Memorandum submitted by Claire Bell, Early Years teacher and CP Coordinator, Dorchester Primary, Bransholme Estate, Hull

 

I have been involved, as the CP coordinator, at Dorchester Primary School, since it's launch, in 2002. As a school, every child has had an opportunity to be involved in, at least, one of the projects, over the past 5 years.

 

Inviting practising artists into our school environment has had a positive and lasting effect on staff, pupils and parents. Immediate evidence of this was apparent by the enthusiastic engagement of the children, when working with the creative practitioners. The artists consequently responded to this positivity, helping to move the process along, in new and exciting directions. Teachers, working alongside the creative practitioners, have found that the CP experiences have boosted their own confidence and outlook and have, perhaps, learnt to be more creative when planning future projects for their pupils. Sometimes the process was a tough one, and some teachers found it a challenge, working outside their comfort zones.

 

The CP projects have not only improved the children's skills in the creative arts, e.g. painting, sculpture, collage and photography, but also their abilities as communicators, through literacy and digital media.

 

We also believe, through personal testimonies, from pupils and teachers, that these creative projects have helped improve the children's confidence, motivation, self-esteem and their personal belief about their future prospects, as citizens in the community. Different role models have been presented to the pupils; maybe making them shift their own perceptions of their future roles, in society.

 

We, at Dorchester, have sometimes found the CP process a challenging one, but thoroughly worthwhile. As a school, we have always been committed to promoting the creative arts, through our curriculum, but CP has helped us to realize the potential for creativity, in a much wider sense.

 

I hope this brief summary of our experiences of CP goes someway to explain why we, as a school, firmly believe that creativity in the classroom, the staff room and the home all help to educate in a more inventive, imaginative and invigorating way.

 

July 2007