You’ve read all about the Department of Education’s Summer Schools programme and you’ve applied. However, simply meeting the basic ‘spec’ isn’t enough for you – you’re determined to do something distinctive, adventurous and rich in impact. For example:

• across a fortnight, young people create and perform their own play, capturing the history and daily life of the community around their new school
• young people write their own match commentaries, poems and terrace chants as part of a creative literacy and numeracy project inspired by football
• young people take on the role of investigators, exploring what sort of teachers and pupils inhabit their new school building... before creating art works and installations that will surprise and intrigue the rest of the school community when the new term starts

If this sounds like you and you would value the support of an experienced funded partner working alongside you, Curious Minds is available. Our track record in:

• transition-focused projects
• projects that explore how the learning potential in built and outdoor environments can be realised
• innovative and effective approaches that re-engage young people in their learning, boost attainment and grow capability
• creative documentation and evaluation

...make us a perfect partner.

More about us

Curious Minds is a charity and not-for-profit social enterprise that delivers high quality arts, cultural and creative learning programmes and services to schools and other partners concerned with transformative education, regeneration, community cohesion and the development of children and young people’s social and emotional well-being. We have established a strong reputation for the effective and efficient delivery of our bespoke programmes, placing the specific concerns and needs of children, young people and their school communities at the heart of everything we do. We work widely with others to ensure all children and young people have plentiful opportunities to participate actively in arts, cultural and creative learning experiences that lead to the development of knowledge, skills and attitudes that will enable them to contribute fully to society and lead positive and productive lives.

What value can we add to your Summer School?

Curious Minds offers a specialist service devoted to supporting pupils to make the transition to the next stage of their education with confidence. Our creative projects bring pupils from different backgrounds together to achieve a common goal, helping them deal with change, take ownership of their new environment and establish a shared identity and new friendships with peers. For more, visit: www.curiousminds.org.uk/transition

We have years of experience in designing bespoke creative projects that refresh young people’s enthusiasm for the curriculum and which have been independently proven to boost attainment. These have included projects around literacy, English and Maths. For more, visit: www.curiousminds.org.uk/curriculum-design

We have a significant track record in supporting pupils and schools to maximize the learning potential of school buildings and grounds. Our expertise extends to using dynamic spaces and environments beyond the school as a stimulus for learning - useful if the idea of including trips out into your local community as part of your Summer School inspires you. In Merseyside, we have a longstanding partnership with National Museums Liverpool and can integrate a day visit to one of their outstanding venues. National Museums Liverpool deliver high quality, positive and rewarding museum experiences that encourage young people to gain the knowledge and skills they need to develop their educational attainment, cultural awareness and life chances. Their objects and exhibitions are among the most important and varied in Europe, from Impressionist paintings and rare beetles to items from the Titanic. For more on the adventurous use of learning spaces: www.curiousminds.org.uk/outdoor-learning

As Arts Council England's Bridge Organisation for the North West we offer a range of support to organisations and individuals delivering Arts Award - the acclaimed national qualification that celebrates young people’s enthusiasm and engagement in arts and culture and recognises their research, communication and leadership skills. Arts Award has five levels, four of which (Explore, Bronze, Silver and Gold) are accredited on the Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF). With advance planning, the Bronze award (Level 1 on the QCF) is achievable within a fortnight and for an additional charge we can build this accreditation in. For more information, please see: www.artsaward.org.uk/schools

Our projects are built in response to your specific needs and budget. As an illustration, however, we can design a bespoke Summer School for you; provide two quality assured and CRB-checked arts practitioners to work with up to 30 young people; and structure in Bronze Arts Award for as little as £7,500.

To discuss your ideas and aspirations further, please contact:

Chris Finn, Services for Schools Manager

Curious Minds

Lodge House,

Cow Lane

Burnley, BB11 1NN

T: 07766 801041

E: chris.finn@curiousminds.org.uk

Led by young people from Lancashire, Blackpool, and across the North West, this ambitious and diverse artistic programme includes exciting collaborations with Sound Intervention, Jennifer Stokes, Company Fierce, Zedz, Huckleberry Films, Brian Griffiths, Laurence Payot, Richard Proffitt, Sarah Jane Lockwood and Tom Russotti.

More details will follow soon.  Watch out for:

Boom Bike Big Band – touring ensemble of mobile musicians and performers on bikes

Chase – urban arts performance, music and film involving free runners, skaters, graffiti artists, BMXers, DJ’s and musicians.

Under the Town – Young people’s festival of visual arts, music, fashion and dance in Blackpool.

Street Quest – narrative based street game for Preston inspired by the history of street games.

Blaze Festival – a major new festival for the North West produced and programmed by Blaze young producers, a co-production with Brighter Sound, featuring regional, national and international work and UK Cultural Olympiad project Bandstand Marathon.

The Lancashire programme is created in partnership with Dukes, More Music, Sound Intervention, Blackpool Arts Service, Spearfish, Lancashire Young Peoples Service and Lancashire Cultural Services.

Keep up to date with all the Blaze programmes by visiting the website: http://www.blazeonline.org.uk/

Their Facebook page: www.facebook.com/blazeyoutharts

or/and Twitter: www.twitter.com/Blazearts

Also keep up to date with the fantastic Blaze Bloggers - giving up to date reports on what it is like to be a young person planning and developing one of the UK's best Cultural Olympiad projects: http://www.blazeonline.org.uk/category/blaze-bloggers/

The successful projects include a three year touring programme of the Tate's Artist Rooms, Creative Arts East bringing theatre and spoken word performances to libraries, pubs and halls across Norfolk and Suffolk and a national tour of New York's acclaimed Red Baraat band, produced by Asian Arts Agency.

From the North West Root Music Ltd - Music-Net have been awarded a proposed amount: £299,708

Root Music and Band on the Wall will work in partnership to undertake a three-year programme of national touring that supports the performance of diverse, innovative new work in England. There will be a particular focus on developing partnerships with venues and promoters in areas of low arts engagement in the North of England.

A number of projects also involve touring exciting new work for children and young people, and includeThe Play House, Birmingham, the Everyman Theatre Cheltenham's participatory show 'All Aboard' and Dance East's KINDER Dance project.

View the full list of successful first round applicants.

Alan Davey, Chief Executive, Arts Council England said: ' These projects all represent creative and innovative ways to give audiences across the country access to high quality work, often in unusual venues such as libraries, pubs, schools and outdoor spaces.

'We're really excited about the potential of these projects to get more people involved in the arts and to ensure that wherever they live, they have the chance to experience and be inspired by the arts'.

The strategic touring programme is designed to increase access to the arts, especially in places with low levels of arts engagement and those that that rely on touring for much of their arts provision. Strategic touring complements our other investments in building audiences for the arts such as The Space and the Creative people and places fund.

Arts Council will award a further £12 million over the next five rounds of the strategic touring fund and a total of £45 million of lottery funds will be awarded over the next three years.

The Arts Council’s goal is to ensure that children and young people have the opportunity to experience the richness of the arts, as set out in Achieving great art for everyone, and we look forward to working with music education hubs to enhance and develop music education provision across the country. We believe that from September, when hubs begin to deliver activity, they will become a key part of the cultural education offered to children and young people at a local level, and a part of the wider cultural landscape.

The new music education hubs will see a significant shift in the way music education has been delivered to date, both in and out of school. Organisations, including schools, music services, local authorities, professional music organisations, higher and further education institutions and other Arts Council funded organisations working in a local area will be coming together to create joined up music education provision for children and young people.

Many applicants clearly illustrated how they have realised the vision of the National Plan for Music Education. Their plans include new approaches to partnership working, and innovative thinking about their business models, including plans to work with others to develop, draw together and maximise resources for music education for the benefit of children.  

A notable examples of partnership working in the North West includes:

• The application from nine Great Manchester authorities who have established a formal partnership between themselves that also involves the Halle, BBC Philharmonic, Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester Camerata and Chethams School of Music to build upon a history of collaborative working across Greater Manchester.

Over the next three years  Curious Minds and Arts Council England will continue to work with hubs to make sure the quality of the experience for young people will be high. 

All hubs will continue to evolve and develop, and will be encouraged to become a network, working together to increase the quality of delivery, the ability to respond to local need and to develop an improved use of digital technology to develop content and delivery. They will also be encouraged to be entrepreneurial and innovative in developing their business models to increase the resources available for the direct delivery of high quality music education.

You can download the full list of Music Education Hubs across England here...

Music Education Hubs in the North West will be:

Bolton Music Service

Lancashire Music Service

Blackpool Music Service

Liverpool Music Support Service

Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council

Blackburn with Darwen Music Service

Sandbach School

Warrington Borough Council

Wirral Local Authority

Manchester City Council

Sefton Council

St.Helens Council Music Service

Cumbria Music Service

There are only two rounds a year so get your applications in now.

The Access Fund provides small grants of between £100-£1500 to individuals and groups who need financial help to achieve an Arts Award.

Funding can be used to cover costs of materials, booklets and logs, practitioner fees and workshops, tickets and transport and even moderation fees. For more information see: www.artsaward.org.uk/accessfundinfo

Salary:             £17,161 - £19,126

Contract:         Full time, permanent

Location:         Burnley, Lancashire

Closing date:   10am Monday 14 May 2012

Interview date: Tuesday 22 May 2012

Curious Minds is an exciting charity working to make a difference in children and young people’s lives by improving and increasing their participation in creative and cultural activities. We are seeking an experienced Finance & Resources Assistant to be responsible for day to day duties of finance, HR and office management.

Working within the Finance & Resources department you will deliver a wide range of tasks including; processing all of the financial transactions for the charity and supporting the staff team in managing their budgets; supporting the procurement of goods and services and issuing of contracts and grants, monitoring payments accordingly; and supporting the Director of Finance & Resources in day to day HR, IT and office management activities.

You will have practical knowledge of working within a finance role, experience of using the SAGE 50 Accounts software package and may also have financial qualifications too. Your will be a team player, committed to delivering work of the highest quality and thrive within an administrative role. 

Download the application form and job specification:

Application form

Job Specification

Sharing Practice and Perspectives

WHEN? Friday June 15th 2012

WHERE? University of Chester Riverside Campus

WHO? The day is for teachers of Drama in the North West to come together at a significant time of cultural change and shifting landscapes in the world of education.

WHAT? There will be an opportunity to explore understanding of:

• New approaches and ideas
• Current research and opportunities for further study in the teaching of drama
• The place of drama within cultural and creative learning
• The implications of the new Ofsted framework
• The use of ICT and new media in the teaching of drama and theatre

There will be interactive presentations from speakers including Professor Allan Owens and Robert Meadows. There will also be opportunities to learn more about what a range of cultural organisations can offer teachers of Drama and Drama departments, including the Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse, Royal Exchange Theatre and Curious Minds. There will be workshops presented by drama practitioners from across the North West. Significantly, it will also provide a rare opportunity for meeting with colleagues to share ideas, concerns and contacts.

The day includes refreshments and a symposium resource pack.

