of Creativity has enabled the whole school environment to change.
The deputy head teacher reported that as a result of Impact on teachers the school’s involvement with Creative Partnerships Giving the teachers the opportunity to explore was the achievements made towards the ‘creative hugely important. The teachers and other school curriculum’ exceeded all expectations of those staff learnt to take risks and trust others’ planning involved in its co-ordination. It has also been an and judgements. They explored mediums that incredibly enjoyable experience for the children, for were unfamiliar to them and new to their teaching example after the visit to CTN in London one of the styles and surroundings and most importantly were children made the following comment: ‘When I able to embrace them as a new part of their grow up and I get married I’m going to tell my wife practice. They learnt that releasing the boundaries about this day.’ Some teachers particularly found the enabled the children to explore in greater depth with visit to the seaside rewarding, as for some of the a context they prefer. Other staff who weren’t children it was the first time they’d seen the sea directly involved in the projects were involved in and this was a really exciting experience for them. celebration events, so they were also able to For one child in year six his involvement in Creative acquire skills and ideas which will allow them to Partnerships was especially poignant, as in the past develop their topics and teaching. In addition they he had really struggled with his writing and had little also remarked that this had helped them be confidence in his own abilities. His teacher reported particularly effective in linking topic work. that his involvement in the Creative Partnerships One teacher reported that the real success of the project really brought his imagination to life and first year project had been the way which they had after a WWII project he produced a great piece of used their skills to capture, explore and develop the written work. The teacher was very impressed with senses, emotions and vocabulary experienced by his achievements and as a result asked him to the children. present his work in assembly, she said: ‘It was lovely to witness as he really walked tall for the next In terms of ‘unexpected outcomes’ the celebration couple of months’. Sadly his mother recently day had illustrated the distinction between reported that he is struggling with his writing again showcasing the children’s work and creating work in his new secondary school as he isn’t getting the for the express purpose of putting on a show. This creative stimulus he was used to. Other projects was an interesting lesson that teachers will also unearthed some children who were fantastic definitely consider in the future. Another scientists and would have been easily overlooked if unexpected outcome was how effective the use of they hadn’t have participated. space could be as a stimulus for creative writing, they are now more receptive to the idea that writing The Creative Partnerships school co-ordinator can be done ‘on location’ rather than it being observed that the mini-agents had become a something that is done at a table in a classroom. confident group of children and that they were able to demonstrate strong observational and reflection skills. It was also noted that the children treat the Impact on the whole school corridors with great respect as they have been able Being a School of Creativity has enabled the whole to develop a real sense of ownership over the school environment to change. It has helped to space. push the creative curriculum agenda forward. The school advisor reported that ‘The school has a strong creative pedagogy which it considers to be
72 73 the basis of school improvement.’ Overall staff in Overall, results for the last three years have been regionally, and they regularly receive visits from the school are more aware of and able to embrace very good and something to be proud of, however other schools as well as students from regional the role of culture and creativity in education. Their recently the school has taken on a large number of universities who are training to be teachers. involvement in the various projects has allowed new arrivals from Eastern Europe who must first them to embrace this approach as well as not to learn to speak English. The school is aware that it will feel pressured to cover so much. Obviously be impossible to sustain these results, although they What next? different teachers have embraced different things in will do their best to do so. For Fulbridge Primary School one of the single best different ways. However, once they had attended The school had its last Ofsted inspection two years things about being a School of Creativity is that it the initial meeting, ideas started ‘exploding’ and the ago; they came out with a ‘satisfactory’ which both allows the school to work with artists who haven’t children became part of the whole triangle in terms the head teacher and deputy head teacher said was a worked in the school setting before, and they are of helping to shape their own learning experience. fair reflection of their SATs results at that time. able to manipulate mediums which bring an ‘outside The deputy head teacher reports that since the Unfortunately the Ofsted inspector didn’t fully the box’ experience into the school. The experience school took the decision to pursue a ‘creative embrace a ‘creative curriculum’ and was more has opened the eyes of the teachers as well as curriculum’ the children’s behaviour has been focused on statistical data. The school was aware helping them to remember the more enjoyable side transformed and that there have been significant that pursuing this agenda was more of a long-term of things. It has also reinforced their belief that the improvements which she has been able to see on strategic goal and that it would take time to fully see learning experience should enthuse and stimulate a first hand basis. There has been a reduction in the the results, which in the last two years have been children. They’ve realised that it can be quite simple amount of time she has to spend dealing with better and better. The head teacher really believes to achieve and does not necessarily have to be For Fulbridge Primary behavioural issues, with most issues being minor that the school now has the whole package and about expensive visits, or trips to exotic places. School one of the single and dealt with in the classroom. hopes this is reflected in their next Ofsted inspection The second year of School of Creativity delivery which was due imminently at time of writing. best things about being a Attendance within the school has also improved; finished in the summer term 2011. Beyond this the this is an area that the school monitors closely as school hopes to continue their work and embed it School of Creativity is there are issues with new arrivals as well as low Impact on parents and the wider with different year groups. In order to do so they aspiration in the area, with some parents not always will try to maintain their £5,000 match funded that it allows the school community prioritising the need to take their children to school contribution in the budget. The school co-ordinator to work with artists who every day. However, due to the vibrant projects in The Children’s Centre is at the core of the school’s feels as though they have a model of working which school, the children’s desire to come to school has remit to work with the local community and the will continue to include links with creative haven’t worked in the increased. It was reported that there have been school is keen to increase family involvement in practitioners. Similarly, embracing new technologies noticeable differences to attendance levels as the school life. They have recently worked with a number throughout the projects has allowed them to acquire school setting before, children are now afraid that they might miss out on of local community agencies to build upon this work. resources and training, which they can continue to and they are able to something exciting. They have also tried to draw on the skill set of the build upon in the future. Whatever happens next parents within the school, inviting parents to come in manipulate mediums Being a School of Creativity is a large part of the doesn’t have to cost as much as the infrastructure and talk to the children about what it is they do during for delivery already exists. school’s drive for improvement, and forms a the day, as well as to come to showcasing events. which bring an ‘outside significant aspect of their whole journey over the They are also lucky to have a governor who is very The head teacher reported that he could never the box’ experience into past seven years. They have seen fairly dramatic proactive in the local community. imagine Fulbridge Primary School as a school improvements to their SATs results. For example in without a ‘creative curriculum’ and wants their the school. 2007 52% of their children in year six achieved a In terms of working with other schools in the local creative journey to continue evolving. As a school level four for maths, in 2010 this figure rose to an area, the second year reception project has seen they have a requirement to respond to what’s going impressive 89%. In addition, they have seen a closer links and integrated working. The head teacher on in the outside world, and ideally Fulbridge’s next similar increase in English where those achieving has put a lot of time into networking and building iteration of a creative curriculum will be built around level four grades increased from 60% to 83%. relationships with other schools both nationally and what it is like to be a worldwide citizen.
