CREATIVITY
Creativity in practice
Creative Partnerships is a learning programme
designed to develop artistic and creative skills in children across England. Paul Collard from Creativity, Culture and Education, which runs the programme, explains their work
C
REATIVE PARTNERSHIPS believe that using arts across the curriculum helps young people to develop their creativity and that this is the key to giving them the ability to question, make connections, innovate, problem-
solve, communicate, collaborate and reflect critically. The programme fosters innovative long-term
partnerships between schools and creative professionals, including artists, multimedia developers and scientists. We start from the belief that teaching is
fundamentally a creative profession and that teachers are well accustomed to finding creative solutions to complex challenges. By pairing the complementary skills of creative
Union address: ATL
Our demands for Westminster
Dr Mary
Bousted unveils her union’s
election manifesto, which is based on trust, fairness and education for all
EVERY EDUCATION pressure group has produced its manifesto, its policy wish list and we are no different. Well, actually, it is a bit different, because ATL’s manifesto comes directly from our members. Thousands of them responded on what they think
the most important education issues are, and we have brought the most popular responses together into a coherent statement of what practitioners in schools and colleges want from the next government. The manifesto is based around three key tenets:
trust, fairness and education for all. One member said: “The reform of the school
inspection system is a priority that should acknowledge teachers’ professionalism and seek to work alongside them to raise standards. The stick should only be used in cases where the carrot does not work.” Ofsted inspections should be abolished and replaced with local guidance and support services. This is one example of action that would improve trust in the professionals. Paperwork and bureaucracy is another bugbear for
many members. The paperwork is for accountability purposes, but diverts educators’ attention from improving teaching and learning. Reforming accountability also means abolishing
league tables, which hinder collaboration, do not promote equitable access of opportunity, and narrow the curriculum. Parents and the community need a more balanced view of their schools. As one secondary school head of department said: “Children are the most assessed, regulated, observed and monitored in Europe. Surveys show they are the unhappiest in Europe. I do not believe this is a coincidence.”
Our members also believe the national curriculum
should be a framework of all the skills and knowledge areas to which all pupils are entitled and that the detail should be filled in by teachers locally, subject to consultation with parents and community – another example of the restoration of trust. Education workers also have a strong commitment
to fairness. They want fair pay, keeping teachers’ national pay scales. These create equity, encourage geographical mobility, and improve average earnings in economically lagging regions. National pay and conditions also free schools from time-consuming attention to reward policy and practice. There should also be national pay scales for support staff. Members want pay equity between all school sectors including academies, and with colleges. They also gave notice they would resist any attack on their pensions. Members want fair funding between sectors,
phases and locations, including provision for SEN. We also believe sponsors or governors of academies and any other state schools should not profit from education. Fair treatment during any investigations resulting from allegations against education staff is vital, and they also feel there should be anonymity during any investigation. The final theme of the manifesto, Education for
All, reflects members’ commitment to social justice. They want policies which will meet the target to end child poverty in the UK by 2020. They know they are up against it if they are dealing with deprived students who bring so many problems into school. Last, educators’ internationalism produced a call
for the UK government to contribute to achieving the education-related Millennium Development and Education for All goals. This manifesto presents a sharp picture of the
concerns of this country’s education professionals. They want to be trusted, they want more fairness and they want education for all. You may agree that these are the concerns of dedicated people with a strong sense of public service who are a vital resource for the nation’s future.
• Dr Mary Bousted is general secretary of he Association of Teachers and Lecturers. Their full manifestos for England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland are available at www.atl.org.uk/election
Fostering creativity: Prudhoe Community High School has moved from being a Change School to a School of Creativity after excelling with its student-led projects
practitioners and teachers, we help to liberate the creativity of everyone involved, so that fresh approaches to teaching and learning are developed through collaborative processes. Creative Partnerships projects are tailored to the
needs of each individual school and are linked directly to the School Improvement Plan. Twenty-five local organisations deliver Creative Partnerships in their area helping schools through the process of a programme. All schools that Creative Partnerships work with belong to one of three distinct programmes with a common
national application criteria and process. These programmes are Enquiry Schools, Change Schools, and Schools of Creativity.
