MANAGING ICT


Assistant headteacher Saiqa Liaqat responds to a


recent report from Adobe which looks at how well schools are preparing students for the future when it comes to creativity skills


A


S TEACHERS, it is our inherent responsibility to prepare students for the future – whether that be for a job, university, or life more generally – with key skills such as communication or collaboration. However, with the state of the


economy, it looks as if things will be difficult for our country’s young people for some years to come and so the role of schools in helping prepare students for the challenges ahead is ever more important. Adobe’s recent Creativity in the Classroom report


(see below, right) is timely as it highlights that one of the key skills which employers and university lecturers are looking for is creativity. In fact, the overwhelming majority – 77 per cent – of UK employers and university lecturers place a high value on creativity in school-leavers. That means the ability to think creatively, generate


ideas, present work in a creative way, or the ability to innovate. Increasingly though, it also means taking a creative approach to job applications – and with growing competition for every job, this has never been as important. In school, it is surely then our responsibility to help


students think like innovators. Unfortunately, the reality is that too often creativity is squeezed out with the pressures of a packed curriculum, bigger class sizes and result targets. The very essence of creativity, and the ability to develop it, is dependent on space – the space


Union address: UNISON We’re ready to fight back


Christine McAnea on the government’s


evasive answers to questions about the promised £250 increment for school support staff


LOCAL GOVERNMENT employers have come out and confirmed what the unions expected – there will be no pay rise for all those staff covered by the National Joint Council for Local Government (NJC) Agreement. This covers all the support and professional staff


employed in community schools. Not to worry some might think – didn’t Chancellor George Osborne promise that all staff earning less than £21,000 “will receive” at least £250 for each year of the pay freeze? Well, not it seems if you work in a school or local


authority. Staff in the civil service and NHS earning under £21,000 are set to get the £250 increase and even teachers will get this on top of any increment they are due. My union has written to education minister


Michael Gove to ask how he intends to deliver this for school support staff but has received an evasive response. He said: “The Department (of Education) allowed for the possibility of support staff being paid the £250 increase when assessing possible future spending requirements.” Thereby implying that there is money to pay for this. We have launched a campaign asking our


members in schools to write to their MPs and to Mr Gove asking how and when they will get the £250 promised by the chancellor. As schools have devolved budgets we will also be writing to them to ask them to pay this to support staff. It would be grossly unfair and unjust if support


staff were the only group in schools excluded from this payment. No-one is pretending £250 will go very far towards offsetting the effects of a pay freeze. Given that inflation is currently running at over five per cent, a pay freeze in reality becomes a pay cut. For low-paid staff the impact is devastating. Research shows that low-income families have to


spend a higher proportion of their earnings on food, fuel and transport. And, while for many home-owners lower interest rates have meant lower mortgage payments, for those in rented accommodation this has no impact – rents still go up. All of this comes on top of massive cuts in


public services, job losses and the attacks on the pay, conditions and pensions of our members. Although David Cameron and Nick Clegg might claim “we are all in this together”, it seems some are more “in” it then others. Increasingly, the coalition government is seeking


to turn back the clock to some “Enid Blyton era” when schools were staffed by teachers and supported by well meaning parents as volunteers. They conveniently forget that schools are complex organisations delivering education to an incredibly diverse group of pupils. Our members now are part of the professional team in schools involved in every aspect of education: teaching in early years, supporting pupils with additional needs, managing school finances and resources, and are often expected to be everything from a school nurse to a family therapist on top of their jobs. But still across the country many councils and


schools are trying to cut jobs or get school staff to work more for less. During half-term, I attended a rally in Carlisle


against Cumbria County Council’s proposals to cut an average of 25 per cent off the pay of teaching assistants. Over 600 teaching assistants came out for this march and rally and well over 2,000 have joined UNISON’s Facebook campaign. The government may think it can ignore or marginalise support staff in schools, councils may think they are an easy target for cuts – but our message to them is think again. UNISON, along with other public sector unions, is ready and willing to fight back.