75 76 Case study 10 Thomas Tallis School
together with nearby Kidbrooke School. School Background Although now separate Arts Colleges, they Thomas Tallis School is a secondary community have continued to work together. Thomas Tallis school for pupils aged 11 to 19. It is situated also has Leading Edge status and has been a between Greenwich and Kidbrooke’s Ferrier School of Creativity since June 2008. Estate, one of the largest and most deprived Thomas Tallis is a popular school, which is over- council housing areas in London, which is subscribed each year. Judged as ‘good’ in its currently being re-developed. This re- June 2010 Ofsted report, its specialisms have a development includes the school, which was ’significant positive impact on the life of the built as a temporary building in 1971 for around school and its innovative curriculum.’ 900 pupils, but currently teaches nearly twice as many. The new school building, under construction next to the old building, was set to be completed in late 2011. How and why did the school join the Due to its location, the school is ‘genuinely Schools of Creativity programme? comprehensive’, drawing in pupils from a large As Thomas Tallis already had Specialist Arts College economic spectrum. It has an above average status when Creative Partnerships was established, proportion of students eligible for free school the Arts College manager (who later become the meals and, with nearly half of the students Creative Partnerships school co-ordinator) says ‘As an Arts College, Thomas Tallis wanted to coming from a minority ethnic background, over becoming involved in Creative Partnerships seemed a quarter of students speak English as an like a natural next step, one strongly supported by take every opportunity to work together additional language. The proportion of students the senior management team: ‘As an Arts College, with special educational needs is also above Thomas Tallis wanted to take every opportunity to with artists, something that Creative average and the school has two special units for work together with artists, something that Creative students with hearing, speech and language Partnerships would be able to support on a larger scale than previously possible.’ Partnerships would be able to support on a difficulties. larger scale than previously possible.’ Thomas Tallis has been a Specialist Arts College since 1998, when it successfully campaigned to be granted joint specialist college status
77 78 All School of Creativity activities ... include a genuine and visible element to make them available and relevant to the entire school and beyond. Overall aims contribute to the development of the Project examples whole school. This has for example led to a huge framework?’ and ‘How can we ensure that number of students commenting on the proposals From the beginning, it was clear to the school that Crucial in these activities is Creative Tallis, a website for the new school uniform and represents how the money provided by Creative Partnerships would all staff use Web 2.0 technology to develop which provides examples of successful creative reflective practice?’ such tools can be used by pupils to engage in go towards hiring artists, with the school itself learning strategies, projects and activities going on democratic discussions on issues that touch them. designing the artists’ engagement with them. This More recently, the school’s focus has also turned to at the school. It also addresses the question, ‘What consequently had an impact on the overall aims and the new school building, looking at how the re- is Creativity?’ and provides a list of constantly A further important aspect of Thomas Tallis’ School delivery of their School of Creativity programme. building of the school can be used for creative updated links to a range of free online ‘Creativity of Creativity activity is their School of Creativity The school were particularly interested when learning. This was formulated in the following Resources’. However, Creative Tallis and Tallis Lab Action Research Group, which consists of a group planning activities in the importance of entering enquiry question: have not only been ideal ways of spreading School of students and teachers who meet regularly longer-term partnerships with artists, and being able of Creativity activities and projects throughout the outside lesson time to ‘discuss creative learning, to fund artists in residence whilst at the same time ‘How can Thomas Tallis School use the school. They have also been a useful way to teach plan projects and make policy recommendations to bringing in artists from ‘outside’. demolishing and rebuilding of the school pupils new ICT skills, which they are likely to need the Leadership Team.’ Again, a blog is maintained as buildings and the surrounding housing estate in their future working life, and make clear to them part of their communication strategy. The idea is for The school decided to establish long-term activities to develop and embed creative learning that computers are not only for consumption, but, members to research what they are passionate that would be developed throughout the Schools of across a) the school staff, b) the students, c) far more importantly, creation devices that can be about in various subjects and present new project Creativity programme and beyond, and avoid used in a range of different subjects. ideas on the basis of their research. Students are individual short-term projects, considered less other local primary and secondary schools and d) the community?’ nominated to participate in the group primarily on effective especially as they often had more narrow Two School of Creativity projects which have the basis of their interest in the creative industries. goals and allowed less time for relationship building As well as the aims mentioned above, the question recently been featured on Creative Tallis, and The Action Research Group is also responsible for and developing skills. also highlights the school’s aim to let their creative furthermore tie in with the re-building of the school the Manifesto for a Creative Tallis, a permanently for creative learning, are the production of large Over the years, one overarching aim for Thomas activities reach not only the entire school, but also evolving document that sets out the school’s future graphics to decorate the new school, as well as re- Tallis has been to explore interactive learning with a the wider community around it. priorities regarding their creative engagement. The designing the school uniform. Professional strong involvement of ICT, thereby triggering a Manifesto is currently being re-written to become designers worked together with a core group of discussion of the value of social media. This has for more challenging and interactive, with the aim of pupils and staff members who applied to participate example resulted in the establishment of the Activities making readers (not only pupils, but also parents, and lead both projects. The new uniform, which is Creative Tallis website and Tallis Lab, a creative, All School of Creativity activities that Thomas Tallis senior management and the local community) think being developed together with a fashion designer, is enquiry based online curriculum for years 7 to 9, in engage in include a genuine and visible element to about and contribute to its aims. putting particular focus on how to develop an which all classes use new technologies such as make them available and relevant to the entire environmentally and economically sustainable As a further step to pupil empowerment, recent blogs to share their learning beyond the classroom. school and beyond, even if only a selected group of uniform, thus providing an excellent example of discussions at the school have also focused on the pupils are directly involved in each project. This is This focus on ICT, as well as a strong commitment cross-curricular learning by including subjects such creation of a Student Commissioning Group, whose largely achieved through the strong online presence to a whole school approach, which includes all staff as commerce (based on the idea that the pupils members would act as clients organising the future of the school, which provides a set of active blogs, and pupils, is demonstrated by the enquiry need to learn to become clients) and geography. involvement of creative practitioners. The pupils forums and web pages administrated by the School questions included in the school’s 09-10 and 10-11 The graphics project, in turn, resulted from a desire themselves would generate ideas, write project of Creativity co-ordinator. Crucially, pupils throughout School of Creativity programme plans: for students to contribute directly to the interior briefs, advertise for and commission artists, as well the school are encouraged to participate, as design and creative atmosphere of the new school as manage and evaluate the projects. ‘How can we roll out good creative learning evidenced by Tallis Lab in which pupils themselves building. The project is now seeing pupils work approaches across the whole staff team?’, write blogs about their learning. Projects and their In terms of projects addressing the aim of bringing together with a graphic designer to create super- ‘How can Tallis Lab contribute to other outcomes are featured online and linked up with creative learning to other schools and the local graphics for the walls of the new school as a way to social networks like Facebook or Twitter to further community, a third of the school’s School of subjects, and to cross-curricular use of ICT?’, enhance pupils’ ownership of the new space. All encourage pupils to take part and make them feel Creativity funding in 2010 went towards supporting ‘Which structures inside the school, and processes, thoughts and results of both projects are partnership opportunities outside it, can involved. other school partners. As part of this, Thomas Tallis posted online to make them accessible to the for example acquired a mobile IT suite, which can
79 80 Pupils have become more confident in using and sharing their own creative ideas and are becoming better able to demonstrate their skills through the use of ICT. be taken to local primary schools to work with them The co-ordinator highlighted that providing pupils on a creative learning project kit. Delivered by with some time each week in which they are not Thomas Tallis support staff, this project has proved required to learn content, but can focus on acquiring very popular and had a marked impact on young creative skills, has also had a visible impact. Pupils students’ creative use of ICT, self-confidence and have become more confident in using and sharing literacy. their own creative ideas and are becoming better able to demonstrate their skills through the use of ICT. The school has looked at ways to map the What are the impacts of being part of development of pupils’ creative skills, and is making the Schools of Creativity programme? steady progress assessing pupils in Key Stage 3, although the co-ordinator conceded that they may Impact on pupils have to make their evaluation forms more student- Although the co-ordinator was careful in making any friendly in the future. One of the challenges definitive statements about the impact of Thomas identified by the school is how to make the best Tallis’ School of Creativity involvement, it seems use of students’ knowledge and talent in the field of clear that the strong online presence and whole- digital literacy and how this might impact positively school involvement are having an impact on the on the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) pupils. Thus, the 2010 School of Creativity progress of staff. report stated that ‘young people understand that Other projects have had more focused impacts on their participation in Tallis Lab sessions is part of a the pupils, relating to the particular theme of the broad shift – both within the school and the wider project. For example, the co-ordinator highlighted education sector – towards 'creative learning' – and the cross-curricular skills developed by pupils taking are clear on the benefits that the approach offers part in the uniform project, from design to them: ‘the lesson gets us more involved and gives commercial skills to research skills on sustainable us more responsibility for our own learning.’ It materials. seems that the Tallis Lab curriculum is having a measurable effect on the pupils, who have demonstrated their excitement of this new and Impact on staff interactive way of learning. Clearly the idea of sharing what they have made not only with their Again, the school is understandably cautious about class but beyond their immediate environment is how their visions of a creative approach to teaching enhancing their pride in their own work. This has are widening out across the whole staff – as the co- had the add-on effect of merging what pupils learn at ordinator said, one can find interested and school with what they learn at home. Through their uninterested teachers across the whole subject enjoyment of using their ICT skills to create new spectrum. Nevertheless, it seems clear that and engaging products, it has also significantly particularly those teachers closely involved in the contributed to steering them away from seeing creative projects or the online activities like Tallis computers simply as consumption vehicles. Lab are benefiting from their engagement. As seen Importantly, frequent use of online tools has made above, not only the pupils, but also the teachers are pupils more aware of eSafety, whilst the teamwork acquiring new ICT skills as well as new ways of approach to many tasks has made pupils more able interacting with pupils who might for example be to collaborate effectively both in class and online. more advanced in these skills than they the
81 82 teachers are. Similarly, the Action Research Group co-located with other subjects to enhance has also tried to engage parents in some of their abroad and I would encourage them to put provides a new way of engaging with pupils on a integration, and rooms have been given names creative projects such as the school uniform project, themselves forward to lead on this especially more equal level, where pupils are empowered to linking to creative learning, such as ‘Imagine’ or although according to the co-ordinator, this has deploying the creative uses of new technologies.’ present their own ideas and objections on the same ‘Explore’), but also the future curriculum. It is proven more difficult due to the work commitments Importantly, this is also considered as a potential basis as their teachers – something that Thomas important to point out that Thomas Tallis sees of many of the parents. income source for the school, which in the next few Tallis clearly wants to continue developing. creative learning in a broad light, including joint work years will have to focus on finding new ways to with artists and activities such as the Manifesto or sustain their creative activities. the Action Research Group, which are run by What next? Impact on the whole school teachers and pupils on a more strategic level. To this Inevitably, the pressure of integrating creativity into end, the co-ordinator feels it is important for the Being a School of Creativity has added great value the school’s core subjects whilst at the same time school that creative teaching should touch upon all to the school, complementing the rich arts being committed to the achievement of high school subjects taught at Thomas Tallis, especially where curriculum which Thomas Tallis is known and standards will continue to be difficult to overcome, teachers are keen to take this approach forward. respected for and enabling the school to establish particularly in light of the new government approach long-term partnerships with a range of respected to education, which is leaning even more towards practitioners. The vision of an approach to creative Impact on parents and the wider performance measures. Although the co-ordinator and interactive teaching within the whole school spoke of an ‘element of risk-taking’, it is clear that can genuinely be considered as a school ethos. This community Thomas Tallis does not consider this pressure as an is evidenced for example by the school’s continuous The school has been engaging in broader impediment to continuing to develop their creative development of the Tallis Manifesto, which is even community-oriented work focusing on the re- activities in the future. Nevertheless, the imminent sent out to new job applicants to introduce them to development of Kidbrooke Estate, which is having a move into the new building represents an ideal time the school’s approach, and the dedication visible in direct effect on many pupils who have been re- to re-think some approaches or activities (i.e. the the upkeep and development of its online presence. located from the old estate to new homes further idea of being creative across the whole curriculum) The 2010-2013 School Development Plan also away from the school. The school employs a in order to create the best blend of standards and contains many references to creative learning, Creative Communities Development Officer to help creativity in the future. resulting in an ambitious document in which co-ordinate the huge number of projects funded by creativity is fundamentally embedded. As two specialist school and School Creativity status. With Creative Partnerships funding finishing, Being a School of priorities highlighted in the plan, Putting into action Thomas Tallis clearly sees the capital of their As already shown, Thomas Tallis has furthermore our school vision statement, the core value and involvement in what they have been able to learn Creativity has added great been active in bringing its creative learning approach belief being ‘Creativity