At the beginning of this project we set out with five clear areas for focus. These were context, knowledge, agency, pedagogies and leadership required to foster creativity.
The University of Winchester Academy Trust Creativity Collaborative is formed from a range of primary and junior schools located in and around the Hampshire area. The first cohort of schools involved in our Collaborative included the five UWinAT schools and three additional partner schools. The second year of the project saw the on-boarding of six additional schools from across the Hampshire area. Our collaborative, therefore, encompasses schools from a wide range of contexts, with differences in size, and organisational structures.
The starting point for our collaborative was a desire to enrich children’s life chances through developing them and their teachers into confident and creative problem-solvers. We passionately believe that creativity is a force that enables our learners to develop capabilities that will facilitate them to build successful and rewarding lives, as members of communities in an ever-changing world. We further believe that creativity must not be limited to specific curriculum subjects and that success as a learner is not defined solely by traditional academic outcomes.
Teaching for creativity planning tool
We developed the cycle of creative process stages, explore - ideate - evaluate, which is supported by selective engagement of creative habits (inquisitive, imaginative, collaborative, persistent, disciplined). For instance, collaborative habits might initially support the ‘explore’ creative process stage, by working with others to gather information to better understand a creative task. Then later support the ‘evaluate’ stage through obtaining peer feedback on an idea. The clouds signify general principles for the design of creative learning opportunities.
From Sowden, Seymour, Warren, Spencer, Mansfield and Martin (2023). Winchester and Halterworth Creativity Collaborative First Research Report: Context, Knowledge, Agency, Pedagogies and Leadership for Creativity in Schools.
Get in touch with the The University of Winchester Academy Trust Creativity Collaboratives using the details below.
Email : uwinatcreativitycollaborative