CREATIVE PARTNERSHIPS
Paul Collard
from Creativity,
Culture and
Education,
A culture of
looks at the Creative
Partnerships programme
and how it can support
creativity
excellent teaching
REATIVE PARTNERSHIPS is
C
the government’s flagship creative
learning programme, designed to
help develop the creative skills of
young people across England.
It does so by fostering innovative,
long-term partnerships between
schools and a range of creative professionals, including
artists, performers, architects, multimedia developers,
and scientists.
These partnerships inspire young people, teachers
and creative professionals to challenge how they
work and experiment with new ideas – in turn
leading to young people leaving school with improved
attainment levels as well as that all important love of
learning.
However, the success of creative learning and
developing key competencies in young people, such
as ability to question, make connections, innovate,
problem-solve, communicate, collaborate, and reflect
critically, sits with good teachers. Most teachers strive Creative thinking: Students from The
to teach well and want to develop their skills but they Manning School for Girls worked
need to be supported through CPD programmes. alongside professional drummers in
Creative Partnerships has teacher training at its core. the run-up to an appearance at the
Ofsted published a report on Creative Partnerships Nottingham Light Nights Festival
which confirmed that the programme improved the
skills and creativity of teachers.
In addition, in an independent survey of secondary recognises that creative and innovative teaching can and this should play an important part of any CPD “One of our pupils arrived from the Congo and
schools working with the programme, 94 per cent of be delivered within the existing curriculum, but CPD programme. hadn’t spoken in over three months. Through this
headteachers reported an improvement in the teaching is required to make this a reality. Our work also shows Lesley Wood has been working with Creative project she played music from her own local village
skills of their teachers. the value of working with external professionals to Partnerships going into schools as a “creative agent” and from that moment on she started to interact with
The government’s recent education White Paper inject a little creativity into the classroom and beyond for the past year. She is a freelance creative writer, other pupils. We saw the impact of creative learning
drama practitioner, and is also doing a PGCE. Ms Wood and partnership working and filtered this through all
feels that the programme “empowers teachers” and our subjects.
Union address: NAHT
encourages them to remember that teaching in itself is “Now when I walk through the school it really
a creative career. is alive with creativity. For example, walking past a
She explained: “Teaching uses a lot of creative language class I often witness singing and drama role-
A meeting of minds
skills, for example, finding out what methods work for plays. We know that creative teaching and learning has
different pupils. Teachers themselves are always the the power to raise attainment, aspirations and change
best resource.” the whole-school ethos.
When Ms Wood enters schools, she makes teachers “Implementing creative teaching and learning
Mick Brookes
80 per cent of year 11 pupils taking work experience think about their own interests and skills beyond their practice is a journey for the whole school and sometimes
in 2004, 88 per cent in 2007, and 83 per cent in 2009 subject area. For example, if a school wants to develop it isn’t an easy one. You need to start with a whole-
discusses the
(Ipsos MORI). music they may already have teachers who can play a school vision for change and someone at a senior level
While we can look at trends, it is the case that a musical instrument or who can dance. Teachers need needs to drive it.”
very high proportion of young people are engaged to share their skills and support each other – this is all Manning has an assistant headteacher whose
importance of
in work placements with more than 80 per cent encouraged through Creative Partnerships projects. responsibility it is to drive creative learning. Students
claiming that the experience was helpful. What is Ms Wood feels that schools need to encourage “blue- themselves must be involved from the start and
links between schools and
required is a good match between job aspiration and sky” thinking among teachers; they need to “think of teachers need to be offered support and encouragement
placement, and a meaningful experience. the wildest extremes of what they want and then look at to increase their confidence to take risks with their
employers
Employers were correspondingly supportive of what they already have in place to achieve it”. teaching as well as to work in partnership with other
opportunities for their companies. Almost 90 per One of the most important aspects that Ms Wood teachers and creative professionals.
cent claimed that they wanted to promote an interest raises is being open to taking risks. Ms Lyon continued: “You also need to build in time
among students in relevant careers and more than 80 She continued: “The whole school needs to be open to plan, talk and reflect. There is an immediate impact
ON A particularly dreary November morning I per cent claimed that work placements increased an to change and risk-taking. Teachers need to have the when you work with Creative Partnerships but it has
arrived at a meeting of the Education and Employers organisation’s local reputation. confidence in themselves to take these risks and to carry taken time to alter ethos and aspirations. It is a journey
Taskforce. This is a working group set up to explore All this is very good, but there are some on even when some projects aren’t as successful as you for everyone in the school community and it is one well
the delivery of effective partnerships between worrying mismatches between job aspiration and would like. Often we learn from our mistakes.” worth taking.”
