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Memorandum submitted by Creative Partnerships Sheffield (CPS)
Executive summary: This submission describes the value brought to Sheffield schools by the Creative Partnerships Sheffield programme since it started in September 2005. We believe that Creative Partnerships Sheffield is just getting into its stride but already there are positive signs of: ˇ hunger for the work from teachers keen to find greater enjoyment of their jobs ˇ positive impacts on young people's attendance, self-esteem and desire to learn ˇ a growing city-wide network of Lead Professionals committed to creative and critical thinking about education for the 21st Century. However we need longer to disseminate and consolidate clearly-understood practice and to evaluate the qualitative and quantitative impacts.
The memorandum is arranged as follows: ˇ Responses to some of the Select Committee's specific questions ˇ Examples of work and impact in Sheffield, grouped under 6 themes that guide our programme.
Submitters: This submission has been written for Creative Partnerships Sheffield (CPS) by its director, Nick Nuttgens, at the request of the Local Partnership Board. The appendix 'Thoughts on the needs of teenagers' is submitted in a personal capacity.
Nick Nuttgens: Previously Director of Crucible Youth Theatre, Nick has 30 years experience in the arts and education as practitioner, teacher, manager and consultant.
Local Partnership Board: Angela Galvin (Chair): Chief Executive, Sheffield Theatres. Bernard Campbell: Principal Adviser - Development, Learning and Achievement Service. Ann Gosse: Director of Culture, Sheffield City Council Mary Wright: Regional Development Director, Arts Council England, Yorkshire.
Witnesses: We are willing to be called as witnesses if asked.
MEMORANDUM
RESPONSES TO THE SELECT COMMITTEE'S SPECIFIC QUESTIONS
How should we define creativity in the context of education and child care? 1. 'Creativity' is not only about having good ideas. The strength of the Creative Partnerships model lies in the recognition that creativity is a process which, in addition to generating ideas and thinking divergently, includes competences such as problem solving, application and critical evaluation. Moreover, the creative process harnesses the Key Skills and Thinking Skills in the National Curriculum towards valued, purposeful outcomes, making for a qualitative change in the experience of learning.
2. For example, a drama teacher may take her students to see a play by Bertolt Brecht so that they can write about 'Brechtian theatre devices' in their exams; in contrast, the theatre director who comes to work in the school is focused on a real and immediate objective - to stage a production that is relevant and engaging for the audience. Her focus is practical, not historical. When she talks to the pupils she impresses them with her seriousness of intent and they gain a far deeper understanding of what Brecht was trying to do.
What effect have existing creative initiatives had on teachers' skills and ability to work with creative professionals in the classroom? 3. We give examples below of the impact of Creative Partnerships' work in Sheffield so far.
What are the implications of a curriculum shift in favour of creativity for the training of heads, teachers and cultural animators? 4. We have encountered great enthusiasm for creativity amongst many Heads and teachers. One of the main challenges for them is how to manage the kind of relationships and discipline that the work necessitates: we describe the contribution of creative partners in more detail below.
5. Another challenge is to have the courage to think independently. Ironically, the government wants to encourage autonomous learning by young people but some school staff, in our experience, lack assertiveness and are nervous about putting forward their ideas. We believe that numerical targets and fear of punishment inspire few to dynamic action and that inspiration and support are far more effective. By way of comparison, performance management systems generally recognise that it is not only what you achieve, it is how you achieve it that counts - they specify behavioural competences as well as practical objectives. The over-riding behavioural competence of all involved in education should surely be something like: to model, and thus inspire, the desire to learn, each and every day we are alive. This is precisely how artists typically behave. 'Bottle' their passion and put it at the heart of professional development for teachers and then deep change may occur throughout the system.
How might parents and education and care providers be persuaded to encourage creativity in the home? 6. Wybourn Primary School's "Community Café" enticed parents from the surrounding deprived estate into the school to eat healthy food and hear the poems their children had written. Animation projects by C-Media Productions in a number of our schools have led to parents sitting down at computers with their kids, after school, and joining in the fascination, not realising perhaps that they are supporting work in literacy. Once parents are used to coming in to school, they can move on joint projects with their children, as in Birmingham's Inspire programme: http://www.renewal.net/Documents/RNET/Case%20Study/Inspireinvolvingschool.doc
What special contribution do the arts have to make to creative education? 7. Creative Partnerships is not so much an agenda as a method of delivery which supports a rounded education. It draws on the skills and commitment of people who are passionate about education but who, for various reasons, have not chosen to become (or stay) teachers. These people comprise a rich learning resource that is currently under-used, with the loss of valuable perspectives and skills from the education system.
8. Not all of our partners are 'artists' and not all artists are suitable partners for schools. Nonetheless, many artists are a good bet: community-based artists usually root their practice in respectful relationship and shared ownership, so they can engage young people more easily; many artists model and inspire divergent thinking and problem-solving; most artists bring sensory stimulation - heightening curiosity, engagement and memorability.
9. We believe that Creative Partnerships practice complements 'art for its own sake', which is crucial if we are not to have the dreariest of worlds to live in. The relationship between 'arts-in-schools' practice (focused on developing art-form specific skills) and Creative Partnerships practice (focused on creativity across the curriculum and the whole school) needs to be better articulated, as both are of value but they have different aims. A child who shows an exceptional gift for the flute needs access to an excellent teacher and a wind ensemble; children who, more broadly, need to learn to think for themselves, develop a positive and proactive attitude, and apply themselves to a task over time, will benefit from projects that are more process-focused.