Cost: £220.00 (Including VAT)
Bookings: educationinternational@chester.ac.uk
Telephone number: 01244 511712

Booking form

Wednesday 25 April

11.00am – 1.00pm

The Everyman Offices,
Annex, 13 Hope Street,
L1 9BH

This meeting will explore the need and how we go about setting up a support network for Arts Award Advisors operating across Merseyside.

Following on from feedback from Advisors, it has become apparent that we would benefit from meeting up on a regular basis to support each other to achieve the arts award.

• Suggested items that the network could look at include:
• Sharing portfolios and previous experience
• Sharing opportunities: this may include events, ideas, opportunities for young people…
• Planning in shared moderations
• Tackling issues together
• Learning from successful Arts Award centres/delivers
• Exploring potential of young person's network
• Sharing training/skills

Anyone who is either an Arts Award Advisor or supports the delivery of Arts Awards is welcome to attend.

• In this initial meeting we will look at:
• The purpose of the network
• What we would like it to focus on
• How often should we meet
• Who else should we invite
• Look at shared moderations we can plan in now

Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse are looking at developing their Arts Award offer. Supporting an Arts Advisor network is one element of this. Other opportunities that we are exploring include allocating time after performances where we can facilitate discussions that groups can use towards Part B: Being the Audience, offering groups to work with us to achieve the Arts Award in 5 days, discounted tickets to productions and tailoring our participation offer so people can use it to achieve the Arts Award.

If there is any other way that you feel that we could support the Arts Award, then please bring your ideas with you!

Hannah Baldwin from Curious Minds will be joining us to support the initiation of this network.

Please bring with you thoughts about what you would like to get from this opportunity.

Please RSVP Annie MacLean a.maclean@everymanplayhouse.com 0151 706 9109

Michael Eakin, Liverpool Philharmonic’s Chief Executive said: "It’s fantastic recognition of the musical achievements of children taking part in In Harmony Liverpool that they should be invited by the City to contribute to such a momentous and exciting event for Liverpool. Sea Odyssey will be magical and for the In Harmony Liverpool Ensemble to be at the very start of this spectacular journey will be an unforgettable experience for them.”

In Harmony Liverpool’s participation in Sea Odyssey is supported by Curious Minds, Arts Council England’s bridge organisation for the North West which connects children and young people, schools and communities with the arts and culture.

Alice Birdwood, Curious Minds Director said: “We are delighted to be able to support the In Harmony Liverpool Ensemble so they can take part in such an exciting event as Sea Odyssey. This is exactly the kind of initiative we want to support.”

This film captures the start of the Sea Odyssey and gives an insight to what it meant to teachers, parents, artists and most importantly young people to be involved in such a high profile and inspirational arts event. Curious Minds role is to open up and make possible opportunities like this right across the North West and further afield. Championing great arts and culture and connecting children and young people to great arts and culture.

It was an evening of excitement as Curious Minds and staff from creative collective Dorothy prepared an exhibition space containing the stories from the contributors of the Curious Stories book. (The exhibition is open till April 23rd and is well worth a visit).

We were happy to be joined by Jimmy McGovern on the evening, who contributed a fantastic curious story about watching the film High Noon as a child and paying homage to this in one of his episodes of The Street years later. Also present was one of the many fantastic illustrators of Curious Stories Tracy ‘Bird’ Worrall. Both Jimmy and Tracy were impressed at how "fantastic and inspiring" the book and exhibition was. Jimmy and Tracy are but a couple of the illustrious contributors to Curious Stories (from Curious Minds), with Dame Judi Dench, Sir Terence Conran, Carol Ann Duffy, David Shrigley, Heston Blumenthal, Stephen Merchant, Benedict Cumberbatch, Maxine Peake, Frank Cottrell Boyce and Johnny Marr…just a small selection of famous and inspirational people who have contributed stories to the book along with the 15 illustrators including Steven Appleby (Loomus, The Guardian), Oliver Jeffers (Lost and Found), Nick Sharratt (The Story of Tracy Beaker), Al Murphy and Emily Forgot. All the stories and illustrations have made the book a wonderful read and hopefully a treasure and inspiration to all who buy and read the book.

The book has been in production for the previous 18 months and all here at Curious Minds are over the moon to see it finally in print and available to buy.

The book is dedicated to Chris May, Curious Minds Chief Executive,  who sadly passed away in April 2011. He was the guiding light behind Curious Minds, our colleague and our friend. All profits from the sale of the book will go straight back into the Chris May Memorial Fund, a fund set up in Chris' memory for creative projects for young people. Giving young people the chance to tell their own Curious Stories for years to come, something Chris would have loved to have seen happen. 

You can buy the book and contribute to inspiring young people in the North West by visiting: http://www.curiousstories.org.uk/

Curious Minds is one of ten ‘bridge’ organisations across the country, recently appointed by Arts Council England. The charity works in schools and other settings in the North West to make sure all children have access to quality arts and cultural learning activities.

The concept for the book was devised by creative collective Dorothy in 2010 to help the charity raise awareness of the impact nurturing a child's natural creativity and curiosity can have on helping them develop 'life' skills they can later rely on as adults.

Wayne Hemingway is an advocate for the charity and has written the foreword:

‘Not all children are as fortunate as I was when I was growing up. Not all children receive the same creative encouragement or the same creative opportunities that many of us take for granted. Curious Minds works hard to try and address this, to ensure all children get the chance to be creative, have fun and stretch their minds and imaginations, giving children the best start in life.

 Curious Stories from Curious Minds is a chance for us all to share and celebrate the stories of the people, places and things that inspired us as kids.”

46 unique and personal tales have been collected together in the book and brought to life with illustrations and drawings from 15 illustrators including Steven Appleby (Loomus, The Guardian), Oliver Jeffers (Lost and Found), Nick Sharratt (The Story of Tracy Beaker), Al Murphy and Emily Forgot.

The hardback book is available to buy from www.curiousstories.org.uk for £20 plus P&P from the 12^th April.

All proceeds raised from the purchase of this book will go towards the Chris May Memorial Fund set up by Curious Minds in memory of their chief executive, who passed away in 2011, to support creative projects for young people.

As well as our overall funding being reduced the decision was made to have one office that serves the whole of the North West. Our Burnley office is centrally positioned, geographically in the North West and the decision was made to use that base as our future singular home.

Since 2002 Liverpool and Merseyside has been a fantastic home for Creative Partnerships and Curious Minds. With strong relationships built with local authorities, arts and cultural organisations, schools and artists. As we move towards and beyond April 2012 those relationships and partnerships will continue to grow and new relationships and partnerships will develop in the sub-region. 

We would like to thank everyone who has helped to make Curious Minds Liverpool a success, the great work started by those people will help us as we take up our new remit for the North West. Special thanks go out to Linda Meagor, Jane Evans Woodason, Joan Forshaw and Jen Ross. Good luck and best wishes for your future curious adventures.

For all future correspondence please send to:

Curious Minds,

Lodge House,

Cow Lane,

Burnley,

BB11 1NN

Telephone number: 01282 435835 

Sean asked Alice about Curious Minds diversification of income streams as we look to attract additional funding from trusts, foundations, businesses and philanthropists to enable more children and young people to engage in creative learning.

You can listen to the podcast here: https://socialenterprise.guardian.co.uk/en/articles/social-enterprise-network/audio/2012/mar/05/social-enterprise-blog

Alice is interviewed from 15:47 onwards. Those of you also on a similar journey as Curious Minds may find the Guardian Social Enterprise Network a really useful resource to access, with advice from some of the leaders in the field of social enterprise. Join the network through the link above.

This publication was commissioned by Curious Minds to celebrate the range and diversity of Creative Partnerships work that took place in schools with a special educational needs focus. The publication was researched and written by Jude Bird and Sue Caudle who are also developing an SEN network to continue to foster and support creative work and exchange of practice amongst schools. 

The event was held at the Westleigh Conference Centre, Preston where schools from Lancashire, Liverpool, West Cheshire, Manchester and Salford came together to share ideas and practice. Three schools featured in the publication; Hope School in Liverpool and Tor View and Royal Cross in Lancashire gave presentations of their work and talked about the legacy of the Creative Partnerships programme in their schools. 

Lancasterian School in Manchester presented their Arts Award work with DIY Theatre Company and Hannah Baldwin Regional Co-ordinator for Arts Award encouraged schools to work in this way to deliver Arts Award in their settings.

Attendees were asked about how these meetings could support them in their work and what they would like the focus of future meetings to be.

The next two network meetings will focus on progression routes for SEN pupils and research in the field of arts and disability respectively.

You can download the publication below or you can get in touch with us and we can send you a hard copy of the publication. If you would be interested in attending anu of the next meetings please get in touch. Schools can send different staff to each meeting so if someone in your school has an interest in the themes of the next meetings we will be pleased to welcome you this also applies to SENCO’s in mainstream schools. 

For more information and to recieve your copy of the publication please email schools@curiousminds.org.uk or call 01282 435835

Downloard: Different Voices - Celebrating the inspiring and creative range of work that has takenplace in SEN settings with Curious Minds

In February's event, Sue Reddish, Emma Bramley and Paul Main developed a day's training that took learners through a three staged process.

1) Developing a questioning process, drawing on inquiry drama, to emotionally engage and explore a subject.

2)  Enable meaningful independent research, creating frameworks for thinking.

3) Explore creative ways to present learning to peers. Two topics were looked at through this process a Key Stage 3 topic Sophie Scholl and a key stage 2 volcanoes.

 This practical and engaging day was well received by teachers in Merseyside and Lancashire.

"Fantastic workshop, tutors really friendly and highly experienced."

"Powerful way to launch a topic developing speaking and listening skills and sparking the interest."

"Very engaging, practical, fun stimulating ideas."

"Fantastic to see a whole process of enquiry from start to finish, putting the parts together."

"Opportunity to participate and observe and there fore reflect on how it could be adapted to own practice"

If you would like to find out more about Creative Schools: North West or how the Creative Learning team can develop INSET in your school. Contact us on schools@curiousminds.org.uk

Discover: This award is all about taking part in arts activities and experiencing artists and their work. Get ready to discover the arts all around you. It’s all about seeing, trying, doing and enjoying new things. This award provides a great introduction to the arts and to other Arts Award levels.

Anyone aged 7-25 can take part.

Explore: Find out what inspires you, learn about artists and arts organisations and create your own work. If you are ready to explore the arts and develop your creative skills, then this level is for you. This award is accredited as an Entry Level 3 qualification. It is the perfect stepping stone from our introductory award, Arts Award Discover, to the Level 1 qualification, Bronze Arts Award.

Anyone aged 7-25 can take part.

To successfully deliver Discover and Explore, as an Arts Award Adviser, you will have to attend a half days training course.

Advisers are crucial to Arts Award. They need to communicate with children and young people successfully and offer them effective support while they are working towards their Award. The upcoming course in the North West are currently fully booked but please visit the Arts Award courses web page to find out where and when you could attend training: Discover and Explore Training

You can find out more about the other three levels of Arts Award by visiting: Bronze, Silver and Gold

The day featured presentations by experienced Arts Award advisers Kerry Hunt and Claire Platt and fantastic hip hop dance and beat boxing performances by talented young people from Gorse Hill Studios and Peshkar Productions.  