• Christina McAnea is the head of education at UNISON. Visit www.unison.co.uk/education


Getting creative


and time to think and develop ideas. But with the report showing that 66 per cent of employers and lecturers think schools should be doing more to encourage creative approaches to work in students, it is clear this is something which must be addressed. At my school, we believe the answer lies in digital


technologies. Indeed, I believe ICT is essential to driving creativity. Technology is increasingly central in the workplace, and the ability to present and communicate information digitally is now an expectation. Crucially, in schools ICT is something which


students are passionate about. It is a world they understand and, with the right framework and support from teachers, it is something which has the ability to transform lessons and drive a much deeper level of engagement. For example, in religious studies this year we did


a project about the life of Buddha. We found students were struggling with the topic and so we took a different approach, bringing a digital element in. Students were asked to create an animation of Buddha and instantly levels of engagement went up. Similarly, our year 7s have been experimenting


with augmented reality, creating a storybook about the Battle of Hastings. The communication tools they had available to them included pop-up books, animation, and photos. The engagement levels were incredible. We saw some of the weakest students happily sitting at their desk, sifting through reams and reams of online information about the battle, analysing it and applying that information in a creative way.


‘ The very essence


of creativity, and the ability to develop it, is dependent on space – the space and time


to think and develop ideas


Work like this has long-term benefits – it teaches


students to experiment with different types of presentation and prepare creative and engaging reports on complex subjects. In the workplace, if any of these students were asked to produce a report or presentation, they would have a range of different tools and skills which would make them stand out. Using ICT to drive creativity chimes with the report


’


which shows that 92 per cent of employers see a link between ICT and creativity – and over a third believe this link is explicit. However, I believe the most successful usage of


ICT is when it is applied across the whole curriculum, not just taught in silo in art and design or ICT classes. By integrating it across the board, students develop core creative skills and ICT becomes a channel which enables them to develop and express their creativity. For example, all our year 8 students have blogs.


These were created as part of a year-long ICT project where students were encouraged to create and upload content. This developed their creativity skills while raising their technological aptitude in things like photo editing. However – and this was key – we also used the blog


to complement and enhance work being done across the curriculum, so an assignment in their English lesson was to write a blog post and a piece of art from art lessons was scanned in, edited and built into their blog.


10 What Adobe’s report also alludes to is the fact that


ICT is becoming increasingly central to industry, and technology itself is helping bring schools closer to industry. An example is our BTEC in media and film studies.


As part of this, we run an annual project to create short feature films. Working collaboratively, students take an idea from conception right through to completion, and when we hold the school Oscars, students use the actual software that professionals employ to work through the pre-production and production phases before editing their footage (taken using the school’s cameras) to create an eight to 10-minute film. The impact that using these industry-standard


programmes has had on the pupils’ self-confidence and pride in their work has been significant. We are also producing students who leave our school ahead of the curve. This exposure to industry and industry-standard


work is used to help students take that next step towards work. For example, in our graphic design courses, as well as getting students through their qualifications, we want them to experience using graphic design in the real world. As such, our students all register as freelancers, build their portfolios, and take on paid work. The creative skills that ICT can open up for students


are really valuable. Currently, the work going on in our school is the exception rather than the rule. However, I firmly believe these teaching techniques can happen in any school – but it is essential that ICT is not taught in silo. To really have impact, schools need to take a joined


up approach and incorporate ICT across multiple subjects so that it is closely mapped into what the students are being taught. If schools up and down the country do that, I am confident they will improve attainment levels, see more engaged classes, and produce more creative and innovative students. It is a win-win situation.


SecEd


• Saiqa Liaqat is assistant headteacher (ICT and new technologies) at Highlands School in Enfield, north London.


The report


Adobe’s Creativity in the Classroom report revealed the high value placed on creativity skills in school-leavers by UK employers and university lecturers. Seventy-seven per cent cited creativity as


an essential or important skill, in addition to key skills such as numeracy and literacy. However, only four per cent of employers and 10 per cent of lecturers felt they saw strong creativity displayed in interviewees. Of those surveyed, 66 per cent


feel schools should be doing more to encourage creative approaches to work in their students. The report showed that many believed, if used correctly, ICT could help encourage better creativity skills in students. To read the report in full, visit www.adobe.com/go/creativity


SecEd • March 3 2011


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