Memorandum submitted by John Devlin, Headteacher, Our Lady of Victories' Catholic Primary School, Keighley, West Yorkshire

 

 

1. I am headteacher of Our Lady of Victories' Catholic Primary School in Keighley, West Yorkshire. I am writing this report as I see daily the benefits of a creative school. We have been involved with Creative Partnerships for the past two years as we believe passionately that creating opportunities for creativity in the curriculum is essential if children are going to enjoy their education. Only when children have a passion for learning and the school environment do they achieve their potential, creatively and academically.

 

2. At Our Lady of Victories', we teach a skills-based curriculum, where topics are linked and where we encourage teachers to be flexible with the curriculum in order to give children the chance to be creative. For example, each term every class has a Wonder Week where the class decide which topic they will look at for a whole week. It may be a topic on The Beatles, sculpture or on Manchester United. Each class has a Wonder Week budget and the teacher can use this to perhaps arrange a trip to Liverpool or Old Trafford, invite in a guest speaker or purchase resources. The topic will involve using literacy, numeracy and many other skills, especially ICT. The children will then make a presentation to the school on their work, using perhaps Microsoft Photostory or a podcast they have put together.

 

3. This is where our work with Creative Partnerships comes in. It is through our link with them that we are able to get children to work with "creatives" in the broadcasting world, in our case BCB radio in Bradford. They can help the teachers and children learn the necessary skills for creating a podcast, and can assist us in putting a podcast together, which we can then broadcast via our website. Creative Partnerships have enabled us to build a state of the art radio station in school, and the funds also allow us to get supply cover so that our lead teacher can work with our media team of 7 children on a weekly basis.

 

4. The skills that children learn from creative projects such as these are vital if we are to create well rounded, confident pupils. These skills and experiences enable us to raise standards as we give them experiences to write about and discuss. We create passion and enthusiasm in pupils, girls and boys, we give pupils a reason to be excited about learning. Obviously, we need to teach the basics, we need to concentrate most of our efforts in teaching our children to read, write, count, problem solve and investigate. But if we can be as creative as possible whilst we do this then we shouldn't see exam-weary 11 year olds. We instead see children who love to learn, who behave well and who see school as an adventure.

 

5. A creative curriculum gives teachers the opportunities to use and develop their own varied skills and interests. Professional development, such as the type of training we have received from BCB, helps teachers to realise the potential of creative projects, and I know that in our school teachers are enthused about teaching because of some of our creative initiatives.

 

6. Parents also benefit from creativity. They are made aware of what is going on in school, for example through podcasts, presentations, etc. and become more engaged and involved as a result.

 

7. Links with business and the wider community can be created as a result of topic based, creative work.

 

8. I conclude my report by stressing that schools must be given the freedom and opportunity to be creative. The messages I have been receiving lately from government and from our local authority have been very positive and reassuring. Our children need to see school as a wonderful adventure, where they can make the most of whatever talents they may have, where they can be given the opportunity to shine. Any initiative which helps us do this, such as Creative Partnerships, can only be a good thing for the future of our children and for our country.

 

July 2007