for All’, is clearly seen as just during the Schools of Creativity programme. to local primary schools, which is seen not only as value to the school, as important as national priorities e.g. Every Child Consequently, they have begun to be actively sharing best practice, but also as a way to informing Matters, Personalisation of Learning, Raising engaged in providing a knowledge transfer to other complementing the rich potential future pupils about the school’s activities. Attainment and Making Good Progress, new education establishments abroad, where a market curriculum orders, and Disabilities Equality. The school has also made particular effort in the for such knowledge is developing. The school thus arts curriculum which past year to engage with parents. Apart from a recently received a visit from the Latvian minister of Moreover, there is a pervading view that Thomas Thomas Tallis is known ‘Friends of TT’ group in which some parents are education and has taken part in conferences both in Tallis is a creative school irrespective of Creative actively involved, a parent advice group of dedicated Ireland and the USA (International Creativity and respected for and Partnerships funding; the idea is embedded in the parents has now been established, which advises Conference, Oklahoma). The school has also been whole school learning approach rather than being enabling the school to the school on how to improve its interaction with active in publishing their findings, something the co- bound to specific projects that require funding. It is the parents. Furthermore, the school has started to ordinator considers as part of their advocacy role in thus always in the background of the school’s establish long-term run tailored curriculum evenings during which being a pioneer in digital learning. As the school’s activities, influencing not only the approach to the parents can find out about their child’s progress and Creative Agent concluded: ‘The school is in a good partnerships with a range new school building (in which the arts have been these have been particularly well visited. The school position to continue to lead practice in England and of respected practitioners.
83 84 Case study 11 Accrington Academy
curriculum. The Academy has focused on these School Background specialisms to meet the needs and interests of Accrington Academy is an average sized their students as well as the employment secondary school in Lancashire, the school prospects in the area. They have ambitions to gained Academy status in 2008 following a help their students develop key skills such as number of transformational changes that aimed problem solving, creativity and self-confidence, to address improvement within the school. In which will help them succeed in all their addition the Academy opened a sixth form subjects, as well as in life beyond school. The department in September 2009. Accrington Accrington Academy is also involved with Academy is now an oversubscribed school and numerous initiatives and partnerships including, is a desirable choice within the local Sports Colleges, Partnership Development community. School, Healthy School, Edge Hill University, Duke of Edinburgh Award, Teacher Learning The Academy has an average number of Academy Centre, and Creative Partnerships. students from ethnic minority groups although they have a higher than average proportion that speak English as an additional language. Accrington became a School of Creativity Similarly the Academy has an above average How and why did the school join the number of students who have special Schools of Creativity programme? because they recognised that this was a good educational needs. They teach a broad and balanced range of subjects including all the key Accrington was an original Creative Partnerships opportunity to continue to build upon the areas of the National Curriculum. Students ‘hub school’ in 2002; following the restructure of receive an all-round education and are Creative Partnerships by Creativity, Culture and previous body of Creative Partnerships work, Education (CCE), the school took part in the ‘Change encouraged to pay particular attention to the School’ programme which led to the school applying physically improve the school’s environment core skills of English, Mathematics and ICT. successfully to the Schools of Creativity and use the body of existing projects as a All academies have ‘specialisms’, Accrington programme. has two – Mathematics and Sport. These are Accrington became a School of Creativity because catalyst to enable greater engagement with also supported by the themes of Business and they recognised that this was a good opportunity to Enterprise and ICT. Creative and Media based continue to build upon the previous body of Creative the local community. activities also feature prominently within the Partnerships work, physically improve the school’s
85 86 School of Creativity status ... has helped to deliver change as well as provide pupils with a voice to feedback on their learning experiences. environment, and use the body of existing projects the syllabus on a yearly basis rather than creating a Activities undertaken to aid improvement and raise standards. as a catalyst to enable greater engagement with the series of one-off projects. The approach the school School of Creativity status has been an integral local community. Due to the number of changes takes is about building upon and keeping the cycle / Accrington has delivered many successful creative ingredient which has helped to deliver change as within the school, which included the opening of a momentum going. The Vice-Principal is interested projects alongside high profile creative practitioners well as provide pupils with a voice to feedback on new building, it was felt that the Academy had lost in building internal capacity within his team, and that include: author Cathy Cassidy, poet Levi Tafari their learning experiences. its identity; this is