10. The arts can also be a key feature of cultural education, which is surely crucial in today's society. 'Creative learning competences' such as divergent thinking and product refinement are potentially universal, but art forms are culturally specific, at least in origin. A model such as the one below can bring together these different aspects of creative and cultural education and inform a school's decisions about what kind of input is needed and at what level of expertise. It is not dissimilar to the model proposed by James Purnell in his recent speech: "World Class from the Grassroots up" but it includes cultural awareness, which is important if we are to be inclusive in our practice and stay ahead artistically.
To what degree should creative education be structured to accommodate the needs of creative industries? 11. The key point here is that those young people with the talent to be good computer games designers, graphic designers or whatever should be given equal access to this career path but they often don't get it because they don't have parents who can subsidise them in the early days of work experience and apprenticeship. Creative Partnerships programmes can provide a grounding and a leg up. We are supporting the pilot of the 14 - 19 Creativity and Media Diploma for the same reason.
What is the impact of a creative curriculum on ˇ pupil confidence, motivation, behavior and team work, and ˇ literacy, numeracy, ICT and communication skills? 12. "Creative Partnerships are playing a crucial role in Sheffield in encouraging schools to adapt the curriculum to better meet the needs of children and young people and so raise standards." Jonathan Crossley-Holland, Executive Director, Children and Young People's Directorate.
13. Most of our partners believe that Creative Partnerships - at its best - is making a difference to both pupils and teachers. Providing the evidence for these impacts is an ongoing challenge. However the idea that a school needs to be an environment that encourages the development of rounded individuals is long established. It may be that not all creative skills directly transfer to other subjects but that the personal attributes developed can assist young people and teachers to better 'model and inspire a love of learning'. The Head Teacher of Tinsley Junior School just emailed us:
14. We had a Creativity Action Research Award last year, and worked with (visual artist) Jayne Cooper with our Y6 classes during the autumn term, linking art, maths, science and literacy. Each class spent at least a day a week, in a sense, 'off curriculum', working on the Fibonnaci flower field project. We did some assessments pre- and post- the work on a selected group of pupils specifically with regard to their speaking and listening skills. We saw significant progress in terms of NC levels.
15. However, the headline news is that we also got amazing SATs results. English up from 71% level 4+ to 93%, Maths up from 52% to 74% level 4+, and Science up from 51% to 93% . Those results compare 2006 with 2007. I am convinced that part of the credit is that we did not cram the kids all year with SATs work, but did lots of hands-on activity and visit based work, some of it seemingly risky, but what an outcome! Jude Grundy
16. Our end-of-year evaluations are not complete at the time of writing but the following comments from those submitted so far indicate perceived impacts on pupil confidence, motivation, behavior and team work, as well as literacy:
17. "Working in this way has allowed the children to question. We have given them time to think and to develop their ideas. Motivation has continued all year. I feel the whole class is more able to be positive and take a few risks. The children have gained skills in designing, writing, communicating their ideas and working together. Many children seem to have gained confidence working this way and this should stay with them in the next stage of their learning." Royd Infant School - Reception
18. "The children have been consistently more motivated and engaged for longer than usual - including SEN pupils. The high quality resources have helped to motivate them to learn new things. They've enjoyed using equipment they haven't used before and are motivated to use their new skills independently. More of them are speaking out and giving ideas and opinions." Pipworth Infant School - Y2
19. "The creative partners provided children with new ways of expressing themselves. The children have been interested in learning new words and are using new language independently when the creative partners have left." Pipworth Infant School - Y2
20. "My class have gained confidence in story writing. They are able to work much more independently with fewer guidelines from me." Totley Primary School - Y4
21. "Writing is a chore for our children. Within the project it's been less of a chore! I've seen progress in their writing levels... Certain elements of the project really motivated them to write and to read aloud. They wanted to perform, they rehearsed and their confidence grew." Wybourn Primary School - Y5
"Through interviewing people from the community they've learned about researching, planning, questioning and then listening. They enjoyed the interviews because all could get involved. They rose to being given responsibility. It gave them a sense of importance and ownership." Wybourn Primary School - Y5
What evidence is there that a creative curriculum assists achievement in other areas? 22. "The children have developed their listening and communications skills through the sharing of their creative work. They've been genuinely interested in what other children have been doing. They've come out of themselves and social interaction has improved." Mossbrook Primary School (Y6 pupils with autistic spectrum disorders).
23. "Their independence has grown and they are more willing to have a go at solving a problem and be persistent." Pipworth Infant School - Y2
24. "The children have benefited from a better classroom environment and from a teacher who is more receptive to their ideas and allows them to experiment and develop their thinking." Royd Infant School - Reception
How can creativity be embedded across the curriculum and within the philosophy of schools? 25. See below for comments about our work on whole-school change in Sheffield. (CPS themes 1 & 6.)
EXAMPLES OF WORK AND IMPACT IN SHEFFIELD 2005 - 2007
Creative Partnerships Sheffield (CPS): context26. Sheffield was chosen as a Creative Partnerships area owing to the high levels of deprivation in parts of the city. Since September 2005, CPS has worked with 15 'Research Schools' comprising: 1 Children's Centre, 2 Nursery/Infant Schools, 4 Junior Schools, 3 Secondary Schools, 3 PRU's and 2 Primary Special Schools. These schools all aspire to creativity forming a central plank in their offer. They are currently approaching the end of their first full year of work and final evaluations will be taking place in late July 2007. Therefore this submission should be read as a report on work in progress.
