Curious Minds

The science curriculum was identified as a core theme for this year because previous Creative Partnerships projects had supported the development of both numeracy and literacy, and the school was now keen to explore creativity in the science curriculum.

This was reinforced through the school’s recent Creative Partnerships self evaluation process, which highlighted the school’s ambition to develop staff understanding of how creativity could support and enhance the curriculum as a whole. Another key objective detailed in the self evaluation was increasing the involvement of staff and pupils in the planning and development of all creative programmes. By beginning the year with a fresh area of exploration, space was allowed for all involved to offer new ideas and ways of working.

The majority of planning for this project took place between practitioners, the pupil Creative Council (pupils from years 2-6) and teaching staff, who met to discuss needs and provision. It was only at this point that a clear outline for the project was developed. Involving all stakeholders in planning in this way was a key contributor to the success of this project.

The core delivery of the project took place in the Autumn Term with three practitioners working across three classes. Their task was to focus on key areas of the science curriculum which included rocks, soils and forces. The practitioners were selected from a wide range of backgrounds and their skills were able to address a variety of staff training needs such as ICT, visual arts, drama and role play.

Towards the end of the project there was a showcase of the work which was open to parents and families. The work was also shared on the Life Channel.

• Pupils developed their communication skills, both in terms of their ability to convey ideas and in terms of their ability to seek compromise in decision making, in order to succeed in group work.
• The wide range of art forms employed ensured that elements appealed to different types of learners – all pupils were better able to develop their understanding of science topics through a range of different media.
• Pupils were able to report very precisely what they were doing and why, and clearly increased their ability to retain key information more effectively. They were enthused by the creative processes involved. Teachers believe this will lead to an increase in attainment levels in science in the coming year.
• Both staff and practitioners discovered new ways to explore the science topics they deliver and developed new insights into the possibilities of developing a cross curricular approach across a much wider range of subject areas.
• INSET sessions particularly inspired staff. Following the INSET, the animation suite has been booked out most of the time, demonstrating that staff are actively pursuing ways in which they can use the skills introduced to them.
• Practitioners found the experience of meeting pupils during planning really interesting and were keen to consider how this might be developed to ensure pupils are even more integral to planning in this and future projects.

• To develop the skills of the pupil Creativity Council during the planning and evaluation of further projects.
• To consolidate and maintain an approach that ensures learning is easily accessible to a range of different learning styles.
• The learning from this project will be incorporated within the school’s third Creative Partnerships project, To Bodily Go, with a particular emphasis on looking at how to further develop effective planning and co-construction of learning with young people.