Memorandum submitted by Matthew Revill, Lowedges Primary School, Sheffield

Summary of information included in the submission

1 This submission begins with an introduction to the writer Matthew Revill and then outlines some of the ways in which organisations such as Creative Partnerships and their sister organisation, Sheffield Arts Education, have had a positive impact on our curriculum, staff and pupils. The submission then concludes with a recommendation for the work of Creative Partnerships to be supported and extended in order for further creative work to be undertaken by schools.

Brief introduction to the submitter: Matthew Revill

 

2 I have been working at Lowedges Primary School, Sheffield for the past 4 years and in that time have helped to implement a creative curriculum. This has included integrating the work done by creative practitioners, writing a creative arts policy, developing new creative approaches, integrating the latest ICT software and hardware etc. I have also helped to implement new creative approaches in terms of how we teach children to think and be life-long learners. Having worked with Sheffield Arts Education and Creative Partnerships on a number of projects and training opportunities, I was recently asked to take on the role as a Lead Teacher for creativity in Sheffield. So far, my role has included helping to write an assessment system for measuring and recognising good creative practices within schools.

 

Factual information in support of Creative Partnerships - linked to the key issues

 

3 When assessing the positive impact of creative projects on pupils in terms of their confidence, self-esteem, motivation and team work, we have found them an invaluable addition to our curriculum. For example, the Creative Thinking After School Club project we ran for Y3 and 4 children had a significant impact on their motivation during class sessions as it enabled some less able and less confident children to build on knowledge and skills outside the classroom setting which they could then apply later in whole class sessions. Our current Y3 class are currently engaged in "The Change Project" which has enabled us to foster excellent group working skills - something which this cohort of children really struggled with at the start of the academic year.

 

4 When looking at more quantifiable evidence such as achievement and success in SATs tests our school results can be shown as evidence of the positive impact of including a creative dimension in our curriculum. Our KS2 SAT results have steadily risen over the past few years. Our value added scores are also in the top 1% of schools nationally. Using a creative approach to teaching and learning has contributed to this recent success at Lowedges Primary.

 

5 Working on creative projects such as our recent animation work has not only enabled our pupils to be creative and have fun but also helped develop key ICT skills. These skills can be transferred to many different areas such as camera use, keyboard skills, proficiency in both PC and MAC operating systems etc. Also, when comparing writing levels, it can be seen that planning, making and presenting a short animation had a positive impact on writing ability in many of our children.

 

6 When trying to make our creative projects link to the real world of work, we try to ensure that there is a real purpose and goal to them. We also try to include as many transferable skills as possible which children can use in other contexts. Most notably has been the development of new ICT skills both in terms of software use and ability to use new hardware. Children are made aware of the need to keep up to date with new technologies and are encouraged to develop these life long skills.

 

7 Within Lowedges Primary School, we encourage children to share their learning experiences with their families. We also run a number of Family Learning workshops which aim to develop home working skills for parents to assist their children. These often include creative and fun approaches to supporting the key curriculum areas of maths, literacy and science.

 

8 Whenever our children participate in a creative project, we look for ways for them receiving acknowledgement and recognition for their work. This includes entering work in local and national competitions such as "Steel City Globe Awards" and "Sheffield Young Painter of the Year". This recognition helps to motivate and fuel further creative work within our school. Teachers are also encouraged to recognise creative work with our in-school reward systems such as "Pupil of the Week" and showing "Good Work".

 

9 Creative initiatives set up by Creative Partnerships have really helped our school establish ourselves as a creative school. Without taking part in projects, it would have been difficult for our staff and children to gain the necessary skills and confidence to work with outside creative practitioners. For the Senior Leadership Team, Creative Partnerships has enabled us to learn how to create good working links with these professionals and how to set up and run our own creative projects.

 

10 Through the help of Creative Partnerships and Sheffield Arts Education, we have been able to implement a creative arts policy within our school which all staff now follow. This, combined with project work from Creative Partnerships, has helped the Senior leadership Team to drive creativity into our school curriculum.

 

Recommendations

 

 

11 Due to the positive effect Creative Partnerships has had upon our school and our curriculum, I feel that their work should continue within schools and, if possible, be given sufficient resources to help schools run more creative projects. Without continued support and input from bodies such as Creative Partnerships, schools may lose the drive and ability to maintain a creative curriculum. This would be extremely disappointing for both pupils and staff all of whom benefit greatly from this work. Many of these benefits can be quantified in terms of achievement and attendance data. However, it is probably the unquantifiable which benefits our pupils even more. Benefits such as raised self-esteem, improved cohesiveness between groups of pupils and staff, motivation and enjoyment of school can not be measured and yet creative projects help to foster all of these important aspects of school life.

 

June 2007