Memorandum submitted by Clare McNally, Head Teacher, St. Hubert's Roman Catholic Primary School, Oldbury

 

1. Produced in consultation with Noel Dunne, Creative Agent to the school.

 

2. Nature of involvement with Black Country Creative Partnerships.

 

2.1 St. Hubert's joined Black Country Creative Partnerships in September 2006. The school applied to join the scheme because of a longstanding commitment to the arts and creativity. This is evidenced by the fact that the school secured an Arts mark Gold award for the depth and breadth of creative and cultural opportunities we have provided our pupils.

 

2.2 We have sought many ways to enrich our curriculum through creativity. The particular focus we selected for our 2006/07 programme was "How can ICT be used more creatively to deliver teaching and learning across the curriculum?"

 

We selected this focus because we wanted to see the following changes occur:

· From: ICT used as an add-on, supporting specified outcomes

To: ICT used creatively encouraging learning across contexts.

· From: ICT insufficiently used in arts teaching

To: ICT used regularly and creatively in arts subjects/projects.

· From: Curriculum varies little from year to year

To: Frequent re-evaluation to incorporate more creative use of ICT.

· From: Use of ICT determined by skills of staff

To: Pupils and staff empowered to explore and generate new ideas.

· From: Parents/community not engaged in using ICT within school

To: Parents/community make skilled use of ICT.

 

These were changes we had identified in out school evaluation form and which we had incorporated into our School Development Plan. We are committed to embedding creativity into our teaching and learning and this is most effectively achieved by linking it to specific areas we want to improve. This year we have developed our thinking to look at explicitly at how the creative application of ICT can be used to raise standards in Maths. This initiative will be lead by St Hubert's with a cluster of five other primary schools in Sandwell.

 

2.3 We introduced a creative curriculum 4 years ago as part of an evaluation of our provision for children with multiple intelligences. Our curriculum is thematic, and explored and presented in creative and innovative ways. This way of working has led to us seeking a wider range of possibilities, expanding teaching methodology and working with a wider range of external partners.

 

3. Our experience of introducing creativity into education: the impact it has had on:

 

3.1 children:

 

3.1.1 Children in Years 1, 4, 5 and 6 have all have extensive opportunities to learn how to use creative software packages and produce work.

 

3.1.2 The children are exploring new ways to articulate and present their ideas using ICT. This has resulted in an explosion of pupil generated work all over the school that is regularly changed and updated as children develop in their understanding and skill.

 

3.1.3 Children are suggesting ways in which a creative use of ICT can enhance learning opportunities across curriculum areas.

 

3.1.4 The children have told us through pupil surveys they really enjoy this creative way of working and that it engages them in lessons in school and at home in a way that they were not previously engaged prior to the introduction of a creative curriculum. 1005 of our children thinks lessons are exciting and fun.

3.2 teachers;

 

3.2.1 teachers is Years 1, 4, 5, and 6 (the focus for this years' work) have all reported, and demonstrated, increased confidence in the use ICT across curriculum areas. Digital hardware and software in visual, audio and video are being incorporated into lesson planning and delivery.

 

3.2.2 Schemes of work have been reviewed and revised to take into account new learning opportunities presented by the creative application of ICT. This is helping to refresh the curriculum for teachers.

 

3.2.3 Cross curricular and thematic approaches to teaching are supported by a greater confidence in embedding the creative use of ICT into the curriculum.

 

3.2.3 Since introducing the creative curriculum, teaching approaches are much more innovative, teachers feel empowered to be innovative, standards have risen at KS2, the proportion of lessons judged outstanding has doubled and children and parents recognise the excellence of our teachers and the exciting ways in which they help children to learn and develop their talents.

 

3.3 wider school communities

 

3.3.1 The site manager and other members of the school community are being involved through developing interactive displays areas for all the children's ideas and finished work. This is generating a greater ownership towards developing a more creative learning environment both inside and outside the school buildings.

 

3.3.2 We have successfully applied for an Awards for All grant to run a digital postcards project with community groups connected to the school and the parish that will involve the children created digital recordings of the lives of local people and turning those into digital postcards.

4. Conclusion:

Creativity is not an add on to the business of delivering the curriculum in St. Hubert's, it is integral to our approach and essential to the values we seek to engender in the children in our care. If children are to become confident in their ideas, skilled in communicating those ideas and disciplined in turning ideas into outcomes then a creative approach has to be at the heart of the learning experience.

5. Recommendations for action by the Government or others which we would like the Select Committee to consider for inclusion in its report to the House.

5.1 Alongside the validation of the value of creativity, the permission to experiment and take risks and therefore sometimes not succeed as we thought we would but recognize that the learning that emerges from such processes is incredibly rich.

5.2 The resources to bring in outside creative practitioners to continuously stretch our thinking nd introduce us to new possibilities that we can translate into learning opportunities for both our staff and for our children.

5.3 The inclusion of creativity as an essential criterion for inspection so that reports on school improvement overtly acknowledge the creative opportunities the school generates.

 

July 2007