NEWS...


Teaching resources for Airship Dreamers


Bedford Creative Arts (BCA) has developed a series of teaching resources to help schools in and around Bedfordshire explore the iconic airships of Bedford’s past. BCA’s Airship Dreams: Escaping Gravity project, delivered in partnership with The


Higgins Bedford, provides a great way for schools to link local, social history to the curriculum across a range of STEAM subjects. The Airship Dreams: Escaping Gravity is one of BCA’s projects, which is an immersive artwork exploring Bedford’s airship heritage and it will be on display in The Higgins’ William Harpur Gallery until 28th November 2021. There is also a community-curated exhibition which is running in The Higgins’


Connections gallery until March 2022 showcasing a community-sourced display of airship artefacts, stories, inspiration and memorabilia donated by airship enthusiasts from our local area and around the UK. Artwork from Shortstown Primary School and Bedford College also forms part of this exhibition. The resources have been developed with Shortstown Primary School and the


programme is called the Airship Dreamers Club. The free resources can be used to support curriculum teaching, just for fun, or can be shared with parents for them to engage with their children at home. They include a teacher’s guide, an Airship Dreamers Club resource pack, a


curriculum map, a series of videos and a reading list. The airships are a feat of science, engineering and imagination. They are from a


different era and they offer so much when it comes to teaching as they fit into science and engineering, art and design, and history. The children of Shortstown Primary School enjoyed messy science experiments, as well as artistic and creative opportunities, such as making their own airship or writing about an imaginary flight on one. Hannah Pereira, Shortstown Primary Art and Culture teacher said: “We were


offered this amazing opportunity to take part in this programme. We were given so many different resources to work with. We had local artists working with the children, we had a science project from a local company. We also worked with historians from the Higgins Museum as well as a storyteller. It was a school wide project with different topics for each year group. It was very exciting, the children learned so much as we also learned how proud they are of their heritage.” For school group booking enquiries to visit and explore Airship Dreams: Escaping


Gravity this autumn, please email thehiggins@bedford.gov.uk Once the children have engaged with a project to make an airship or to write a


story about one, their finished work can be shared with BCA and printable certificates can be supplied for the children, or for a small cost, Airship Dreamers badges can be posted out.


uwww.airshipdreams.com 4 www.education-today.co.uk


Barnardo’sworkbook to help young children cope with the challenge of a new school year


With the start of the new school year, Barnardo’s has launched a workbook children can use to help them through the first few weeks of term. The Change Challenge booklet contains easy to follow


exercises to be completed by key stage 1 and key stage 2 pupils to make the transition to a new class much easier. And it also helps them to develop a plan for a successful first


half-term by identifying the things that make them feel good, the tricky things that can have a negative impact on their wellbeing, and also the people that can help them. The workbook is designed to be used during the first eight


weeks of term with a short reflective session each week, writing down what has helped them, what has been tricky and who has helped them. There are also some ideas to support them when they come


across difficult challenges in the future. Barnardo’s Acting Chief Executive Lynn Perry said: "Starting


a new class or going to a new school is often a nerve-wracking experience for children. And after the past 18 months where much of it was spent in lockdown, including having to get used to lessons taking place online, some children will be understandably more apprehensive than normal. "This is why staff at the Barnardo's Education Community


have created a workbook aimed at key stage 1 and key stage 2 children. It gives them exercises to do for the first eight weeks of term where they can think and reflect on how they are feeling. "I hope it will be useful not just for them to work through


with their teachers in the classroom but also something children can do at home with their parents and carers." BEC is aimed at education staff in early years, schools,


colleges and higher education. The workbook is free to download at the Barnardo’s


Education Community site: uwww.educators-barnardos.org.uk


September 2021


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