Delegates were offered a range of workshops which encouraged and inspired old and new advisers alike to develop and refine their Arts Award delivery approaches within their settings.  The day was rounded off by a cafe consultancy session where delegates were invited to air their thoughts, concerns and queries, not to mention the valuable opportunity to network and share experiences with one another. 

The oversubscribed event was a great success and will be the first of many such occasions for the North West's ever growing Arts Award community to come together.

To find out more about Arts Award please visit: Arts Award

Not for Profit Business of the Year

Child Action Northwest – Blackburn

Community and Business Partners – Blackburn

Curious Minds – Burnley

n-compass North West – Blackpool

Preston Carers Centre – Preston

The Community Foundation for Lancashire – Leyland

Thomas – Blackburn

Alice Birdwood our Director of Development and Innovation went before the Red Rose panel at the start of February to talk about Curious Minds and how we have changed over the past 12 months and do so much to give opportunities to young people in Lancashire and the North West.

 “It was a little bit like Dragons Den!!!” Alice said afterwards.

But Alice must have impressed the judges because we were nominated along with the above organisations for the awards which take place on Thursday 15 March at a fantastic black tie ceremony and celebratory dinner at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool. Once we have information on who has won we will let you all know. Good luck to the all the other organisations. All in all it is a great way to celebrate the prosperous and creative business community in Lancashire and beyond.

For more information on the Red Rose Awards please visit: http://www.redroseawards.co.uk/Shortlist.htm

This consultation is to help Curious Minds gain a real knowledge and intelligence about what the current landscape for arts and cultural work with children and young people looks like. As well as attempting to build up a confident diagnosis of how that may change over the next 12 months, ensuring the Bridge Organisation programme we deliver for 2012/13 is rooted in stakeholder need and is reflective of the distinctive context and potential of the North West region at this moment in time.

Since January and up till the end of March we will be consulting you in many different ways:

• 1:1 Interviews
• Telephone Interviews
• Surveys
• Focus Groups
• And Seminars

We will be contacting a wide selection of you over the next few weeks to take part in particular types of consultations and everyone is invited to our seminars and official launch in April.

While Curious Minds is the Bridge organisation for the whole of the North West  - from Cumbria to Cheshire – we can’t make judgements or decisions on what needs to happen in the region without your input. Nor would we want to. This is your opportunity to get involved and share your views and opinions on the state of the region, what barriers exist preventing great work and art with children and young people happening and what needs to happen to make the North West the leading region for arts and cultural work with children and young people in the United Kingdom, if not the world.

We want people to talk about the North West as the place to be for work with children and young people and to help us make that a reality we need your help and input.

Although seminars and launch are positioned in particular locations in the North West  they will not be thematically about that region.

We will be sending out official invites and more information next week but for now please place the dates in your diaries.

Let’s make 2012 and every year onwards a great year for the North West. Let the conversation and debate begin.

For more information on our consultation please email glen.meskell@curiousminds.org.uk 

Our work from April 2012 will take into account all of the North West so we wanted to capture voices from right across the Region. Therefore we have commissioned a creative facilitator from each of the following sub-regions in the North West:

Cheshire – Paul Hine

Cumbria – Emma Aylett / Creative Futures Cumbria

Greater Manchester – Naomi Whitman

Lancashire – Dr Steph Hawke

Merseyside – Neil Winterburn

Each of the facilitators will be working with two groups of young people, all from varying backgrounds, interests and ages. The consultation is not just simply an exercise to gather data but to collect a broad range of experiences. Resulting in a statement from young people on the benefits of arts and culture for them allowing us as a sector an understanding of how children and young people reflect upon arts and culture.

The end product shall be presented in a film, Curious Minds have commissioned Fully Formed Films, showing children and young people’s curious stories around this subject matter and shall link directly into our Curious Stories publication which will be published in April. Curious Stories is fantastic and exciting book with up to 50 contributions from leaders in the arts, music, design, and TV and film world – including Johnny Marr, Benedict Cumberbatch and Dame Judi Dench. Placed next to each other we should be able to show the Curious Stories and inspirations of those ‘grown-up’ who have become leaders in their fields and the Curious Stories and inspirations of young people as they are just embarking on their creative journeys.

More information on the Curious Stories publication shall be released in the next two months. All profits raised from Curious Stories will go into a fund in memory of Chris May, Curious Minds Chief Executive (2009-11), who passed away in April 2011. Monies from which will be distributed to projects for children and young people.

Curious Minds and All About Audiences, on behalf of Arts Council England, are working together to capture a picture of the external arts provision available to your school, pupils and community, and to identify any gaps in provision.

The survey, linked below, is taking place alongside research with all arts organisations in the North West.

Results from this research will identify the needs of children and young people and schools around arts and culture.  Which will help the arts, culture sectors develop stronger working relationships and offer a richer and more relevant offer to schools and children and young people.

Survey: http://www.allaboutaudiences.com/surveys/2012/01/schools/surveyforschools.htm

To thank you for your time we will enter you into a prize draw to win £100 of Amazon Vouchers for use in your school.

Deadline 7 February 6pm

This research project is funded by Arts Council England North West.

Keynote speakers:

• Derri Burdon - Curious Minds' newly appointed Chief Executive 
• Diana Walton of Arts Award will open the day
• followed by a presentation of Blackpool's recent Arts Award successes
• a hip hop dance piece performed by Gorse Hill Studios' 'The Superkids', who are on their way to the upcoming Hip Hop Dance Championships on 2nd February.

 Delegates will attend workshops on:

• Getting Started
• Social Media and Digital Portfolios
• Creative Documentation
• Bronze in Five Steps
• and Progression to Silver.  

After a lovely lunch and the chance to look around Tate Liverpool's Alice in Wonderland exhibition, Peshkar Productions will treat everyone to a second performance of young talent followed by a cafe consultancy session where delegates will have the chance to discuss concerns, queries and hot topics of their choice.  By the end of the day, Arts Award Advisers will be spilling out of the Tate - inspired and excited to put their freshly revived Arts Award knowledge, skills and creativity into practice.

We are currently preparing students for jobs that don’t exist yet,

using technologies that haven’t been invented yet,

in order to solve problems we don’t even know are problems yet.’

*(Shift Happens, online presentation: Youtube, Karl Fisch 2007)

Makes you think doesn’t it?  Here we are, doing our best to teach pupils everything we know about the world, yet they will be entering a world we have very little knowledge of.  Therefore, surely one of the most important things we can give them isn’t knowledge; it’s the ability to learn.

That ability to independently develop new skills, knowledge and ideas without relying on being taught will be the greatest factor of success in a society which is changing faster than ever before.  OFSTED seem to agree too.  The 2012 framework states clearly that from January 80% of class time should be activity based and a maximum of 20% should be teacher led. 

That’s just one of the reasons we’ve focused our next Creative Schools North West CPD session on Fostering Independent Learning.  We’ve got some really exciting, simple ways of doing exactly that which you can put to immediate use in any area of the curriculum using what you already have in school.

The day will involve

• developing a questioning process  to enable pupils to actively engage with and explore a subject
• enable meaningful independent research - creating frameworks for thinking
• explore creative ways to present learning to peers

It will cost just £75 to attend a single event on either the 1 and 2 February. 

Contact us on schools@curiousminds.org.uk

Annual membership of Creative Schools: North West is £295 

At Curious Minds, we think this is exciting because it means that all young people will be able to continue benefiting from creative teaching and learning long term. 

In this thinkpiece, Robert Meadows sets out why this is the case, exploring the outcome of the pilot inspections and taking at its thesis the massive impact that the Creative Partnerships had on teaching skills and OFSTED’s views on it. 

While Ofsted are making changes to the school inspection system so schools can show a continued progression from ‘satisfactory schools’ to ‘outstanding schools’, we here at Curious Minds believe creative learning within education, at all levels, is one of the most dynamic tools to make this happen.” – Derri Burdon, Chief Executive Curious Minds.

You can download the publication below and we would welcome comment and your views in our comments section below.

If you are interested in talking more about creative learning please contact our Creative Learning team on 01282 435835 / schools@curiousminds.org.uk

Download Creative Learning and the new Ofsted framework

We have reached and imporived the lives of over 53,000 children and young people across the North West. Since 2002 we have worked with over 400 schools, delivering professional development and cultural projects in primary, secondary and SEN educational settings. 

Curious Minds commisioned Fully Formed Films to capture some of the best examples of our work in a series of films. These films bring to life how Curious Minds and our creative partners collaborate with schools and how a similar project could work in your educational setting.

You can view all these films on our special Services for Schools channel: Curious Schools

If you would like to join the schools featured on a similar curious and creative journey please visit: Services for Schools or contact schools@curiousminds.org.uk or call 01282 435835

We would like to thank the following schools for their help in producing these films:

• Haydock Sports College
• St John with Augustine CE Primary School
• Billinge St Aidan's C of E Primary School
• Knowsley Park Centre for Learning
• Huyton Arts and Sports Centre for Learning
• Holly Lodge Girls' College

As well as all the creative practitioners and Creative Advisors who helped in the films production.

Emily Prescott is the new Arts Award adviser for Morecambe Road School, a Day Special School for pupils with a range of special educational needs aged 3 to 16 years:  
 

I’m excited about so many aspects of the Arts Award, such as how tailor made it can be for each individual and how accessible it is for our students. Predominantly I’m excited to see our young people becoming involved in the arts in a much more meaningful and relevant way and getting to watch them see themselves develop as leaders and artists.

Cherry Fold Primary in Burnley has decided to work with the whole of Year 6 on a project with an Olympic theme. Building upon their learning from Creative Partnerships, they will continue to focus on cross curricular approaches to improving literacy and encouraging pupils to see themselves as creative and capable individuals. The project will include a range of access points including an exploration of ancient Greece, the development of artefacts, journals, sculpture, textiles, paintings etc that will culminate in an exhibition early next year.

The other schools taking part in this programme are: Haydock High School, Gateacre School and Childwall Sports College. Find out more about their Arts Award projects in our next e-bulletin.

The Consortium for Participatory Arts Learning (C-PAL) has launched the Core Competency Framework: Excellence in Arts Practice; a set of guidelines that have been designed to give guidance for organisations working with, and developing arts projects aimed at the participatory arts sector.

The consortium, made up of 13 separate arts organisations from across the North West, came together in light of a report from Arts Council England (ACE), which identified the need to set guidelines of best practice for people and organisations working in participatory arts. The recommendation made by ACE was for the guidelines to be developed from the grass roots of the sector and developed by those working in the industry. The culmination of many years hard work is a robust and sustainable framework of how best to plan and execute projects that are aimed at working with members of the public from a wide range of backgrounds; including disability groups, minority ethnic groups, young and older people.

The guidelines allow arts organisations to assess their current levels of practice and competencies and work towards the standards the Core Competency Framework sets out. When put into practice, the framework will allow arts organisations to better demonstrate the quality of work they are already delivering in a tangible way, as well as make adjustments in order to thrive in coming changes to the wider arts and culture industry.