27. In parallel, CPS commissions Sheffield Arts Education to design, promote and deliver a CPD programme called "Achieving Creative Education", open to all schools in the city. Well over half the city's schools have accessed the programme in the year 2007-08 to date.
28. From September 2007, CPS will work with an additional 24 schools: 11 schools will undertake action research projects linked into the School Improvement Plans; 13 will do smaller staff development projects. All projects involve external creative practitioners - not only artists: we have also brought in psychologists, wildlife experts, a chef, a bookbinder - and Johnny Ball.
Starting points29. CPS started in 2005 by running three consultations with teachers, LEA staff, people from the cultural sector and others who work with young people about their vision for Sheffield schools. There was almost unanimous agreement that people wanted to see changes in schools towards greater flexibility, creativity and inclusion. We summarised the points made as follows, the most popular point being the first:
30. "What is the legacy of CPS that you would like to see left in place by 2010?"
31. Subsequently we agreed with our Local Partnership Board 6 themes of work. They are outlined below with examples of specific projects and their impact.
CPS THEME 1: Controlled Explosions[developing and learning from inspirational whole-school programmes]32. The bulk of our work so far has been in our 15 Research Schools, aiming to provoke 'explosions' of energy and excitement that are, nonetheless, carefully monitored and evaluated, with a view to enabling whole-school transformation.
Thinking systemically 33. All our creative programmes are intended to support whole-school development. Our staring point is self-awareness. We asked our partners to observe, analyse and develop each school's culture, asking questions such as: ˇ What do you observe happening or not happening in the school that arouses your curiosity or concern? ˇ What are the visible symbols of the school's culture? What are the unspoken rules of behaviour and language? ˇ What specific changes would you each like to bring about (young people, school staff, creative partners)? ˇ What do you see as the 'levers' you could use to increase the level of creativity in the school (opportunities, enthusiasms, desires, frustrations...) ˇ What / who / where are the blocks to creativity in the school? How can you get around the blocks to strengthen support for your creative programme across the school? ˇ What links can you build in e.g. involvement of different classes / year groups / departments / schools / ethnicities; sharing of the work with others, observation of the work by others; links with other initiatives in the school?
34. A Head Teacher looks back: "Three years ago the learning in the school was a very passive in nature and our involvement in Creative Partnerships was viewed with some suspicion. This year the large amount of subject areas, teachers and students who have been involved indicates a much more open attitude to active learning and creativity in our school. This widespread involvement, which brings us closer to being a "vibrant community", is what has pleased us the most." Head Teacher, Ecclesfield Secondary School.
35. A school demonstrates a new level of cogency in planning ahead: Abbeydale Grange School "5 x 5" programme Research question: What happens to enjoyment and engagement in learning when students and staff work together to plan and evaluate lessons? Description: We hope to develop a culture where staff and students are both learners. Dead Earnest Theatre will begin the project with a piece of forum theatre for all staff focusing on staff attitudes to adopting more creative ideas in the classroom. 5 staff volunteers will then be offered the chance to improve their practice and have guaranteed planning time to do this. Over two terms, Dead Earnest will spend 2 days a week in school, initially building team spirit, moving on to 1-2-1 planning sessions, mentoring the staff in teaching more enjoyable lessons and evaluating their performance using film. The school's team of young consultants, developed during the 06/07 programme, will be involved throughout, working with the staff and creative partners to help shape future learning as well as sit in on progress and evaluation meetings. Impact on pupil engagement will be monitored by looking at data on effort and attendance. Coupled with this will be a broader conversation with young people and teaching staff about what constitutes 'enjoyment and engagement' leading to more qualitative evaluation.
School governor, Perry Else, from Sheffield Hallam University, will provide advice on pupil and staff engagement . The results from the programme will be presented through a training day by both staff and pupils involved in the project.
What works in practice? 36. We have not yet completed evaluation of a full year's programme. Mid-point evaluations tell us that programmes work best when: ˇ Teachers are closely involved in planning ˇ There is an equal partnership between creative partners and teachers in delivery ˇ The programme is not spread too thinly but is, rather, focused and the learning subsequently disseminated ˇ School Creativity Coordinators are given enough time, are thoroughly committed and are willing to learn skills in project management ˇ Creative partners make themselves accessible to all staff in the school ˇ Roles are clearly agreed by all and communications methods are robust ˇ Creative Agents play an active role in challenging and supporting from an external perspective ˇ Creative partners understand how schools work ˇ There is ongoing reflection and a willingness to abandon initial ideas if they are not working.
The value that creative partners bring 37. Many teachers live inside several boxes - a classroom inside a school inside a locality inside an education system. External partners can bring new energy and a 'real world' perspective:
38. Secondary: "Matt [Butt] is not a teacher, which is a positive thing. He does things differently. He provides a spark and listens to people's ideas - he brings it out of pupils. He listens to the teachers but then he goes off at a tangent. He says things like "Have you thought of asking the pupils?"." Creativity Coordinator, Ecclesfield Secondary School.
39. Primary: "Third Angel bring a partnership. They're part of the staff (even the other people they bring in). They sit in the staff room and chat, offer advice to any staff member. They have a fresh outlook, don't see the educational boundaries we see. Rachael [Walton] is learning about Primary education - both sides are on a learning curve, so it creates real dialogue. Head Teacher, Totley Primary School.
