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Memorandum submitted by Ann Hill, Advanced Skills Teacher, James Brindley School, Birmingham
1. Executive Summary James Brindley School has been involved with Creative Partnerships in Birmingham since 2002. During the last five years we have taken part in many projects - both short term and more lasting - and are now at the stage where creativity is something that is part and parcel of everything we do. Many staff members are now enskilled in various creative mediums and feel more confident to pass their expertise onto our students. We do still employ artists from outside of the school to lead on some projects as they bring a new vibrancy and excitement to the work we do.
2. Brief introduction to our situation In many ways James Brindley School has faced probably more challenges than other 'main stream' schools. As the largest Hospital Special School in Europe, the sheer logistics of organising whole school events has proved interesting - many of our students, of whom there are between 5000 and 6000 a year, are with us for relatively short periods of time, particularly some of those who are in hospital. However, in the teaching centres, young people may stay with us for 3 years plus, depending upon their condition. A large number of our young people have life limiting conditions or severe mental health needs and some are in a secure unit which has other implications when looking at how to introduce and sustain creativity.
3. Factual Information I have selected a small number of projects in which we have been involved, to try to give a flavour of how Creative Partnerships and Creativity has impacted on James Brindley School and the wider community. Photographic and other evidence is attached.
4. Parkway Centre - 'Past Steps' Project The ethos of this project was to develop creativity in and across the curriculum, as a vehicle for developing Citizenship awareness. A group of students spent time at a local Nursing Home, talking to the residents about their memories and looking at old photographs and memorabilia. The Departments of English, Humanities, Art, ICT and Technology collaborated to produce an artefact which was then presented to the Nursing Home as a lasting link between young and old.
5. Unexpected outcomes: over a period of weeks, close relationships were developed between the young and old people.
6. Whole School - 'Time Portal' Project We wanted a project that could involve all the pupils of James Brindley School - all four key stages, across all 13 sectors - some 5000 pupils a year. It needed to be a project that pupils could 'dip' into for one session or be part of for the duration and still feel that they had made a meaningful contribution. Entitled 'The Time Portal', our theme began as 'Birmingham Through Time' - a look at the variations that make Birmingham the great multicultural city that it is. However, like all good projects, we soon deviated and took our pupils on a journey way back in the past and far into the future. Through dance, drama, music, art, poetry, writing and modern technology, our pupils were given the opportunity to create a wealth of resources. The culmination of the Time Portal was an animation project. This process was completed by Year 10 pupils from three of the James Brindley Centres. Scripted by a group from Parkway and Dovedale Centres, the film was then created by Year 10 pupils from Northfield Centre. Working with DinDin TV, this group spent five days learning the techniques and technical skills required. An added bonus - staff also learned these skills, which will enable further pieces of animation to be created. Another bonus - the completed film was used towards coursework in both GCSE Art and Expressive Art.
All of these resources - poetry, artwork, drama, dance, animations, recordings and photographs - were then pulled together into a final exhibition at Birmingham Museums and Art Galleries' Water Hall. The week long exhibition gave all of our pupils a chance to see for themselves the vast range of high quality work that they had produced.
7. Unexpected outcomes: 2 pupils chose to join an out-of-school dance club. One ran a 'class' for others on one of the wards whilst she was an inpatient.
8. Working with an outside artist: several members of staff have used some of the techniques used by the artist when engaging pupils in situations which are outside of their experience - the idea of visualisation, looking at and re-enacting historical events.
9. The Final Exhibition: WOW!!! Everyone who visited the exhibition were overwhelmed by both the quality of the installation and by the high standard of much of the work exhibited. What I particularly liked was that there was something to attract everyone and every kind of learner - visual, kinaesthetic, etc - another benefit of the whole Time Portal Project. Everyone could contribute, whatever their strengths and weaknesses.
10. Students involved with the installation alongside an installation artist learned an enormous amount about visual display and being inventive with whatever you can find!
11. Parkway Centre - Migration Project This project was to celebrate the cultural diversity of Birmingham through music and the spoken word, by exploring the experience of migration from other countries to the UK and the internal migration of people from different regions of this country. Lead by an afro-Caribbean artist and a Kurdish musician and performer, this week long project allowed a group of Year 9 pupils to become confident performers in an area that was outside of their comfort zone. The following are quotations taken directly from the journals kept by pupils and staff, and from evaluations produced at the end of the project.
12.'All in all it was the best week I have had at school in my whole life.' 'Today I have learned to play a drum' 'I was expecting this week to be really good and it was brilliant!' 'I didn't dislike anything. I found it hard singing in front of everyone but I would do it again. I was so surprised when K performed her poem - she doesn't normally speak!' 'We performed the show! I only made one mistake but I don't think anyone noticed. I thought K was really good to get up on stage - she wasn't loud but she tried. I really enjoyed every little bit and I loved performing the dance. I want to do this everyday!' 'I loved being a poet and getting some courage.' (K) 'Today the pupils completely took ownership of their own learning with increased motivation and self-confidence, and also displayed maturity on collaborating together and supporting each other.' 'Child H played the tablah drum in a solo performance - huge leap in confidence.' 'Non-verbal activities allowed Child H to show her independence as her body language and gestures indicated underlying competence and understanding in the tasks.' 'I believe the group gained confidence, skills in various genres of the Arts and Music, peer esteem and group collaboration skills.'
Ardenleigh Forensic Unit - Musical Soundscape Project
See attached evaluation[1]
July 2007 [1] Not printed |