Ben Hunt, Chief Executive of Your Prescap and participant in C-PAL said:

I am delighted to see many years of hard work become a reality. The Core Competencies Framework which has been developed in partnership with C-PAL organisations is groundbreaking within the arts sector. It is our hope the framework is adopted by many more organisations, further increasing the distinctive value arts organisations offer the people they work with as well as their local communities. Never before have so many organisations worked so closely to develop guidelines which set a clear and definitive standard of operation for organisations involved in participatory arts. The framework allows for better planning and execution for projects whether they are internal and involve members of staff, or external projects which engage with the community. Having implemented the framework in our own organisation, we can already see the benefits.”

Simon Ruding, Director of TiPP said:

We felt that the sector desperately needed to have a shared approach and language which we can use to describe our practice.  We believe strongly that we need to professionalise the sector and develop some form of quality assurance approach that was consistent and developed by the sector, for the sector.”

The Core Competencies Framework: Excellence in Arts Practice documentation can be accessed on www.participatoryartslearning.wordpress.com as well as via C-PAL’s website www.cpal.info

A little more about C-PAL...

     C-PAL is a consortium of North West based arts organisations involved in participatory arts.

     Set up in 2005, C-PAL was established in response to Arts Council England, North West research into continued professional development in the participatory arts sector, in which the need for this consortium was identified.

     C-PAL has an ongoing program of opportunities for those working in, or wanting to work in participatory arts to continue their personal development. It provides a network for organisations to communicate, share and shape ideas as well as work on issues that may arise in the sector.

     Ultimately, C-PAL was set up to progress the participatory arts sector in the North West and explore how changes and developments can be made to increase its effectiveness as an engagement tool for disadvantaged and disenfranchised people.

     The member organisations of C-PAL include:

     Your Prescap (Preston)

     Cheshire Dance (Winsford)

     Osun Arts Foundation (Liverpool)

     Lanternhouse (Ulverston)

     Community Arts North West (Manchester)

     LIME (Manchester)

     Ludus Dance (Lancaster)

     Action Factory (Blackburn)

     More Music (Morecambe)

     TIPP (Manchester)

     Mid Pennine Arts (Burnley)

     Collective Encounters (Liverpool)

     Cartwheel Arts (Rochdale)

Whether you are already a trained adviser or just getting started, come along to find out more about:

• how Arts Award is being delivered in a wide range of settings across the North West
• practical advice and resources to support your role as adviser
• what regional arts and cultural organisations can offer to help your young people achieve their Arts Award
• the future role of Curious Minds in supporting Arts Award from 2012 onwards

As a tempting treat all delegates will receive a ticket on the day for the Tate’s fantastic Alice in Wonderland exhibition: www.tate.org.uk/liverpool/exhibitions/aliceinwonderland

Book your ticket before 16 December to receive our early bird offer of £35 (reduced from £50) by clicking here. 

IGNITE – The Alternative Saturday Job, aims to enable a young person aged  16 – 19 yeas to gain valuable paid experience working with in the arts sector tailored to their needs, interests and aspirations. As the title suggested this will be a paid role up to 7 hrs per week at £5 per hour for a 9 month pilot period until Sept 2012. This may be a young person nominated by an existing project or organisation who is ready for a next step in their progression in the creative sector or, it maybe an opportunity for a young person to be hosted by a particpating organisation.

Ignite are looking at 12 opportunities for young people, at least 6 of these will be supporting the BLAZE programme in 2012.

As a young people you will:
1. Take part in a paid tailored programme with in a Lancashire & Blackpool based project, organisation or company
2. Attend a week end training induction with the other selected young people from across Lancashire
3. Attend 4 action learning groups to share progress with each other.
4. Keep a record of their journey through a diary or blog or what ever the YP feels works for them.
5. The opportunity to again an arts award silver/gold if this suitable.
6. Receive signposting advice for opportunities beyond the pilot.

Benefits
Earned income through following your creative passions
Valuable experience and mentoring working more closely with experienced creatives
Training in elements of the creative sector and a great addition to your CV

For more information on the Ignite scheme please visit: IGNITE – The alternative Saturday Job

Derri Burdon is currently Development Manager: Enrichment & Cultural Learning Programmes of The Culture Connection in Bolton. She will take up the post in January 2012, succeeding Chief Executive Chris May, who sadly passed away in April this year and Acting Chief Executive Chris Finn.

Derri brings with her a wealth of experience and professional contacts as well as a reputation for leading the hugely successful Bolton Find Your Talent pathfinder - a government-funded initiative that explored how 5 hours a week of high quality arts and culture could be made available to all children and young people across Bolton.  With over 10 years of experience of working within arts, culture and education, Derri's background will help to ensure that Curious Minds continues to be a strong and confident presence for arts, culture and creativity in the North West, leading the way in strengthening the arts and cultural offer for children and young people and ensuring that schools have every opportunity to embrace arts and creative teaching within their curriculum and school communities.

Derri has a strong track record within educational improvement and is looking forward to working with school leaders. She will lend strength to Curious Minds’ relationship with Arts Council England and the other partnerships which are the bedrock of Curious Minds, encompassing local, national and international partners.

Bob Wand, Chair of Curious Minds said:

We are thrilled that Derri will be joining us at such a crucial time. Bringing arts and culture and young people closer together has never been more important. We look forward to working with her and the rest of the team over the coming years.

Derri Burdon said:

Curious Minds is a dynamic charity built on sound values and a strong mission which I whole heartedly support.  The fact that the work of Curious Minds is so highly regarded, nationally and internationally, is testament to the talented and creative team that I feel extremely privileged to join. I am excited to have the opportunity to lead Curious Minds during this next stage of its development and build on its enormous successes to date.  I look forward to working with the Board and staff to ensure that the future is certainly one full of Curious Minds.”

Derri Burdon will formally take up her post on the 16 January 2012

This course, in partnership with The Merseyside Youth Association and The Waterways Trust & British Waterways, aims to enable practitioners to develop an understanding of how the principles of social pedagogy can inform their work with NEET 16-18 year olds.

At the end of the course you will:

• Have new techniques to combat negative thinking and behavioural cycles.
• Be able to identify the barriers faced by NEET young people and how you can support them in their transition into sustained education, employment and training
• Take away new practical skills and tools to improve the motivation of NEET young people.
• Have learned the importance of designing and implementing flexible provision, and linking with community.

This course takes place at The Waterways Trust and British Waterways, The National Waterways Museum, South Pier Road, Ellesmere Port, 10am - 4pm on the 8th December 2011.

Cost £25.00.

To book your place please visit: http://neettrainingincheshire.eventbrite.co.uk/

For more information on this course please contact Liam on 0161 830 3899 or north-west@musicleader.net

Salary: £34,327 pa pro rata (2 days pw x 36 weeks)

Established through Chicken Shed London’s Shed Link in 2007, Cotton Shed Theatre Company, based in Lancashire, has a reputation for inclusive, innovative work.

They are seeking to appoint a motivated, inspirational and energetic Artistic Director with responsibility for the development, vision and operation of the Theatre Company -  including funding strategy and the management of artistic activities.

Closing date: 12pm Friday 2nd December 2011

Interviews: Friday 9th December 2011

For further information please call 01706 214640, email office@torview.lancs.sch.uk or visit www.cottonshed.co.uk

OFSTED: Still expecting the expected?  - facilitated by Robert Meadows

Sustaining Creativity: Funding for its Future facilitated by Jude Bird

The Place of Creativity in Family Learning: From Primary to Secondary facilitated by Robert Meadows

The Core through Creativity: Approaches to Literary, Numeracy, EBAC and STEM facilitated by Paul Main

Environments for Learning: Engaging Places and Spacesfacilitated Andrew Vaughan

Motivation and Engagement: Interested Learners Listen facilitated by Paul Main

What participants said about the taster events:

'It's good to network and see what other are doing in their schools and keep up to date with other creative schools'

'Relevant, useful and full of practical ideas'

'Great range of workshops and time to speak to others'

'Lots of practical ideas and shared good practice'

The first Creative Schools: North West members' day will take place next week (16/17 November) and will focus on new and digital technologies in the classroom. This will include a brief overview of policies followed by an opportunity to participate in practical workshops with experienced creative practitioners to make podcasts, moving digital images and a sample of wide ranging web-resources, as well as a chance for teachers to share experiences and good practice with other creative teachers and leaders in education. 

Creative Schools: North West is part of Curious Minds Services for Schools, to discuss joining the network please email schools@curiousminds.org.uk  or call 01282 435835 / 0151 708 8009

Image: Paul Box/reportdigital.co.uk

There are currently an estimated 979,000 16-24 year NEETs in England. This represents 16 per cent of this age group. 186,000 of these young people are aged 16-18. Regionally those ‘blackspots’ are as follows:

Warrington and Wigan have 25% young people classed as NEET

Blackpool, Rochdale, Oldham, Wirral and Ellesmere Port have 20% of young people classed as NEET

And Liverpool and Bolton have 18% young people classed as NEET.

The figures are taken from the Work Survey from 2010. Obviously the countries economic situation has become worse since then and these levels will have increased. But the results give an idea an indication of NEET levels in our country at the moment.

The Work Foundation offered its recommendations saying central government needs to take a lead in addressing the NEET problem. Yet many of the solutions will come from a local level. Young people in different parts of the country face distinct challenges.

At a local level:

• Local government needs to take action to ensure better coordination of services. Reducing the number of NEETs in this country requires the coordinated activities of all key stakeholders. They must also financially support those locally embedded organisations (often voluntary sector) that have developed social capital and are best placed to positively engage with young people and the complex (locally sensitive) issues they face.

• Data matters. The national government needs to improve the collection of data on NEETs. Without accurate measurement of the problem it is difficult to identify and evaluate solutions.

• National and local government needs to consider the ten point plan set out in the Private Equity Foundation’s manifesto for action.

The Private Equity Foundation has set out a manifesto for action. They have developed a ten point action plan for improving performance on tackling NEET issues at each level of the system by focussing on prevention and better coordination.

Strategy and direction:

1. Create better coordination: We need to coordinate policy and track progress. For example, a NEET taskforce could coordinate policy, bring together those who care about the issue and track progress.

2. Focus on prevention - targeting the most at risk: We need preventative resources allocated according to the level of NEET risk faced by each young person, as reflected in the recent proposals for the pupil premium.

3. Publish transparent information on performance: We need transparent and objective comparisons of performance that encourage each local authority to drive up performance to the level of the best.

Commissioning and funding:

4. Increase investment on NEET: We need a broader range of funding instruments to help address some of these problems.

5. Reform commissioning: We need improvements in commissioning through:

• Better collaboration between local authorities and service providers

• Greater focus on value by developing commissioning capabilities

• Creating local markets for NEET services

• Adopting standard processes to reduce administration

Delivery of services:

6. Grow the best provision: we need to create more networked commissioning and business support for the best providers.

7. Foster better links into employment: The school curriculum needs to prepare young people for the world of work through better links, high quality work experience and more routes into work e.g. apprenticeships. We need to make it easier for employers to engage with young people, particularly those most at risk of becoming NEET.