40. Nursery/Infant: Sarah [Palmer] is completely interested, enthusiastic and very good with the children. She talks to everyone, is really approachable, gets involved with staff meetings and draws attention to areas of the school with fresh eyes. She has fresh / creative ideas and is not hung up by wanting to know the answer - teachers are used to having to know where they are going - Sarah throws questions at them and brings a 'let's see what happens' approach. This has taken away some of the teachers' control, in a positive way...She led a staff meeting which had a huge impact. The staff realised the importance of the project and it made them thoroughly involved. Discussions in the staff room now often challenge staff's understanding and show how the school can be and is changing and the impact it has in the classroom." Head Teacher, Royd Nursery/Infant School.
41. Special school: "Fiona [Mannion, puppeteer] is open, full of ideas. She voices her feelings and gives teachers ideas that fit with the children. She starts from what people are able to do..." Head Teacher, Woolley Wood Primary Special School.
42. Pupil Referral Units: Pupil Referral Units pose particular challenges to staff. The right creative partner can help with engaging the pupils and managing their emotions: ˇ "[Artist] Peter Griffiths has had a fantastic outcome with one young man, working on a collage and photography....." ˇ [Performance poet] Rukus is animating the GCSE poetry anthology and giving staff insights [into how to engage the students]. He has 'street cred' and is very engaging." Head Teacher, Spring Lane College KS4 Inclusion support Centre.
43. We heard about an incident with 'Tom', a boy at the Primary Inclusion Unit. Artist Jennifer Booth wanted to give these dislocated children a sense of identify and ownership. She invited Tom to create and decorate a 'memory box' filled with photos and personal things. Some time later, he was involved in a potentially serious incident: "Tom was becoming very uptight about another boy who had been taunting him and in the end Tom couldn't ignore the other boy any longer. To prevent escalation the other boy was removed from the room but Tom still wanted to get at him. Staff tried different approaches with Tom to de-escalate the situation. After about 15 mins or so Tom picked up his box from a display in the room, sat down and started to go through the items in it. A member of staff then started to talk to him about the items and Tom began to calm down. Soon after Tom was able to return to his work and the other boy rejoined the group without further incident." Deputy Head Teacher, Primary Inclusion Unit.
The value of creative documentation 44. Creative documentation is the use of photos, videos, scrap books and observational notes to tell the story of a child or group's learning journey. The practice is core to the Reggio Emilia approach in Early Years and CPS is encouraging schools at all Key Stages to experiment with it.
45. The documentation has two functions: it trains adults to observe children carefully and really pinpoint their learning needs and progress made; and it provides a tool for reflection with pupils, teachers and parents, enabling continuity and personalised development. Evaluating a creative documentation project last year, a teacher at Angram Bank Primary, commented: "Usually I'm just having to manage x's behaviour, in the classroom. I don't get the time to really watch him and think about why he behaves as he does." CPS THEME 2: Listen 2 Us J[encouraging ownership by young people]46. The young people involved in our preliminary consultations in 2005 made heartfelt comments on their schooling. They called for more interesting lessons and asked the adults to do something about peer pressure and bullying - themes that were echoed in the City Council's Audit of Consultation with Children and Young People in 2006.
47. Encouraging ownership by young people and respecting them as decision-makers are aims stated in all of our programmes. Interventions have included: ˇ giving pupils of all ages a voice in identifying and recruiting suitable creative practitioners ˇ establishing creativity councils in schools ˇ developing young consultants to advise teachers on curriculum development.
48. Many young people in Sheffield live, study and socialise within restricted and deprived localities - some rarely venturing even into the city centre. These young people need considerable support to explore what is unknown or very different from their own experience. Oonagh Jaquest, a BBC journalist currently working with 4 secondary schools in deprived areas across the city, reported this month that some students were finding the work challenging - meeting deadlines, doing what they said they would - but "engagement is far better when they are not in their own classroom...." This suggests that the classroom has become an environment entrenched in resistance to learning. Once out on location, however, their behaviour improves hugely and big steps can be taken by those you might least expect: "Just today a very quiet student who doesn't speak much conducted a video interview with an adult and filmed a piece to camera in the role of presenter."
Sample project: Creative Interchange 2007 49. On May 24th 2007 Creative Partnerships Sheffield held a huge networking event in City Hall. 54 creative practitioners set up interactive displays which were visited by staff and pupils from 75 schools to explore the potential for future partnerships. It was, according to one teacher: "A fabulous gathering of talent, enthusiasm and potential for our children!"
50. Seven pupils from Ecclesfield Secondary School worked closely with the event coordinator, Lisa Meaney, to interview and select the artist for animating the event. They then had two weeks work experience with the chosen company, Effervescent Theatre, planning, designing, making and hosting the event. They worked in character, walked on stilts, welcomed guests and gave impromptu dance performances. Matt, Yr 10, said: "I have enjoyed the last two weeks more than a lot of things I have ever done. I have had the chance to learn new things, meet great new people and have lots of fun and to find out what I'm good at and what others see in me."
51. CPS THEME 3: I Make Things Happen[developing creative leadership skills for partners of all ages]52. We promote the idea of 'creative leadership' to all our partners, our definition being: action which nurtures the creativity and leadership of others, carried out in each person's own unique style. It is all about 'being the change you want to bring about'.
