Memorandum submitted by Tim Yealland, Artistic Associate Education, English Touring Opera

 

 

I am writing to describe the impact of two initiatives I have personally been involved with through Creative Partnerships: both have radically transformed the learning, creativity and social fabric of a special school and of a primary school.

 

My first experience of Creative Partnerships came when I was asked in 2003 (through the auspices of Opera North) to lead a major project in Kiveton Park Meadows Primary School near Sheffield. Set in an area of very significant economic and social deprivation, the school decided, following exploratory inset sessions, to collaborate in the creation of a full-scale new opera based on Oscar's Wilde's story The Selfish Giant. Every child and every teacher was involved in the devising, composing, writing , designing, and performing of this piece, and the transformation that took place over 5 months of sustained workshops and rehearsals was quite remarkable - individuals finding voice in different ways, and creativity galvanised to create a cohesive whole. Not least was the cooperation that developed between everyone in the school - including caretakers and dinner ladies. It was remarkable to witness the progress as the project took fire. English Touring Opera now visit the school regularly, and it is extraordinary how things have improved on many fronts. Every child now learns an instrument, and singing has become normal practice. I cannot comment on the changes that have taken place in learning at the school, but every time I meet with the Head Teacher, Kevin Madeley, he describes with passion many instances of the changes that have taken place in the pedagogic environment that have been created through the relationship with CP, not least in terms of the delivery of the curriculum. And the change is tangible.

 

Tuke School in Peckham is a PMLD special school that has had significant Creative Partnerships funding over the last few years. In 2003 I was appointed a CP mentor to Andrew Hinton, the inspired arts coordinator at the school. This relationship has led to three projects of different scale, and to a long-term artistic partnership with ETO. We have funded some of this work ourselves, and we see Tuke as a place where we can together explore new dynamic initiatives. Creative Partnerships has opened the door to a fundamental change in how Tuke looks at teaching and

child development. Teachers have brought new practices into the classroom, including musical, visual and dramatic stimulation, that have genuinely changed the way the school as a whole

approaches learning. Tuke is a place that has embraced change, and it constantly challenges its own perception of how students can benefit most from their precious time in the school. It is also a place where artists can question their own approach to working with young people with special needs. Creative Partnerships has, through careful discussion and evaluation, allowed an extremely creative staff to explore, alongside like-minded artists, wholly new and appropriate methods of teaching.

 

These are two of a number of projects I have been involved with in different capacities over the last few years - both as an animateur and as a project manager. I think some of us had misgivings at first about how - or if - we would be involved in these projects. But these and other instances of how Creative Partnerships has actually impacted on the culture of specific schools has convinced me of the incredible value of this initiative.

 

 

July 2007