8. Support targeted case management for those most at risk: Many children face a challenging pathway through numerous services and interventions. An integrated case management approach is needed to improve coordination.

Enablers:

9. Improve information on local provision: We need to record standardised performance metrics, establish guidelines for setting benchmarks and advocate good practice locally.

10. Increase knowledge of what works: we need to establish an anonymous database of the cost effectiveness of intervention (as maintained by NICE in the healthcare sector) and publish standard guidelines on what data funders should track to encourage the analysis and dissemination of best practice.

You can read the full report below:

Off the Map - PEF Snapshot FINAL

The Cultural Learning Alliance (CLA) has published key findings demonstrating the impact of cultural learning on the lives of children and young people.

Funded by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, the report highlights the following: 

*Learning through arts and culture improves attainment in all subjects

*Participation in structured arts activities increases cognitive abilities

 *Students from low-income families who take part in arts activities at school are three times more likely to get a degree

*The employability of students who study arts subjects is higher and they are more likely to stay in employment

*Students who engage in the arts at school are twice as likely to volunteer and are 20% more likely to vote as young adults

You can read the report below or visit the Cultural Learning Alliance website.

Imagine Nation

Curious Minds commisioned David Smith and Stephanie Hawke of Mid Pennine Arts to conduct a number of interviews with headteachers and Extended Services Coordinators across East Lancashire to gather their views and concerns on the changing landscape of education and to find out the importance of clusters to the continuing success and growth of schools.

* The reports conclusions demonstrated that there are more differences than similarities in the way that schools are working together.

* Extended services initiatives are no longer the key driving force for cluster working in the way that they have been during the last six years.

* All of the interviewees stressed the centrality of funding and of personal relationships in driving schools to work together.

* Clusters are formed around a funding purpose along with individual personalities. If head teachers get along, they will work collaboratively. If they have developed a long and trusting relationship with their extended services coordinator, they will strive to maintain the relationship.

* The interviews suggest there is potential to galvanise schools into cluster working if it is possible to signpost available funding and suggest inspiring projects from which a collaborative approach will benefit.

You can read the report below and comment on its findings at the foot of the page.

Clusters in Pennine Lancashire and Beyond MPA 081111 Web

This emerging bridge role will include:

*Auditing arts and cultural provision in the North West and the level of take-up by children, young people and schools. Analysing where provision is already provided and where it is not present across the region. Gathering this intelligence will enable us to determine what our full programme of activity will contain.

*Through the audit and our relationship networks and consortia, we will respond to areas where there is little arts provision or low take up by developing new programmes in partnership with others.

*Offering a `one stop shop’ information service for schools. We will be ensuring schools can access information that will enable them to provide quality arts and cultural opportunities for their education settings.

*We will bring sectors together to explore common areas of interest and forge new relationships for the benefit of all involved. We will seek out and share best practice with the cultural and education sectors from around the region, the country and the world, helping us and you ensure that the quality of arts and cultural provision for young people is the best it can be.

*We will promote and provide information and support around Artsmark for schools and the Arts Award qualification for young people

*In the lead up to April 2012 we will be holding more debate and sharing seminars, holding individual meetings with National Portfolio Organisations, schools, charities and other organisations and agencies that connect and work with children and young people.

We will be releasing more information at the beginning of 2012 and between now and April we will be asking organisations, young people and leaders in the sector to contribute to blogs on our website. If you would like to contribute a blog please contact glen.meskell@curiousminds.org.uk

Blaze Young Producers and young people from right across Lancashire  were present and were treated to awards, the premiere of the Blaze 2011 film and some lovely food.

The celebration and awards were followed by “Countryboy’s Struggle”, a unique solo show mixing Hip Hop, spoken word and physical theatre, directed by Baba Israel from Contact Theatre in Manchester. 

Curious Minds has been proud to be the host organisaton for two of this years events, Urban Culture Jam and The Big Game, and we are currently working with Paul Hartley and other practitioners and youth services in East Lancashire to come up with something spectacular for 2012. 

A huge well done to all the young people involved in Blaze 2011, the events are particulary special because they are developed and produced by young people themselves and without them Blaze really wouldn't exist.

To find out more about the fantastic work done this year please watch the film below. It really shows in this day and age, where there is a lot of negative media about young people, that the majority of young people can do things positive for their communities, peers and themselves. Everyone in the North West should be proud of Blaze 2011 - all of us here at Curious Minds are.

Eastway Primary School wanted to build their pupils learning power. Building Learning Power (BLP) is a way of teaching and  learning developed by Professor Guy Claxton, founded on the idea that intelligence is not something that is fixed but that it is flexible and adaptable and like a muscle with the right stimulation and exercise can grow strong.  Eastway Primary wanted to be a school where pupils learn the skills needed to build their learning muscles to become powerful independent learners.

Through the Curious Minds' Creative Partnerships Change School programme Eastway Primary School have set off on their journey of discovery of how to build that learning power.

 "Since we've started doing BLP, Miss Temple makes us stretch our learning muscles. She knows it's hard but makes us use our learning muscles more to help ourselves". 
Year 6 pupil

Building Learning Power is not an easy way of teaching and learning there is a comprehensive range of skills that need to be mastered. Over the three years as a Curious Minds Change School the school community have worked hard to understand and communicate the different skills and find ways they can use and practice them everyday in school.

Curious Minds' Creative Agent Tracey Carmen asked pupils to draw a picture or come up with an idea that represented how they feel about their learning since using BLP. 

A year 6 pupil, said "I've drawn a rollercoaster because... say you went to Blackpool and you were going to go on the Pepsi Maxx or something like that, you've got to use your perseverance because, at first you don't want to go on, but then you do and you just know you've got to stick at it and conquer your fears". "At the end you feel dead proud because you've done something you never thought you could before".

Ofsted said in their recent inspection "Senior leaders have ensured good improvement since the last inspection and, partly as a result of a close partnership with an external provider, have greatly enhanced the quality of teaching and learning and of the curriculum. Pupils' attainment has steadily improved and their well-being is paramount." It goes on to say "Pupils' spiritual, social and cultural development is good and they talk very enthusiastically about the way in which staff involve them in their learning and encourage them to participate in self-assessment and peer assessment. They behave well, look out for each other and are very aware of how to keep safe. They are concerned young citizens and have high aspirations for the future.

Eastway Primary have recently achieved a Building Learning Power silver award. The only primary school in the country to achieve such a high level and are going for gold this year.

Creative Agent: Tracey Carmen

Practitioners: TLO, Lucy Holbrook

Written by Linda Meagor

To investigate new ways of teaching and learning students from Kirkby Sports College worked with Curious Minds on a student led media group. Initially this was to participate in the BBC School Report Day but they are now successfully producing weekly written reports on the life of the school.

Students were encouraged to behave as if this was a real life project; to learn through doing and to discover through making mistakes. Working to a live brief and deadline they professionally planned and delivered their BBC School Report day. The media group allowed them to learn on the job  with "real deadlines that made you make decisions and take responsibility for them". Being treated like 'adults' increased their expectations of themselves, their school and their peers.

As well as creating articles and interviews the students examined how this news could be transferred and networked to the classrooms using new technology. The young people found that using the different ICT and media platforms, such as a blog for sharing video, how this would allowe them to use their own media awareness in school and develope this so it could help the independent learning culture in the school.

Pupils commented that the lead practitioner brought a professional approach and insight that made them aspire to work to a professional standard. They felt he connected with them as he was confident with new technology and worked with them to look for new ways to use this technology within their learning.

Teachers commented that the 'physical area outside the art department was turned into a media hub', a ‘buzzing environment where the students positively challenge you, like it’s their own studio'.  Pupils felt that their staff were also ‘taking risks in listening to our ideas – they left it to us. When we first started they were having quite a bit of input but now they leave us alone more'.

You can also follow Kirkby Sport College Wordpress. The media group in the school has recently been discussing the merits of social media and mobile phones and what affect it has on young people, their peers and environment: http://kirkbysportscollege.wordpress.com/

Creative Agent: Sam Jones

Creative Practitioners: John O’Shea and Neil Winterburn

Written by Linda Meagor

Responsible to: Blaze Programme Manager and Director of Brighter Sound

Location: Based in Preston and Manchester with a wider regional remit.

Time-scale: 100 days (approx 2 days a week) between November 2011 and November 2012

Contract – Freelance Fee: £17,500

Deadline for applications -13th October 2011

Interview date- Thursday 20th October 2011

For full job desription and information please contact liam@brightersound.com or call on 0161 830 3899

The event was a showcase of young talent, featuring a main stage line-up of local bands, fashion shows, craft stalls, film installations and a chilled out acoustic room lined with deckchairs and bunting, which added a true festival feel.  Six Gold Arts Award participants undertook the core roles of managing the event which resulted in a highly successful day exhibiting Blackpool’s young talent. 

Arts Award hopes to continue working with BLAZE throughout the year on the various projects that are coming up in the North West in the run up to the Olympics. 

Find out more about Arts Award and the BLAZE Blackpool programme at:

http://www.blazeonline.org.uk/

and
http://www.blackpool.gov.uk/Services/A-F/ArtsDevelopment/ArtsAwardsforYoungPeople.htm

Jen Ross
Curious Minds

Creative Agent Michelle Temperley began by helping them unpick and refine their ideas.  The Headteacher commented ‘If I had gone with what I originally thought, what I was determined we were going to do, we wouldn't have had anywhere near as good a process and product as we actually had.’  With a firm sense of their aims, Michelle enlisted experienced outdoor Creative Practitioner Sean Creagh and the ‘Woodland Maths’ project began.  They started with a day in a forest and with the help of the local ranger, Sean, teachers and pupils spent a day playing, exploring and experimenting with maths ‘without clipboards’ so pupils could begin discovering what they actually did enjoy.

This was followed by a play and consultation day in the school grounds.  The pupils identified the areas of maths they found most difficult and least interesting.  They constructed three different temporary spaces in the school grounds and began inventing games and activities to make them exciting.  One pupil commented ‘It's really fun. There's more freedom to try things. It's so much better than being crammed up in a classroom’.  Observing their games, the head teacher commented "I was worried that it was going to remain low level maths, but actually it didn't."  Over the following sessions they developed their ideas and designed and built permanent outdoor maths learning spaces which were flexible enough to accommodate all activities. 

Teachers were amazed at seeing the pupil’s learning progress from play to structured learning games and noticed their attitudes to learning maths shift from resistance to welcoming it as a challenge. The Headteacher commented " We were playing a game with flags doing co-ordinates and they weren't happy - they wanted to do negative co-ordinates and yet I know this is something they've identified they struggle with before."  Michelle noted ‘The children have developed their maths skills significantly, ranging from improved mental arithmetic to understanding and applying maths concepts.’

To spread the learning across the school, teachers supported the year 5 and 6 pupils to plan and run maths activity lessons for younger pupils.  The pupils were nervous about doing this and even on the delivery day they were adapting and refining the activities and inventing new ones, showing a mature awareness of the need to pitch activities and appreciation of others learning needs.  These were filmed and edited into learning videos which will be used as a classroom resource in the future.

