Curious Minds

Curious Minds joins Liverpool BSF Creativity Networking Group meeting

Curious Minds was invited to join the Liverpool BSF Wave 6 Creativity Networking Group meeting at St John Bosco Arts College on  11 November. Nine of the Wave 6 schools are already involved in our  Creative Partnerships programme  as Change or Enquiry Schools. Although BSF funding nationally has been curtailed, Lead Education Transformation Officer Mick Daley outlined Liverpool's plans to establish new financing packages and procurement methodologies and emphasised the importance of maintaining a focus on transformational learning, as a focal area within the regeneration agenda for the city. Curious Minds are seen as a key partner in achieving this.  Schools who attended the meeting agreed that BSF had provided the impetus for looking at developing a new curriculum supported by  flexible learning spaces and that they had reached a stage where their current buildings were limiting them. 

Rosemary Pritchard - Deputy Head and Head of Arts at St John Bosco Arts College talked about her school's journey towards developing learning communities, working collaboratively in a creative way.  The schools is moving away from subject-based departments, into learning communities.  Through Creative Partnerships, their Enquiry School journey began with the question:  "How can we turn three separate subjects (RE, History and PHSE) into an integrated curriculum in the context of Personal, Learning and Thinking Skills?", focusing on year 7's 'Salesian Community'.

Antony Pickthall from Liverpool Biennial talked to the group about finding new ways of working with schools and the communities around them.  It was agreed that a group of interested schools would explore how they could become more heavily involved in the run-up and staging of the 2012 Biennial.

Chris Finn said that although the Comprehensive Spending Review confirmed that the Creative Partnerships programme will not continue to receive national funding beyond July 2010, Curious Minds as a charity and social enterprise remains dedicated to improving outcomes for children and young people across the North West by increasing opportunities for their active participation in creative and cultural learning. We are currently exploring options to continue Creative Partnerships locally, in collaboration with our passionate partner schools.

Curious Minds will continue to attend the network as a partner in Liverpool's transformational learning agenda.