53. We believe in the power of modelling - that the greatest impact on young people comes from their being around adults who do what they say, who are skilled, passionate and worthy of emulation. You learn best from somebody who has something to teach!
54. This suggests that a different kind of leadership is called for, and a different kind of relationship with the learner. The simple fact is that many tensions that develop between young people and teachers are to do with adult hypocrisy and/or insensitivity. If there is a crisis of respect, perhaps it is partly because not all adults deserve it: "I have no problem with the kids in my school because I treat them with respect. Treat them with respect and they'll respect you. The trouble is that a good 10% of the teachers in our school don't even like kids!" Secondary Teacher (in confidence) (See also Appendix.)
Creative Partnerships 'Triangle of Success'55. Patrick Humphreys from the London School of Economics has described the "Creative Partnerships Triangle of Success". In this model of education, there are three parties involved who can swap roles at different points in the process and can learn from each other: teacher, pupil, creative practitioner. Focusing all of them is their shared concern with the creative work in the centre of the triangle. Relationships are based on the willingness of everyone concerned to learn new things, to respect each other's skills and to negotiate, rather than assume or dictate. The work may be intensely demanding, but it is also fascinating and, in the end, feels satisfyingly worthwhile - which is how young people should feel about their time at school!
56. "They have worked together to develop the sculpture which is quite an achievement for some of them. They have learnt to be creative within quite narrow parameters. ...They have had to communicate with each other and with me to be able to progress with their ideas." Artist, Key Stage 4 Inclusion Support Unit.
57. "The changes CPS have brought have been quite profound. In some cases there was an inevitable unsettled period, but once people saw the benefits the change was bringing then their reactions changed. The school is now in a position where we have a better understanding of how we want to shape learning and also have the vocabulary to communicate those changes." Creativity Coordinator, Abbeydale Grange Secondary School.
58. "It has been a great learning curve for me." Head Teacher, Royd Nursery/Infant School.
59. In Sheffield we aim to nurture creative leadership skills at all levels of the hierarchy. With Sheffield Arts Education, we organised a leadership development project with trainer, Roy Leighton, and paediatric neurologist, Andrew Curran. In a highly interactive, even confrontational but nonetheless warm, atmosphere, Head Teachers and Deputies were challenged to think about how 'mature' the culture of their school was, to reconsider the implications of children's developmental stages (something that now appears to be missing from Initial Teacher Training) and to set personal goals to actively make a difference. A mere two days was enough to energise the participants hugely: "It was a really thought provoking weekend and I learnt loads which to be honest is unusual! Most stuff is deathly boring. I learnt as much if not more about myself as I did about anything else. We have already looked at transforming our SIP for the rest of this year to take better account of staff's professional development needs and to spend time learning more about learning together. So, yep, it was great. Love makes the brain work!" Primary School Head Teacher.
Sample project: Young Citizens 60. We are working with our schools to encourage leadership by young people too. Pupils at Abbeydale Grange School have been learning skills to help them become informed education consultants. They have worked with staff and artist Sam Wardhan to design and produce a newsletter that will be distributed throughout the school and local community.
61. "It's not like being taught, it's more like we're teaching ourselves. I'm learning new things, like advertising. It feels new and different." Iona, Year 7
62. "It's enjoyable, but challenging too. We get to talk with other pupils and teachers, give our own ideas and show off what we can do. You realise just how much goes into making a newsletter; it's not just about the writing." Shima, Year 9
63. "We get to act like fact-finders, rather than being told the answers. Everyone can talk and express their opinions." Chantelle, Year 7
64. "Creative Partnership lessons are different. We're not just being taught, we get to talk about how to make our school better." Kayne, Year 7
65. Creativity Coordinator, John Swain, comments: "Creative Partnerships' action research philosophy has given us the chance to try new, risky projects that we wouldn't have had the chance to try otherwise. It's amazing to see young people being truly involved in the direction their learning is going." CPS THEME 4: Connecting Creativity[modelling and promoting joined-up professional development] 66. Our CPD programme aims to bring together creative practitioners and teachers to develop their skills in creative teaching and teaching for creativity. We believe that creative and critical thinking are entirely complementary and both can contribute to a rounded education and improved achievement, including academic attainment. Our programme is grounded in the QCA's list of creative competences and we also draw on ideas from Matthew Lipman, founder of Philosophy For Children. Robert Fisher (Thinking In Education 2003) sums up Lipman's educational objectives as:
ˇ Critical dispositions: thinking for oneself, seeking reasons, judging with criteria, questioning & challenging. (What do I think?) ˇ Creative dispositions: valuing the search for new ideas, hypotheses, viewpoints and solutions. (What other ideas are there?) ˇ Co-operative dispositions: learning to cooperate with others in a community of enquiry, building self-esteem, empathy and respect towards others. (What do others think?)
Training through our CPD programme 67. Our CPD programme, "Achieving Creative Education", is delivered by Sheffield Arts Education. It is open to all schools in the city and 135 schools have accessed the programme in the year 2007-08 to date - nearly 2000 teacher-attendances. Most feedback is positive and some is emotional: after one of our courses in Philosophy For Children, one teacher in her late twenties had tears in her eyes: "This is why I came into teaching", she said. Her age may be significant; one challenge for schools is to maintain the energy and enthusiasm of younger staff.