The children were aware of their teacher learning alongside them, saying ‘she didn't know if it was going to work’ but ‘she gets it now.  The head teacher agreed "It's good for them to know that we've been challenged by it, that we don't always find it easy."  Teachers commented on being surprised at just how independently pupils were working by the end of the project.  

The project was a challenge for teachers and children alike, but it seems that everyone’s efforts have had the desired effect.  In the recent PIPS questionnaires (Performance Indicators in Primary Schools) year 5 children all recorded their enjoyment of maths as high – definitely not the result generally expected. The Headteacher said "If I left them in the space for 10 minutes now I would be confident they would be doing maths."

So, ‘Woodland Maths’ has added up to a huge success.  Staff are now working on how they can extend the same approach to other areas of the curriculum, as well as sharing their learning, resources and new space with neighbouring schools.

Kelly Allen
Curious Minds

We have now collated the input gathered at our summer ‘sharing and debate’ events for the arts and cultural sector across the North West. The events gave attendees an opportunity to discuss some of the key areas of focus for arts and cultural work with children and young people today and each event had one of the following themes; engaging the disengaged; partnership and collaboration; and quality and excellence. 

In advance of our forthcoming role as Bridge Organisation for the North West from April 2012 we took the opportunity to invite stakeholders to discuss what value an effective bridge organisation would bring to their work with children and young people.

Children, young people and families

Attendees told us we should be highlighting key educational and cultural agendas, developing a regional strategy and supporting National Portfolio Organisations (NPOs) to develop targeted provision in line with children and young people’s real needs that provides progression routes - we should ensure we connect directly with and listen to children and young people, their families and schools. Stakeholders were also interested in how the sector can work collectively to use arts and culture to strengthen ‘family capital’, raise aspirations and break the cycle of deprivation.

Quality and excellence, CPD and networking

Attendees were unanimous in their desire to see active, value-adding networks established that enable new relationships and partnerships to be forged, practice to be shared and challenged, advice and support to be accessed and learning to be disseminated. It was felt that these networks would drive up quality and excellence and minimise duplication of activity. Relevant training and CPD opportunities were also requested, both for staff within arts and cultural organisations and for freelance practitioners. Alongside this was a desire for a common evaluation methodology and quality assurance system to be developed that would assess the impact and value of arts and cultural programmes for children and young people in a unified manner.

Audit, information, profile raising and advocacy

Stakeholders felt that a successful bridge organisation would provide a strong and unified regional voice, raising the profile of arts and cultural learning in a strategic, co-ordinated and effective manner while also connecting with and engaging the active support of the education sector. Our audit would clearly map the arts, education and voluntary sectors in the region and establish an accessible communication network between a wide range of organisations and individuals. The audit would also identify regional areas of need, helping ensure specific resources are targeted towards these areas.

Connecting sectors and providing coherence

Stakeholders are looking to Curious Minds to facilitate a quality, coherent discourse across the arts and education sectors that will enable all parties to develop a common language, understand each other’s needs and explore solutions. Arts and cultural providers should be offered support to tailor their offer to school priorities. New partnerships will be brokered that inspire, provoke and challenge and which are based on collaboration rather than competition. Delivery will be developed in line with a regional strategy and Curious Minds will ensure a more joined up approach, identifying gaps in delivery and minimising duplication. Organisations will be able to pool and share physical resources and venue spaces and work together to prepare joint funding bids...

Offering a critical eye, inspiring change

Stakeholders felt there was a real opportunity for Curious Minds to provide support to the arts and cultural sector, both in terms of providing a regional overview that supports strategic programming and in terms of providing constructive challenge that drives up standards of quality and excellence. Attendees asked whether this was an opportunity for us to work together to radically redefine the delivery models we traditionally use to work with children and young people. What is the new big idea that will give us different results from before and ensure we are having very different conversations to these ones in five years’ time?

Kate Hobson
Curious Minds

For teachers at primary and secondary schools applying for the new Artsmark scheme.

Whether you

• need help starting the process
• have begun and need clarification
• have many years' experience of Artsmark
• or are new to the scheme
• are at a primary or secondary school
• are confused or concerned
• are enthusiastic and want reassurance
• want to meet other teachers working through the process and swap ideas

These sessions will be delivered by Arts Council England Artsmark trained and endorsed trainer Sally Fort

Taking you through...

• background context of the scheme
• differences between the two levels of Artsmark
• clarification of minimum quantitative requirements
• assistance with qualitative questions and answers
• understanding the language and criteria
• what will happen to your application; timeframes and processes
• some potential benefits of applying or achieving Artsmark
• the place of Artsmark in the changing educational and curriculum landscape

BOOKING
Please book your ticket here:

17 October Merseyside: http://artsmarkmerseysidetraining.eventbrite.com/
01 November Lancashire: http://artsmarkpenninelancstraining.eventbrite.com/

A confirmation email will be sent to you which acts as your ticket and receipt. Please bring this with you on the day.

REQUIREMENTS
Please bring a laptop with access to your online application (wifi connection will be provided, please make sure your laptop is set up to access this; and that you know your Artsmark login details).

ARTSMARK TRAINER
Sally Fort is the trainer for Pennine Lancashire. Sally worked on the national Artsmark project team for 7 years, advising the Arts Council on developments to the scheme including the need for consistent, Artsmark run training for teachers supporting the new scheme. Sally has worked as an Artsmark validator in the NW for 6 years, visiting and talking to schools about their applications, observing the arts provision in schools, and helping teachers understand and navigate the Artsmark process. Before becoming a freelance arts and cultural learning and participation consultant and project manager 6 years ago, Sally was Head of Community & Education at The Lowry in Salford. www.sallyfort.com

If you have any further enquiries you can contact Sally:
sally.fort@yahoo.co.uk / 07855 490643

If emailing / leaving voicemail please include amobile phone number if possible and remember to check your school pigeonhole for messages / emails.

You can also contact the Artsmark help team. They are trained to help with applications. If they can't answer your question specifically,they can pass you or your message along to someone who can.

Tel: 0845300 6200 Fax: 0161 9344426 Textphone:020 7973 6564 Email: enquiries@artscouncil.org.uk

Hope Academy (Formerly St Aelreds Catholic Technology College) wanted to improve pupil uptake to Key Stage 3 Humanities, it was felt the curriculum was uninspiring and uptake of History and particularly Geography at Key Stage 4 was poor. A Learner Focus Group made up of KS3 and KS4 pupils indentified that attitudes towards the subject were generally negative.

Creative practitioner Paul Main, whose previous work within the science department raised the levels of engagement, worked closely with a recently qualified teacher Claire Cooper.

The main aims of the project were:

- To engender more positive attitudes towards the subject area.

- To raise staff skill levels in the areas of digital media and Personal Learning and Thinking Skills.

- To develop the confidence of a recently qualified member of staff.

- To enable staff to develop links with staff at their federated school, Newton High School.

- To utilise online learning tools.

- To create a bank of learning resources that the students create for other students.

The topics covered included The Battle of Hastings and Global Warming.

Examples of activities:

- Making TV adverts for awareness of Global warming.

- Problem solving involving creating inventions to solve global warming

- Surveys into what people are recycling.

- Creating alternative endings to the Battle of Hastings (looking atthings from different perspectives).

- Adverts for recruitment of soldiers (persuasive writing).

- Web quest using - normanconquest.co.uk.

- Tours around school to look for areas where energy is being wasted/compare with new school.

- Posters to help reduce energy wastage in homes.

Paul helped to break tasks down so that pupils' research could become more focused. He had excellent ICT skills and was able to build on to existing schemes of work. He created a relaxed atmosphere, allowing the pupils to be more willing to contribute. He also contributed ideas to extend the pupils' learning by comparing historical events with current affairs (e.g. The Battle of Hastings with the general election).

In interviews pupils stated that enjoyment was high. The class form tutor, noticed that pupils chatted about the project during form time and that they were very responsive to tasks set for homework.

The teacher felt that pupils had a deeper understanding of historic events due to the association with the 2010 election and that they could compare and contrast the two events. Pupils felt that the online thinking tools had helped them to become more independent in their thinking and that they had learnt more.

Pupils particularly enjoyed working with other people and felt that they developed their co-operation skills. The teacher felt that pupils' imaginations were developed through the project and that they were able to see the significance of what they were learning.

In terms of teacher learning, the practitioner brought lots of new ideas and ways of working that are transferable and will be used again. For example, Claire now has a deeper understanding of the Personal Learning and Thinking Skills, evidenced by the fact that she now incorporates them into lesson plans.

In answer to the original question it is clear that during this project the pupils felt that their thinking skills have been improved and also their ability to work independently.
The teacher had noticed that pupils had developed a positive attitude towards the topic and that they showed increased confidence through their willingness to get involved in discussions. She also felt that their listening and teamworking skills improved.

Linda Meagor
Curious Minds

As Curious Minds draws to the end of its Creative Partnerships phase and looks forward to becoming the new 'Bridge Organisation' for the North West, it is interesting to see how wide-ranging our projects have been. The examples below show how creative collaboration can help schools improve academic attainment, increase interest in specific subject areas and develop understanding about diversity and culture.

A love of learning improves standards

At Our Lady of Lourdes Primary School, Sefton, children made at least two sub levels of progress in writing between September 2010 and July 2011. Pupils worked with children's author Hilary Keating, collaborating with their teachers, parents, and the caretaker to design activities such as den making and camp fire building.

This stimulated their ideas for writing and gave staff and Hilary the opportunity to ask children what help they needed with their writing. 'It used to be just basic punctuation' said one Year4 pupil, 'now I use stuff like brackets and punctuation marks. And adverbial and adjectival clauses.' Another reeled off the new approaches to writing Hilary had helped them develop: 'What you can see, what you can smell, what you can hear, what you can taste, what you can feel, wonder whispering, word bank, word dash...'

Children designed colour coding to help with grammar, back packs full of 'wow' words, 'storyhands' to help with structure and blogs to share ideas and feedback. 'It might not look the same in classrooms,' said one Year 6 pupil showing a parent round the school on open day. 'Everyone will be working in pairs or groups solving things and using their own ideas. The teachers don't talk as much anymore.'

A Governor said, 'I'd love to be a child in Our Lady now. It looks so interesting and exciting. You've achieved so much in such a short space of time.'

Creativity builds enthusiasm for language learning

Pupils at St Francis Xavier Collage in Liverpool partnered with FACT (Foundation for Art and Creative Technologies), using new technologies to connect with pupils in Chile. The project, called 'Everyday Lives', developed pupils' intercultural understanding, interest in Spanish and geographical knowledge. School Coordinator Leslie Rippon says 'pupils studying a modern foreign language in KS4 next year have doubled.'

Curiosity about culture develops understanding

Year 7 pupils from Oldershaw Secondary School in The Wirral designed activities with dance and festival practitioners Freddy and Francisco from 'All Things Latin', to help them explore other world cultures. Staff wanted the project to 'develop a "tolerance" for people from other cultures' after they had identified that lots of pupils rarely leave the insularity of their own neighbourhoods.

