In Nottingham, twelve schools within the Nottingham Schools Trust came together as a community of practice to explore this overarching question:
How can we support the way our schools nurture children’s innate creative capacity and sustain their curiosity about the world?
Guided by our focus on teacher learning, complimentary, sustainability and place we sought to explore:
Prioritising teachers’ professional learning about teaching for creativity.
Creating effective communities of practice that include teachers, creative practitioners and cultural education partners.
Building networks of events, support and school governance that sustain teaching for creativity.
Building strong school connections to local cultures and heritage and supporting the development of children’s sense of and connections with Nottingham.
The aim is for our network of schools and partners to work as an action research group, to test a range of innovative practices in teaching for creativity. We worked with a pool of creative practitioners who have experience of working with schools and communities. Their specialities included theatre, dance, visual arts, environmental arts and technology.
In our first year we set up a creative residency in each school, defined and shaped collaboratively by the teachers and creative practitioners. Using reflective practices in school and in our community of practice meetings, we explored these experiences through discussion, shared case studies and work, alongside the University of Nottingham evaluation team. We shared our research with our communities through the LCEP ChalleNGe Nottingham website.
|
School |
Residency idea |
|
Welbeck |
How do we nurture our children’s innate creative capacity and sustain their curiosity about the world? |
|
Carrington |
How can children in our school use our outdoor space creatively? |
|
Southwold |
Artist-led CPD/project, working alongside class teachers and class to enable children to express themselves creatively through a collaborative project eg linked to Relationships and Sex Education: Celebrating differences / Everyone can sparkle. |
|
Southglade |
To create a mixed media installation that uses artefacts / photographs to tell a story. |
|
Milford |
To enhance teaching for creativity at Milford by encouraging innovation in our children. |
|
Greenfields |
How can the arts help to build confident and curious life-long learners? |
|
Old Basford |
How can teaching for creativity through technology improve outcomes for children with recognised Special educational needs and disability? |
|
Crabtree Farm |
To create a piece of graffiti to represent our school and its community. |
|
Rufford |
An opportunity for the children to develop a range of skills and techniques and to use them creatively and start to develop an understanding of the design process. |
|
HHE |
|
|
Rosehill |
How can art support occupational therapy for motor skills at Rosehill? |
|
Cantrell |
Can drama and the performing arts be used as a tool for engaging and motivating, and empowering lower attaining pupils? |