68. The CPD programme provides a range of learning opportunities underpinned by core themes and methods. The emphasis is on creativity across the curriculum, although there are also courses on specific art-form skills. Most of the training is centre-based but INSET is also offered on 4 core themes: ˇ Planning for a creative curriculum ˇ Developing creative thinking ˇ Going beyond schemes of work and promoting risk ˇ Developing a Reggio Emilia approach to learning [especially documentation for learning]
69. In addition, we promote two pedagogical approaches which have proven to be adaptable and to support the dissemination of Key Skills throughout a school: ˇ Philosophy For Children can be seen as an extension of Circle Time which, in an organic and meaningful fashion, enables children to develop their critical and creative thinking skills. It has been widely used as a basis for emotional literacy work by organisations such as Antidote. ˇ De Bono's '6 Thinking Hats' concept is a simple and accessible way to teach and develop different modes of thinking. While creative thinking is just one of those modes, it could be said that the whole model is 'creative' in that it can generate constructive thinking in an engaging way.
70. Recent and upcoming courses include: ˇ Using puppets to promote engagement and talk in science ˇ Developing SEAL through Philosophy For Children ˇ Developing a creative curriculum ˇ Cultural diversity in the classroom ˇ Creative literacy using De Bono ˇ Supporting creativity in the classroom (Teaching Assistants) ˇ Measuring and evaluating creativity
71. Training for creative practitioners has included a thorough induction on school structures, staffing and issues such as safeguarding, as well as an introduction to Action Research. In the coming year, all of our partners, both teachers and creatives, will train together for one day per half term in order that we can model and deepen their understanding of partnership working, explore levers for whole school change and ensure effective evaluation.
Training through creative activity 72. Creative practitioners: Many of our creative partners are highly experienced at working in schools but each project throws up new challenges. An artist working with children with profound and multiple impairments reported: "It was really challenging - whole days of problem-solving! I had to go into a trance like state, tunnel vision, in the last two weeks [to get the show on.] I've learnt about unlearning previous systems of working. I am allowed to make mistakes on this project; usually it's hit-and-run when you work in schools." Fiona Mannion, Woolley Wood Special Primary School.
73. Creative Agents: A core group of 16 cultural practitioners forms the lynch-pin of our programme, liaising between the CPS office and schools, supporting the partnerships and asking challenging questions to ensure that the work is relevant, sustainable and of good quality. In Sheffield we run a monthly team development meeting within which we discuss aims and concepts, swap notes on good practice, plan together and provide professional development for this new breed of consultant/facilitator. For most of these practitioners, the role has been extremely demanding - but also highly rewarding: ˇ "It has built my confidence as a consultant" ˇ "It brings different parts of my life together - practical, creative, coaching, project management... It's intellectually very stimulating and I've become more strategic" ˇ "She has developed from being nice to asking difficult questions" (Observation by a Creativity Coordinator.)
74. Creative Agents are beginning to understand schools in a new way, to notice different things and think more strategically: ˇ "It's all to do with the Heads. I'd now go in [if starting again] and insist on time with SMT" ˇ "The longer you're in a school, the more you see the barriers dissolve."
75. Creativity Coordinators: Creativity Coordinators are the teachers in schools who manage the programme from the school's point of view. The role is a key one in terms of delivering this work long-term. However several of our Coordinators have found it hard to attend the half-termly support meetings we run so have had to learn about project management from doing it. For this reason, we have required their attendance at next year's CPD programme when we will give priority to skilling them up.
76. Apparently small things can be huge challenges: one Creativity Coordinator had never really used email before; another admitted to being terrified of interviewing prospective partners: "I had no idea what kind of questions to ask an artist!" Nonetheless, we have observed a huge growth in confidence and understanding. One Secondary School Creativity Coordinator summarised his learning over the last year:
77. "From scepticism to fully on board, seeing the potential to develop an exciting, creative innovative curriculum with creative partnerships. Seeing students working with non teachers and witnessing the learning process has opened my eyes, from the increase in self esteem to the perseverance and commitment of our young people to make something happen. I have been awakened to the opportunities of not being constrained by content and finding methods of delivery that will engage students. Skills and processes rather than content is the way forward. Allowing time for our young people to explore what is around them and reflect on their own achievements. I have been more than happy to take the grief, exhaustion and ear ache on occasions to make this work at Yewlands!"
CPS THEME 5: City Links[promoting intercultural experiences across the city]
78. Equipping young people to cope with cultural differences is surely an essential duty of our schools today, as the All Our Futures report recognised. Cultural awareness is relevant to creative education because it can help people: ˇ think creatively - challenge categories, assumptions and prejudices ˇ understand their own culture - celebrate it or make changes ˇ encounter other cultures - challenge perceived norms and stimulate new ideas ˇ include a wide range of cultural forms - allow more pupils to identify ˇ research origins of different cultural forms - illuminate our understanding of ourselves, our society and the wider world.
79. However our initial consultations with schools in 2005 revealed that managing cultural differences was highly challenging for many. White teachers and senior managers can feel nervous of doing things 'wrong' - our course "Cultural Diversity in the Classroom", delivered by Primary Colours, came as a huge relief to some participants: "All the activities had so much potential for cross cultural and curriculum working. The presenters' subject knowledge was excellent and was comfortably presented in a non threatening way. Overall there was a good, relaxed atmosphere. A fantastic Inset day, thanks."