The impact has superseded expectations, with teachers reporting that the unique perspective of 'All Things Latin' has led to pupils having 'an increased interest in other countries, particularly those in Latin America.' 'I want to visit Peru or Brazil', said one pupil; 'I want to travel and write a journal about all the places I visit.' Activities included cultural identity exploration, the making and sharing of regional food, mask-making, music, dance, carnival and song.

During one dance session, Freddy described how 'some children didn't want to hold each others' hands'. He talked to them about how physical contact between peers is normal in his own country. 'After about ten minutes they started to realise it was ok...to focus and enjoy it.'

Alice Demba
Curious Minds

Six young people from Bolton’s Rock It!!! Music group achieved their Silver Arts Award using as evidence their work in setting up and running a free open air festival in Bolton during the summer.

While over at Bolton’s Lads and Girls Club we had eight young people pass their Bronze Arts Award using as evidence the work they have done during their photography project on the history of Bolton.  This summer we have hundreds of young people across the North West working towards their Bronze, Silver and Gold Arts Awards, proof that young people in the North West are the positive role models for their peers and communities.

We will be bringing you more news on Arts Award success in the region over the next few weeks.

Exploring the park, observing the birds, flowers, trees and farm animals, the students used personal maps, `storysticks’ and papermaking to capture their experiences. They then turned these into a storypoem which reinforced their learning and expressed their experiences as a wonderful piece of collaborative creative writing.

TIGHS at Wycoller Country Park, 14, 15^th June 2011

the story of the eight bridges

The first bridge is in the village, the only one we drive across,

But the post van drives through the river.

Packhorse bridge, our favourite bridge,

With ancient, mossy stones and wobbly lines

Which way to go?

Climb, climb, climbing too many steps,

Up the long hill to the Atom,

The famous Oval Shape?

We take the unknown road, the new path

Up the road, over the fields

A flat stone bridge,

The rain makes puddles on it

Two slabs of stone cross the river

A tall conker tree

Beside Wycoller Hall,

Wycoller ruins,

The fallen house with a giant fireplace for sitting in and

Secret steps to climb

A bridge to walk on, with stone walls

Over clear, clean, bubbling water

In the fields, sheep were talking

And the lambs are running around.

Rabbits scurry away when we walk past.

Horses on the road but no dogs on this hot summers day

Rest by this old tree

Too many flles are buzzing about.

The wind blows the leaves of the tree,

They rustle,

They sound like a monster breathing.

Birds are singing all around

Peaceful

Up the path through the field,

We’ve never been so near to sheep before.

Hoofprints in mud,

Horses, people, sheep, birds.

A squirrel dashes across the field,

Running back  to the trees as fast as wind.

Up the path to the edge of the wood.

Along the path to the ruined houses.

Across the valley,

There is the Oval Shape!

Excitement!

We have been up there

Now we are here

This valley is hidden

(Keep walking, don’t stop)

Squeeze over a thin bridge.

One at a time.

A narrow bridge.

It wobbles.

Cool and shady under the trees

We are back at the river.

A leaning bridge,

One stone leans across the river,

Ready to fall.

But the water is cool,

Smooth and lovely on our hands

Homewards!

Lunch is waiting!

The road runs over a bridge

You don’t even notice

Purple flowers, blue flowers, pink flowers and white,

Clover, forget-me-not, campion, stitchwort.

Giant butterbur grows like rhubarb

For wrapping butter

To keep it cool,

Huge green umbrellas

Ducks make us laugh,

Ducklings come to say “Hallo”

Past the ruins again

Past the Packhorse bridge,

The last hill

Brings us back,

Pepperhill Barn.

We’re not tired,

We’re still talking,

We’re still laughing,

We’re still smiling,

We’re still enjoying Wycoller

And the eighth bridge?

That is a secret.

Written by Rosie Crook

They were well placed to make the most of the opportunity, having been an Enquiry School the previous year and through sharing Executive Headteacher Angela Aspinall-Livesey with Creative Partnerships neighbours St John’s Catholic Primary School.  They certainly hit the ground running with a thorough consultation, asking the entire school what they would like to happen.

As a result of the consultation, they have flooded the school with visual arts, with the intention of learning how to involve teachers, pupils and artists in discovering new ways to enrich their curriculum. 

Every year group chose an area of the curriculum to work with, including Vile Victorians, The Woeful 2nd World War, People and Places, The Terrible Tudors, The Revolting Romans, The Colourful Cavemen, Castes and Knights, Swinging Sixties, Roaring Twenties, Liverpool Landscape and worked with practitioners to approach this in exciting, animated ways.  For example, during their creative project on People and Places, year 3 plotted their bedrooms, classroom and school.  They used maps to create artwork and photographed local people and places.  They also created a ‘drawing booth’ on Skelmersdale Shopping Concourse and over 60 local people stopped to answer a survey and have their portraits draw by the children.  The portraits went into an exhibition in Southport, where one of the children sold her work for £90.  The exhibition and results of the survey are now in the local library.  Other year groups contributed to a ‘Horrible Histories’ trail along the corridors, which has not only enhanced the learning of the children who created it, but made other years excited at the prospect of doing the topics in future.  The trail is simultaneously vibrant and engagingly gruesome, with models of Romans and Tudors beheading people and emptying slop buckets out of windows understandably capturing the interest of the entire school.

The impact on the students has been remarkable.  School Co-ordinator Chris Upton reported that attendance was way above the school targets and that levels of engagement have been outstanding.  One teacher noted "When we went to Manchester Museum on a visit museum staff said they couldn't believe what independent learners the pupils were, they were seeking staff out to ask them questions.  As staff we felt really proud of them and their active learning.”  The project evaluation form stated ‘the children literally skipped into school on project days’.  Chris noted that on a ‘Living History’ visit, pupils were invited to dress up in costumes if they wanted and all the children did, which has never happened before.  Staff have learned lots of new techniques and are feeling confident and positive about working with artists and arts in the future, sincerely recognising the richness this has brought to the children’s experiences.

Next year Hillside fully intends to put what they have learned into action and will continue to work with Creative Practitioners as well as sharing their learning with each other.

Written by Kelly Allen

Deputy Head Gary Begusch has observed that, as a result of working with Curious Minds on the Creative Partnerships programme, “we have massively moved on as a school in transforming the curriculum ... Creative learning has always been an important part of our whole school ethos, but without Creative Partnerships it could not have happened so quickly.”

An example of one project from year 3 of the programme is Team Building through Creative Design.

Working with The Smallpeice Trust, teachers and pupils investigated how the use of creative learning through design technology can support the development of team building.   

Pupils were divided into teams to explore engineering design and collaborate in the creation of a energy generating wind turbine.  The enquiry was designed to explore whether this way of working would develop young people’s skills to improve learning and attainment.  It was also to look at supporting how teachers can include creative team-building into their lesson planning.

Engineer Paul Davies from Smallpeice Trust worked with years 7 and 8 to define concepts and examples of engineering.  He started with an ice-breaker that challenged young people to create a stand-alone structure from paper and introduced the basic concept of engineering, introducing simple 3-D structures as the basis of strong design.  He then went on to explore definitions and examples through questioning, offering examples and inviting responses – with a clear sense of using creativity and ideas generation in the same way as the industry itself.

Once pupils were confident with the concept, Paul went on to explore finite and renewable energy with contributions from teachers and pupils.  He then supplied each team with basic materials and clear step-by-step instructions of how to design a wind turbine.  Each team had a clear remit to work in teams to construct cost-effective wind turbines that could generate energy.  They competed against each other to produce the most cost-effective, aesthetically pleasing energy-producing wind turbine.  And – time permitting – they worked on designing a poster to market their product.

Quotes and commentary:
Young people particularly enjoyed the opportunity of working for a whole day on a specific challenge.  The Y7 group liked the way that the ice-breaker set the tone of the day - and loved the competitive nature. They said that at first the paper structure they built wasn't very tall but they took ideas from looking at other groups and then re-designed their tower - and won!  

Young people understood that the project involved lots of different learning including team-building, listening to each other, design task, engineering concepts, measurement, trial and error, problem-solving, being systematic and costing the materials.  They also understood the importance of separate roles within the team.

The young people liked the fact that their teachers 'got involved in the tasks too.  They could see that they too were enjoying the activities and were possibly learning about engineering and wind turbine design from Paul.

The young people appreciated that Paul enjoyed working with them, listened really well to their ideas, was enthusiastic and encouraged them.  'He didn't tell us what to do but suggested that we think of certain things...like look at the size of the turbine blades...because ours were uneven.'

Young people were interested in finding out the different occupations and areas associated with engineering. One pupil commented:  'Paul knows how to explain things and when to leave you to sort it out for yourself‘. 

The young people said they were surprised at the way the different ideas people had, how well they worked together and that the shape 'triangle' was such a strong structure for building.

Teachers felt the problem-solving nature of activities was a real strength, giving young people real opportunities to work together in small groups. Staff welcomed the chance to step back and observe the young people get to grips with the different aspects of the process, noting that some pupils have really come into their own and others have struggled a bit. The allocation of jobs within the groups has been interesting, to see who takes the lead and how fair and equitable some groups have been. Also engagement and motivation over the full day has been a real positive for the staff, 'Joel has really been interested in anything. But this is right up his street. He's been more fully engaged in this then I've seen him since September!'

The teachers believe that the young people have developed skills in co-operation, team-building, problem-solving, measuring, costing, negotiation, building the structures, communication, addressing a design brief, keeping to deadlines, modifying designs and understanding the links between subjects such as science and maths.

Teachers believe that this way of bringing subjects areas and experts from other specialisms together is an effective and meaningful way of engaging, exciting and sharing learning for staff and pupils. They think that the competitive aspect of the project has really added to the motivation and enthusiasm of some of the young people - because they had a clear goal in mind. Staff have really valued the chance to step back and observe the young people working together and get to know them in different settings and see other qualities in them.

Teachers would now feel confident about organising similar themed events across subjects and/or year groups.

They were impressed by the overall engagement and levels of concentration on a challenging task.
And by the amount of actual learning building a wind turbine has generated. The responses of individual pupils have been a real positive too.

Written by Jane Evans-Woodason

Celebration day 14 July 2011

Y1 and Y3 children planned alongside ICT and environmental artists Gary Cunliffe and Jon Bielstein looking at creatively changing the space directly outside their classrooms.

It's fantastic, they’re all very proud and have now developed a genuine understanding of environmental issues in and out of school. 

Jon's work also involved building and developing raised planting beds from additional funding and a Juice FM project to grow vegetables in schools.

'We made bug hotels and bird feeders out of ‘real wood with nails and hammers’

‘you can weave a fence out of sticks’  'yes a 20m fence! built by 36 children'…..Jon

Combining problem solving skills and an awareness of growth, mini beasts and planting. They recorded their planning stages using podcasts and Comiclife presentations with Audacity, Photostory and Moviemaker. 

Michael explained ‘you can use scissors to edit sounds’ 'and could choose music and features' interviewing each other developed confidence and listening skills. 

September will bring more raised beds for new planting.