especially true in many areas of therefore includes members of staff within the co- and poet John Hegley. An exemplary project was Low aspiration in the local area is a huge issue; the new building which are unfortunately too sterile. ordination of the project, with the view for them to the ‘Literacy Festival’; this was launched on World there are generations of unemployment, low As a result for the last two years the Vice-Principal take the overall lead in the second year of delivery. Book Day in April 2010. The various components of aspiration and apathy towards education. In the past has ensured that the outputs from the enquiry the festival embraced a wide range of creative At an early point in the school’s involvement in Accrington had a large percentage of pupils that go questions help the transition to an academy as well outputs, each of them linking specifically to a Creative Partnerships the Vice-Principal arranged for on to become NEETS, this figure has dropped to as the link between the old and new buildings. subject area based around curriculum development. seven creative practitioners to work with the staff For example, the Modern Foreign Languages 2%. Creative Partnerships activity has helped to at a residential INSET weekend, he had wanted to Department worked with freelance scenery and excite minds, provided pupils with skills to learn get staff to buy into the ethos of creative learning, how to think, build relationships, work in teams and Overall aims costume designer Alison Heffernan to create three as he felt it was important for them to realise that puppet shows narrated in French, German and become more aware of opportunities available to The Vice-Principal worked with the Creative Agent the Creative Partnerships programme was not a Spanish. The students used traditional texts and them. Alongside this the Academy has also to set the following four enquiry questions: typical ‘arts’ based project. He was keen for staff to created scenery and puppets in the style of developed a project called ‘Careeringteering’ this is realise that they have to change their ‘default where pupils get to shadow or observe different 1 To what extent can confidence with literacy European artists. The students then narrated each setting’ and re-write the year seven and eight jobs in different sectors. be developed through creative approaches to tale, practising their newly learnt language skills. In curriculum. addition they have also completed the following engaging with text? Due to the Academy’s extensive commitment to The residential was highly successful and as a projects and celebrations: MLF puppet show, Creative Partnerships they are now at a stage 2 Can a common language for assessing the result the teachers produced a revised year seven Roots, Horse and Bamboo. where many pupils have been able to experience a development of skills be integrated into and eight curriculum which was called ‘Exciting secondary education that has been enriched by practice? minds through S.P.O.R.T’. creativity from start to finish. The Vice-Principal What are the impacts of being part of 3 Can ‘difficult dialogue’ with students recounted the experience of one pupil in the school the Schools of Creativity programme? who had been shy and fairly unconfident in Year 7. eventually lead to a more cohesive local The first project she was involved in was the ‘learn environment? S O T Impact on pupils Skills for Thinking Opportunities to Develop Teamworking to learn’ project; she then worked on a superhero 4 ‘How special are subjects?’ To what extent The pupils respond well to the ‘creative curriculum’ project where she created the character ‘Rainbow Creativity Leadership Collaboration and particularly enjoy the collapsed curriculum days. can a competence curriculum further lead to Problem Solving Communication Co-operation Girl’. This character was then used in an animation Decision Making Involvement Accrington Academy has managed to foster a curriculum transformation at Key Stages 2-3? project. In Year 13 the student gave a PowerPoint P R culture whereby the children are able to take presentation to staff from Creative Partnerships Over the course of Accrington’s involvement in Personal Qualities Relationships ownership over their projects. It is encouraging to National Office, the presentation described her Creative Partnerships they have realised that it is Self Esteem Facilitating Learning note that this goes beyond Creative Partnerships Self-Management Supporting Others personal creative journey. She discussed in great important to have a good combination of high Social Responsibility based activity, as for example in Enterprise Classes, detail how her involvement in these projects had profile ‘celebratory’ projects and lower profile where pupils are used to working on live briefs. really helped her to raise her confidence, awareness projects that are directly linked to the curriculum One of the largest impacts is that pupils’ attainment of creativity and her ability to speak in public. This areas. The frequency of activity depends on what’s This is a competence-based curriculum framework levels have gone up, however the Vice-Principal student now runs a weekly craft club for 30 Year 7 planned throughout the school year and the type of remarked ‘being a School of Creativity is a definite pupils and has been accepted onto a degree course artists they are working with on particular projects. that is built on promoting and developing the five groups of skills that the Academy believes are contributory factor to this achievement, although is to study art. She is also interested in becoming a The Vice-Principal is also keen to ensure that each essential for students to develop as lifelong not the sole cause.’ Creative Partnerships has been teacher and will looking into taking a PGCE after Creative Partnerships project is embedded within learners. part of a series of interventions the Academy has undergraduate degree.