Enquiry Schools
The Enquiry Schools programme works with schools over a year to explore how creative teaching and learning can enhance their practice. Enquiry Schools decide on a specific focus for their programme linked to the School Improvement Plan which considers the broader needs of the school. Mount Carmel Technology School for Girls, an
Enquiry School in London, decided to investigate how a creative approach to teaching and learning in science could strengthen curriculum delivery in the faculty and give extra support to students who have SEN or English as an additional language. At the time of the project, a new year 7 science
curriculum was being delivered with each unit of work supported by a PowerPoint presentation. In order to ensure children were engaged in the new curriculum, the school enlisted the help of local film and animation specialists, Film & Video Workshop, to make the presentation more interactive. Six year 7 students of mixed abilities worked with
Cheryl Lowe from Film & Video Workshop and Eleni Clarke, the school’s head of science, to develop a new exciting PowerPoint presentation which could be used as a sustainable teaching tool. Year 7 students were consulted about the design of
the tool and three Saturday sessions helped to teach students how to use the Serif animation program before they started designing the final presentation. Another three students helped to translate key words into Spanish, Polish and Turkish. Ms Clarke said: “The project had fantastic results
with a noticeable impact on the six core students involved. Workshops were structured around them leading their own learning with students making many key decisions about the resource they were developing. The students actually felt like teachers and as a result of being involved in the project they were more confident to lead in class.”
Change Schools
The Change School programme focuses on generating long-term dialogue about creative teaching and learning, and how schools can become effective creative learning environments. Change Schools work with Creative Partnerships for three years and they are encouraged to explore in-depth how they are developing the conditions where creativity can thrive. Burnt Mill Comprehensive School in Harlow,
Essex, an urban school with over 1,100 pupils, is in its second year of the Change School programme. Burnt Mill wanted to find out what made an effective “real” learning experience. The school had identified that it had a high number
of kinaesthetic learners and wanted to tap into different areas of learning and skills for individuals. It also had a list of wider aims that it wanted to meet, such as preparing pupils better for the outside world and encouraging teachers to take more risks. Burnt Mill wanted to use this project as a pilot to develop further learning resources with a student/staff/parent body. Tiffany Brown, the project co-ordinator at Burnt
Mill, explained: “Students had to design, through drawing and model-making, a sculpture that could
SecEd • April 22 2010
be used as a mathematical teaching resource for both teachers and learners. They created lesson plans to go with their designs. It was a real experience for all and that makes a difference – so many times the work they do is not applied to real experiences.” The students of Burnt Mill responded positively
to being shown how maths and science are applied to the process of making a sculpture while also gaining professional specialist skills and experience. Ms Brown continued: “Creativity is now being
embedded across the school curriculum. All of us have the capacity for creativity and it is about time the government recognised that creativity lies at the heart of education and trusted schools to pursue this. “Learners who are allowed to and given opportunities
to experience creative approaches become rounded people who are independent, enthusiastic, motivated and take risks without fear of failure.”
Schools of Creativity
The Schools of Creativity programme enables a select group of outstanding schools to engage in cutting-edge research and innovative outreach with other schools. The programme harnesses these schools’
commitment to creativity and offers them a new role, based around innovation, leadership and influence, which enhances their existing achievements. The Schools of Creativity are a national network
that makes an important contribution to the ongoing development of Creative Partnerships’ work. Prudhoe Community High School in Northumberland
has recently become a School of Creativity after having previously worked with Creative Partnerships as a Change School. It is an excellent example of how to continually develop practice to draw out the best from both the staff and pupils within the school. Prudhoe is currently expanding its cross-curricular activity and pupil involvement. Student-led projects have helped to increase the
power that pupil’s feel they have to affect curriculum development. Prudhoe wanted to be an evolving organisation, changing to meet new curriculum models as well as meeting the present and future aspirations of its students and staff. The Creative Partnerships planning process at
the school identified a need to develop more shared learning resources across the curriculum, linking different departments and moving the curriculum on in new ways. The school also wanted creative learning to have an
impact on all staff and build confidence. ICT tools were available to everyone in the school via the intranet so this was an ideal area to explore this line of enquiry and to develop transferable learning resources. Northumberland is a rural area and this can often
encourage an individual approach. As the school already had a partnership with a number of local first and middle schools they wanted to continue working in this collaborative way. Creative agent Lucy Jolly arranged workshops in
animation, video, Wii, mobile phone, drawing and podcasting. She explained: “We wanted to encourage staff to try new things and to make links within the curriculum. We wanted to develop a series of permanent resources as a result of the sessions on the school intranet. For instance, podcasting looked at revision topics and homework prompts. The film-making explored delivering potential lesson starters where key facts could be filmed and delivered in 60 seconds.” However, through the planning, the skills of students
became apparent and it was decided that students would be involved in the delivery of the project, helping to “teach the teachers”. The benefits for students have been long-term,
increasing their self-esteem. Staff gained enormously from CPD in new practices which now informs their own work and helps in planning new work.
SecEd
• Paul Collard is chief executive of Creativity, Culture and Education.
Further information
‘
Visit www.creative-partnerships.com, call 0844 811 2145 or email
enquiries@creative-partnerships.com
Creative Partnerships projects are tailored to the needs of each individual school and
are linked to the School Improvement Plan
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