80. School leaders know that these issues can be explosive if not handled with solid information, confidence, skill and emotional sensitivity. They need access to tried and tested approaches, they need to understand what prejudice is and how it works, and they need to develop their ability to converse and work with people from different cultural backgrounds, for example going beyond bringing in an African drummer for an Africa Day once a year to engaging in closely collaborative long-term programmes from which mutual learning can occur.
81. "The basic skill for surviving in a multi-cultural world is understanding, first, one's own cultural values (and that is why one needs a cultural identity of one's own) and next, the cultural values of the others with whom one has to cooperate." ("Cultures and Organisations", Geert Hofstede 1994.)
82. For these reasons, and because we believe that creative thinking means challenging all stereotypical thinking, we have called next year's programme "Culture Quake". We commissioned an outreach worker to contact local BME and disabled practitioners and encourage them to apply for work within the programme. As a result 25% of our recommended practitioners now fall into these groups.
Sample project: School swaps 83. By way of developing a cohort of young people who understand our aims and who can articulate their thoughts about creativity in education, we have begun a process of organising 'school swaps' in which young people get to see and compare different approaches in different schools. Dead Earnest Theatre came up with this simple idea, the kind of thing that can really open eyes. The first swap, between a largely white rural school and a largely BME inner-city school, revealed how surprised the young people were to find that not all schools are the same.
Sample project: Steel City Shorts84. CPS is running a programme, "Steel City Shorts", in partnership with BBC Radio Sheffield. Students from four Secondary Schools, Firth Park, Newfield, Myers Grove and Handsworth Grange, have been learning how to do web journalism, writing features on the International Indian Film Awards, local sports heroes and whatever else grabs their attention. Amongst the one-minute videos, "Steel City Stories 1" shows the viewpoint of some young African immigrants in a touching fashion. The work can be found at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/southyorkshire/i_love_sy/schools/
CPS THEME 6: Exit with an Encore[ensuring a legacy in Sheffield] 85. CPS is approaching the legacy issue from a number of angles, including: ˇ Embedding practice in schools ˇ Nurturing a strong creative learning ecology in the city ˇ Working with Sheffield Children and Young People's Directorate to harmonise policy and practice
Embedding practice in schools86. From day one, CPS has sought to describe, develop and embed sustainable practice. While some changes can be fairly rapid (e.g. running INSET on writing lesson plans or writing creativity into the School Improvement Plan), others take time - piloting changes in the timetable and curriculum, working for wider cultural change. When asked how long it took to embed this work in an Infant School he had worked at, Adrian Sinclair (Heads Together Productions) told the CPS Board: "We worked with Wilthorpe Infants School in Barnsley and it took four years for us to be able to leave the school feeling that we had left a real legacy. I think the size of the institution really matters and the process needs to get through all the corners of the school and then the work be taken on, adapted and owned by the teachers, other staff and parents. No mean task!" [See report by Kate Pahl, University of Sheffield, at http://www.creative-partnerships.com/content/researchAndEvaluationProjects/181129/?version=1]
87. He commented that working in a secondary school, the timescale was more like 8 years.
88. Some of the changes need underpinning by funding, especially for supply cover and external partners, but others are to do with developing practice over time. The question is to know where the levers of change are and where funding is essential. Creative Partnerships can help schools to establish creative teaching methods as a norm but the added value brought by external partners will always need financial resourcing.
89. To assist and nudge schools in their steps towards developing the kind of flexible, inclusive, outward-looking schools that our respondents envisioned in 2005, we have taken action on a number of fronts: ˇ Our Creative Agents and partners have been asking questions based on Systems Thinking to stimulate schools to think about how to use their programmes to impact on the whole school. ˇ Through our CPD programme we are promoting pedagogical and supervision methods that can help develop a culture of reflection and self-evaluation, e.g. Philosophy For Children and Action Learning Sets. ˇ We are encouraging Head Teachers to think about how they can make more time for reflection. In the Reggio Emilia pre-schools, all staff (including the cook) meet with their Learning Director for two hours on a Friday afternoon to discuss what they have observed about the children that week, what their budding interests are, and what stimuli might take them forward. Can it be doubted that this kind of focused discussion would lead to educational improvement in our schools, if only we could find time? ˇ We are encouraging schools to think about ways that they can design their time, workforce and budgets to enable enquiry-based learning and partnership projects to run through their curriculum delivery. It is clear that infrastructural change is needed; otherwise this work will continue to be managed by enthusiastic individuals only until they burn out. All three of our PRU's initially gave the Creativity Coordinator role to a Teaching Assistant, because they could not free up more senior staff. All three eventually moved on or resigned, leaving the programmes in crisis. In contrast, schools where the Creativity Coordinator is a Deputy Head or has been given a TLR are able to make significant changes relatively quickly.
Nurturing a strong creative learning ecology90. Between September 2007 and March 2008, Creative Partnerships Sheffield will be running an expanded programme in the city called 'Culture Quake', the principal aim of which is: to have made a significant cultural shift within all participating schools and organisations towards placing creative learning and cultural awareness at the heart of their missions. Additional aims are: ˇ to have widened the range of creative partners CPS works with ˇ to have established sound creative partnership practice in a critical mass of schools - 20% of schools in the city from all key stages.