87 88 and over 60% stated they are using one or more of What next? the literacy strategies developed in the professional development sessions. The Vice-Principal also The programme of creative projects that have been reported that for him the single best thing about developed over the last few years are now ingrained being part of the Schools of Creativity programme is within the school’s delivery as well as in the that it allows for the school to ‘be and do different!’ approach they’ve taken to building the capacity of the staff. The deputy has appointed a ‘Learning The Academy received an Ofsted visit Champion for Creativity’ who will continue to broker approximately six months ago however this was not and co-ordinate the creative activity both within and a full inspection. During this interim inspection it outside of the school. was reported that the school is making a good improvement through using creative and innovative There is a huge fear amongst the staff that the new approaches to literacy and community engagement. national curriculum is going to strip away all creative practice, however it’s important to not lose all the work they’ve developed and no matter what Impact on parents and the wider changes there are to the curriculum they will community continue to teach core subjects in a creative manner. The Vice-Principal is currently assessing The school has carried out a number of events with how they spend the Creative Partnerships funding pupils, parents and the local community. Being part and despite a significant proportion being stripped of the wider community is an integral element of away they are going to attempt to ring fence the the school’s ‘academy status’ as well as their triad school’s contribution to deliver the existing approach to projects. The Local Authority also programme of work. In some cases projects may values the Academy’s ability to lead on community have to be scaled down. led projects and continually contacts them for case studies or to lead on new ideas. Accrington is one of seven Schools of Creativity in the North West that is part of a strong regional The academy works closely with five other schools Schools of Creativity network. For Accrington being in the local community, some of which are also part of a larger network and embedding projects is involved in the Creative Partnerships programme. what being a School of Creativity is all about. The Vice-Principal reported that it is interesting to work with feeder schools who have also been involved in Creative Partnership schemes, as their pupils understand this way of working. They find Impact on whole school Continuing Professional Development (CPD) targets. pupils that come in to projects from non Creative Partnership schools struggle with the concept of Being a School of Creativity has enabled Accrington The Vice-Principal also firmly believed that it helped The staff quickly saw thinking outside of the box and taking ownership. to fully embrace creativity into the ethos of the to convince staff that there was merit in working in that the creative projects Academy and they have been able to use this ethos this way. Accrington encourages parental involvement in the as a transformational tool for curriculum change and The staff quickly saw that the creative projects had school’s activities, with one specific project during had a positive impact on staff development. The staff residential really a positive impact on the pupils, especially through the Literacy Week involving a session for ‘Lads and opened the idea of a creative curriculum; it released improving behaviour. The school carried out a survey Dads’. This encouraged Dads to work together with the pupils, especially staff from the traditional curriculum as well as with staff and 80% cited that following their their sons on their reading and was a highly through improving helped to provide them with a refreshing approach involvement in Creative Partnerships based work successful project that also helped to raise the which enabled them to hit their own personal they felt more confident to teach in their subject profile and importance of reading amongst fathers behaviour.
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