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Memorandum submitted by Richard May, Head teacher, Greenmount Community Primary School
Greenmount Community Primary School has been an education partner with Creative Partnerships for the past three years. The initial reasons for applying to be included as such were based on academic and social issues relating to achievement, standards and community understanding of local/global issues.
Creative Partnerships has enabled the school community to move forward in a variety of ways, and has supported rigorous evaluation of projects and plans undertaken.
Creative Partnerships projects are increasingly well-planned, capitalizing upon the skills and talents of those involved and supporting us in working collectively with families and the local community.
Outcomes to date have been very encouraging, for instance:
· Whole school projects around cultural understanding of India and Africa.
· Project based around the schools' 150th Anniversary, focusing on creativity, the nature of learning and effects of education the local community.
Creative Partnerships has also inspired and supported the schools' curriculum review and has provided professional development to enhance staff understanding of creativity. The school has, as a result, redefined its values and planning methods, leading to a far more flexible and personalised curriculum. The main aim of our engagement has been to further pupil's confidence, creativity, understanding of their place in the world and to enhance progress; all of this has been achieved.
The rare beauty of Creative Partnerships is that, so far, we have had the security to plan into the future, encouraging sustainable curriculum development, allowing us to build upon children's success and confidence.
As a school community we have learned much from our involvement, and I'm aware of the same level of learning from creative partners working with us.
As a result to Creative Partnership involvement children now leave this primary school with far more confidence in their own creative abilities and I am enormously proud of this. My hope is that our involvement will be able to continue as, in a world in which change is the only constant, there are many more issues to tackle - not least pupil awareness of creative response to global and environmental issues.
June 2007 |