91. Actions to date include the following: ˇ bringing into the programme two of the largest cultural organisations in the city - Sheffield Theatres and Sheffield Galleries and Museums Trust - who will be working collaboratively with 3 Secondary Schools in deprived areas: Firth Park Community College, Hinde House and City Schools. ˇ contributing to conferences for schools in the Primary Shared Learning Networks. ˇ introducing an option for our Research Schools to access increased funding if they design collaborative programmes with two other schools with whom they have genuine links - e.g. feeder schools, neighbouring schools, similar school, types. ˇ opening our Creative Agents meetings up to our other creative practitioners in order to share theory and practice more widely. ˇ organising a large event each year to bring together practitioners recommended for their good practice in education with schools from across the city. The last event attracted a third of the city's schools. ˇ designing a CPD programme for all our participating schools next year that will bring together SMT, classroom teachers and creative practitioners. ˇ encouraging our schools to share their learning about creative partnerships both internally and externally ˇ part-funding the development of a module in Creativity Through The Arts as part of the Initial Teacher Training course at Sheffield Hallam University, working closely with Limpsfield Primary School which has a long record of outstanding creative practice. ˇ co-funding, with our colleagues in Barnsley, Doncaster and Rotherham, the pilots of the new 14 -19 Creativity and Media Diploma. ˇ Increasing the number of schools we are working with to 44.
Working with Sheffield Children and Young People's Directorate to harmonise policy and practice The former LEA, now CYPD, has played a key role on our Local Partnership Board since we began and is always represented on panels to select schools. In particular we have: ˇ met with Head Teachers Steering Groups and convened a sub-group to advise on the selection of core schools ˇ given presentations to senior managers within the School Effectiveness Service and the Primary advisers ˇ supported the development of a regular forum for Head Teachers to explore approaches to the Creative Curriculum, growing out of Mick Waters' work with the QCA and using, amongst other resources, the Creative School Development Framework devised by CP East Lancashire.
RECOMMENDATIONS 92. Our main recommendation is that government provide the means to maintain our gathering momentum. Plans recently submitted by our partner schools demonstrated a quantum leap in understanding, practicality and commitment. Our creative partners are beginning to take real ownership of the programme now they have had 18 months induction. With continuing support, we believe that much can be achieved over the next few years in Sheffield. The will is there to take an already rich arts culture (as represented by the lively annual Children's' Festival) and deepen its educational role through more meaningful long-term partnerships between appropriately trained creative practitioners and schools ready to take the necessary intellectual leaps and make the necessary structural changes. A rapidly developing coherence in the national vision for Creative Partnerships will help us support schools to build creativity into their long-term plans, tightening the evaluation methods we use and reporting even more effectively on our impacts. We believe we can help schools to deliver the National Curriculum in ways that are meaningful to young people and which excite teachers about their jobs, while also strengthening the local economy of creative practitioners who contribute so much to the cultural life of this country.
July 2007
APPENDIX: THOUGHTS ON THE NEEDS OF TEENAGERS Young people today are moving out into a world of unprecedented opportunities and unprecedented threats - on the one hand, rapid technological change and the exciting possibilities that will create; on the other, clashes of cultures, competition for resources and huge and possibly irreversible threats to the environment.
All Our Futures (2000) made the case for Creative Education and Cultural Education to help young people grapple with these issues, now and in the future. I believe we need to engage closely with young people and those who live and work with them to try to understand better what are their true needs. As a minimum, young people are frequently quoted as saying they want: ˇ to be listened to ˇ to be allowed to be myself (including the culture or street style I hold dear) ˇ not to be bullied ˇ to have something to do
Engaging young people in discussion about what these things mean in practice is crucial. This is why I have been suggesting to schools in Sheffield that they adopt some practice of regular meaningful dialogue as the underpinning of a creative culture. My starting point is to recommend Philosophy for Children as the most flexible, organic and meaningful method I have yet come across, but there may well be others equally valid.
It is important that teachers and other adults commit to the dialogue process too. Firstly, they must provide models. Education does not work if adults are saying to young people (intentionally or not) "Do as I say, not as I do." Secondly, adults have a responsibility to bring their wider experience to bear on analysing young people's needs.
Some excellent provocations for discussion are offered by Nick Pollard in his book "Why Do They Do That? Understanding Teenagers" (1998.) He suggests that 'bad behaviour' by western teenagers has philosophical and cultural underpinnings that many parents do not understand, e.g. ˇ Post-modernism's challenge to Truth has tainted the ideal of critical enquiry in education so that young people are increasingly negative, relativistic and even nihilistic. ˇ Family breakdown and increasing isolation in western society leads young people to seek community and escape through drug-based sub-cultures and early sexual relationships. ˇ Despair, self harm and suicide are symptoms of an 'anaesthetic society' in which young people do not know how to cope with pain. ˇ The secular consumerist society leads young people to value themselves in terms of external appearance rather than internal character. The test is 'How fanciable do I look as I walk into this party right now?' ˇ Self control and responsibility are no longer commonly shared values and many adults do not model them to children and young people. ˇ Young people need wisdom to cope with the new surfeit of knowledge, but the elders they once saw as wise are hopelessly out of touch.
Pollard's propositions are controversial. They are listed here to indicate that deep analysis is needed to understand the complexities of social change in the developed world and the reactions of young people of different cultures and classes - including those who turn to violence of one kind or another. I propose that the arts, practised with cultural awareness and emotional literacy, can play a constructive role in exploring these issues and even modelling ways of living well.
Nick Nuttgens (in a personal capacity) July 2007
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