schools, colleges and industry. the availability of employment, ranging from zero The Creative Partnerships approach to developing And the results of embedding creative teaching
I went to the meeting prepared for yet another per cent of young people wishing to be employed a creative programme in schools is distinctive. It practice? Creativity is relevant across all subjects
barrage of criticism from employers on the poor in manufacturing to 46 per cent wanting to work in starts with the School Improvement Plan, linking bringing with it the competencies which help to raise
skills and aptitudes of young people seeking to join “other employment” (pop star? footballer? prime the Creative Partnerships programme closely with attainment levels.
the world of the employed. minister?) when there is only a five per cent priorities identified by the school. Dan Evans, an ex-pupil in Brockhill Park Performing
The chorus of “it weren’t like that in my day” is nationwide capacity. (On the other hand, who are The programme allows time for proper in-depth Arts College, another School of Creativity in Kent,
sung through a rose-tinted rear-view mirror that does we to negate young dreams? Mark Knopfler was planning and facilitates processes where young people, explained that creative teaching made all the difference
not at all reflect the reality of the 1950s. famously told to stop plinking his guitar and Robbie teachers and practitioners can work together as co- to him.
Adult literacy classes were invented for the large Williams was allegedly advised to join the army!) constructors of learning. It also brokers and supports “My grades began to pick up as the teachers took a
numbers of children who went through the school The clear aim of this group is to ensure that every long-term relationships between young people, teachers new approach to their style of teaching – the lessons I
and emerged illiterate, disconsolate and turned off college and school has an effective partnership with and creative practitioners, and all projects include in- found ‘boring’ suddenly became much more interesting.
education for life. There are still some, but the advances employers. There was a real determination among depth evaluation and reflection, leading to sustainable Everything seemed to open up to me. Lessons became
made in the acquisition of skills and aptitudes are well the employers represented at the meeting to make and embedded practice. more practical and suddenly a lot more fun.”
referenced, particularly over the past dozen years. Part this happen. The Manning School for Girls in Nottingham is a We believe that creative learning can transform
of the battle has been to persuade the adult community However, a real barrier to progress has emerged Creative Partnerships School of Creativity working with the aspirations, attainment, skills and life chances of
that, although they were never privileged to enjoy because of the tight screening of employees engaged the programme to further develop creative teaching and young people. Our brief is “fun with rigour” – a
education, their children and grandchildren are. in mentoring young people in the workplace. The learning practices, form innovative partnerships with creative approach to achieving high quality learning. We
However, my fears were groundless, the debate insistence on CRB checking for relevant employees other schools, and help shape future education policy hope that through our programme more teachers will
had moved to a far more positive level. Enthusing is certainly deterring some companies because of and practice. recognise and develop their own creative skills for the
young people in the world of work is a tough call, cost, bureaucracy and a sense of intrusion into There are 38 different languages spoken across this benefit of themselves and their pupils. SecEd
especially when young heads are filled with easy private lives. This disproportionate reaction to inner city school, which started working with Creative
transition to stardom and X Factor dreams. terrible but isolated instances of abuse is certainly Partnerships back in 2003 when it had low exam results • Paul Collard is chief executive of Creativity, Culture
The meeting was furnished with a well researched hampering the desire for employers to meet the and had been threatened with closure. and Education, the organisation that manages Creative
document that tracked the development of work worthy aspirations described above. This issue will Head Lesley Lyon explained: “After a whole-school Partnerships nationally.
placements over the past five years, looked at have to be addressed with some urgency if the consultation with students they told us that learning is
employers’ motivation for establishing opportunities, Taskforce is to be successful and our young people most effective when they work alongside artists in the
Further information
and the match between aspirations for employment better prepared for the world of work. curriculum, we have since been on a creative journey Creative Partnerships, the government’s creative learning
and the availability of jobs. which has transformed our school. programme, has worked with more than 940,000 young
The development of work placements has • Mick Brookes is general secretary of the National “Our work with Creative Partnerships started with people and 90,000 teachers by fostering long-term
changed very little over the past five years with Association of Head Teachers. Visit www.naht.org.uk a small-scale project with our English as an additional partnerships between schools and creative professionals.
language students working with a theatre company. Visit www.creative-partnerships.com
10 SecEd • December 3 2009
10-11 Managing ICT .indd 10 30/11/09 11:28:28
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