Broadgreen Primary http://www.broadgreenprimary.org.uk

Gary Cunliffe gary@theyellowfactory.co.uk  http://www.theyellowfactory.co.uk

Jon Bielstein  JonBiel@hotmail.com

Written by Joan Forshaw

Using film and new technologies, First Take Films worked with staff, children, parents and shopkeepers from the local Spar supermarket to explore how communication - particularly the way adults speak to children - affects learning and social behaviour.  They also explored Articles from the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, concerning children's best interests and their right to have their views taken seriously.

People took on different roles in the production of the film: research, script-writing, camera work, screen testing, editing and post-production. Children negotiated shots and supported each other to contribute ideas, use new language and participate in film screenings.  Through the process of co-writing a script for a film about a little girl called Lucy, who was struggling with family and friends, everyone began to talk about the importance of kind, respectful communication.  A few weeks into the project, the children had become very articulate about feelings, and the relationship between rights and responsibilities. 

One Year 3 child said: 'I think I know what Lucy feels like in the film - she's scared her Mum and Dad will get a divorce.' 

Another said, 'We don't want to behave like this when we grow up.  My next door neighbour says bad things - I don't think she really means it.  The film has helped me notice if one of my friends is upset, so I can help and empathise with her.'

Teacher Katie Houghton said: 'Their technical knowledge has improved.  They've started using varied ICT methods to communicate new ideas and learning.  They will now use a photograph to explain a concept, or a work of art to portray a feeling, and will articulate this verbally as well. The project has helped them to understand words like 'appropriate' and 'inappropriate' and 'simultaneously' - understanding that you can have two emotions together and that life is not all black and white.'

Year 6 children ran workshops for younger pupils and staff noticed that they began to use high level, emotive vocabulary more effectively and in better context. In their story telling they saw greater development of character using vocabulary they had used during responses to the film. They displayed a sophisticated understanding of character motivation, and improved accuracy of grammar, sentence structure and spelling to put this across. Teacher assessments in Year 6 indicate improved levels of writing through use of more ambitious language to describe events and emotions. SATs results matched these assessments.   One Year 6 pupil said, 'In the SATS work we have to step into someone's shoes - to understand what they are thinking and get into their character.  The film has really helped me to think of better words.  Better language.'  Another said: 'When we filmed Lynne was saying again! again! - you felt like you were doing it wrong but it wasn't that - it actually made you more confident.'

Being involved as equal partners, with adults taking their ideas taken seriously, has helped children develop confidence and aptitude.  The staff hope that these changes will help children develop a good quality of life even in an area of ‘significant socio-economic deprivation’.

Written by Alice Demba

'How can a range of creative opportunities explore and expand our understanding of community identity ?'

The schools wanted to build a family between themselves, bound together by a sense of shared identity and community cohesion. They developed this through a creative exploration of the diverse cultural and historical links, and family folklore, within their local area, including the town of Kirkby, the city of Liverpool and nationally.    

" We wanted to look at developing an understanding of being a part of a community in the town of Kirkby, the city of Liverpool and in the country. How much do children feel a part of the Kirkby community? What Kirkby means to us?  How much we feel a part of the Liverpool community? What we understand about the community that lives in Liverpool and on Merseyside."

Cluster Co-ordinator Steve Dixon     

Millbrook Primary School: A sense of place and identity within the wider community

The enquiry began with the Viking settlements in this area – the need to move in order to live. The pupils, with the invaluable help of Chris Ball, the Creative Partner and the staff in school, developed the idea of a Museum called “People on the Move”.

Through class based activities; the use of a wide variety of research methods and critical thinking skills the pupils reflected upon what life might have been like all those years ago. The pupils created artefacts in the style of real Viking finds, poetry, recount, instructions, imaginative sagas, dioramas….

Eastcroft Park Primary School: Our rights, our lives, our Liverpool

Explored the question by looking at children’s rights using a range of creative techniques including drama and poetry. Creative Partners were Akil Morgan and Miriam Mussa.  The children made strong links with Sacred Heart Primary School in Kensington. They visited each other’s schools and worked together on several activities.

Northwood Primary School: Identity Collaboration Project

Music was used to look at cultural diversity and to help build a sense of community.  Working with Multi Vox and All Things Latin.

The children really loved coming together before they started their new school. They made lots of friends in preparation. Staff enjoyed joining in with the activities and the practitioners were fantastic, very highly skilled at what they do.
The children had the chance to really think about who they are and what makes them unique in this world, they looked at other cultures and started to have a little bit more belief and confidence within themselves.

Westvale Primary School: Mapping the world around us

Westvale School worked with ‘as creatives’ looking at Kirkby in three phases of time.

The past  the Viking invasion and the origins of the Kirkby name.

The present day focussing on the children's talents.

The future looking at how they could use their talents to influence the future of their town.

Kirkby CE Primary School: Changing Places. Different Races. Same Faces?

Wanted to see how children from two very different cultural backgrounds related to each other whilst undertaking a shared local environment and art study?  Exchange visits were arranged with Kingsley School in Toxteth.

The children exchanged common viewpoints, identify similarities and differences and celebrated what was special about the places where they lived. During the visits Paul Gent, a multi media artist, helped the children to develop "tourist" posters showing the areas that the children thought best represented both towns.  These images were then used to create a mural that the children from both schools painted.  The finished results are a colourful representation of modern 21st century Kirkby and Liverpool.

Ravenscroft Community Primary School: Kirkby past, present and future

Worked with the children’s author David Webb working on Kirkby's past, present and future. They have produced an amazing amount of work and have thoroughly enjoyed their time with David. We now have several aspiring authors.

To celebrate and share the learning from these diverse explorations the schools held a very enjoyable event at Kirkby Sports College where pupils and staff shared with each other what they had learnt. Helping to build understanding and collaboration between schools. First Take productions made a film about this project called Kirkby Community Cohesion which will be available on Curious Minds website.

"All our schools have demonstrated through their rich and varied projects a celebration of identity and appreciation and understanding of cultures. 

Schools took the chance for children from different schools to work together in Kirkby and with other schools on Merseyside.

Our town of Kirkby does not reflect the rich cultural and ethnic diversity of Merseyside. The project gave children an opportunity to investigate and appreciate the cultural differences.  A chance for children to work with others.  The children  have  developed  a  greater appreciation of the culture of the city of Liverpool, and  a greater acceptance and understanding of different cultures and communities within their school,  town and city, and in a much wider global sense."

Steve Dixon Cluster Coordinator

Written by Linda Meagor

A group of over 300 delegates made up of schools, students, teachers and creative learning practitioners from right across the North West were treated to a very different kind of conference with party games, a traditional ice cream van and actors playing funfair barkers and 'Curious Explorers' guiding them from presentations to fun activities.  The venues were decorated with giant bunches of helium balloons, live Twitter feeds showing peoples 'Curious Stories' and enormous picture boards with quotes from celebrities such as actress Dame Judi Dench and chef Heston Blumenthal, saying what or who inspired them to be creative as a child. (more on Curious Stories here).

Students from four schools across the North West documented the day in tweets, blogs, images, film and online. The complete resource of this will be released in the near future but you can see how the Merseyside event was captured here: http://www.capzles.com/C3DEFD64-DF04-4200-8974-05284B8897AB

A panel of experts from the arts, education and political sectors: children's novelist and screenwriter Frank Cottrell-Boyce, Paul Oginsky, Youth Policy advisor to David Cameron, Angela Aspinwall-Livesey headteacher of both St. Johns Catholic primary school and Hillside Community primary school - Skelmersdale, Phil Duffy- headteacher of Wallasey School, Emma Wee, CEO of arts in education charity The Creative Arts Schools Trust (CAST), educational experts Helen Manchester and Anna Ledgard, Roger Hill -broadcaster and international arts consultant and Curious Minds acting chief executive Chris Finn took part in a 'Question Time' style debate with the delegates on the future of creative teaching in Lancashire schools to conclude the event. The panel was moderated by Robert Meadows - a future David Dimbleby perhaps?

Delegates were invited to attend workshops to have, well to have a bit of fun really. To really get stuck into some wonderful creative activities. Images from these sessions you can find linked below.

For the past eight years across Merseyside, Lancashire and West Cheshire, Curious Minds has worked with over 400 schools within the 'Creative Partnership' programme which was set up by the Labour Government in 2002.  The programme and the main focus of our work are to bring creative freedom and opportunity to children and young people and schools. Bringing education techniques, learning and curriculum to all involved. Over the last eight years we have helped schools to improve Ofsted grading, improved results and attainment in schools right across the North West and have improved life for schools, students, parents and communities providing them with the skills to adapt and change, improve their prospects and generally made education a more exciting and interesting place to be for all involved and affected by it.

While Creative Partnerships’ has come to an end Curious Minds’ acting Chief Executive Chris Finn reminded delegates present that over the past eight years that they: “have been the mavericks, the people and schools brave enough to try new techniques, pushing forward one aim – the improvement of education attainment and the well-being of children and young people. You have been extraordinary”, he said asking all present to, “now please carry on being extraordinary as we all move into the future.” 

Images on this page were taken by Brian Roberts, the rest of the events images can be found here:

Lancashire: http://t.co/PDUWu6A

Merseyside: http://t.co/CI2PAIt

Tristan Brady Jacobs Lancaster workshop can be seen here: http://tinyurl.com/tbjlica

Cath Ford’s Creative Documentation workshop you can find here: http://cathintheattic.posterous.com/participants-at-a-curiouscelebration-celebrat

Thanks

Our Curious Celebrations were brought to you by Gemma and Karen from Little Atom Productions. We would like to give them a huge thank you for making our two celebrations very, very special...and very curious.

But we would also like to give thanks to the following people and organisations:

Dorothy – Ali Johnson (The Creative team behind our Curious Stories book)

All of our Panellists’

All of the practitioners who ran our workshops (Naomi Whitman, Jez Dolan, Kate Gorst, Tristan Brady Jacobs, Emma Wee, Pete Moser and Cath Ford)

The leaders of our youth media hubs: Jez Dolan and Paul Main

All the young people from schools across the North West who captured the day on blogs, in images and film: Accrington Academy, Walton Le Dale Arts College, King David High School and Upton Hall FCJ.

Barefoot Wine

Kate at Sunset Ices

Lancaster University and Hope University

We commisioned clare makes films to capture the essence of what it is like for schools, teachers, students, familes and artists to work with Curious Minds.

Featuring the following schools: Castercliff Community Primary School, Moorfield Primary School, Fairfield Junior School, Childwall High school and Guilden Sutton CE primary school. We thank you all, and the practitioners and Creative Agents, who helped to make this fantastic film.

And of course clare makes films for making the film.

As well as finding out more about the work we do, visiting schools and helping out at the fantastic CP celebration events, Lucy and Connor are well on the way to completing their Bronze Arts Awards. They have both created amazing online portfolios using posterous to capture their reviews, interviews, research and documentation. A selection of their work is featured below.

Connor, a budding guitarist, has written a great piece on his ‘arts hero’ John Lennon as well as two thoughtful reviews of current exhibitions at Tate Liverpool and The Walker Gallery.

Lucy, who is interested in becoming a journalist chose to explore different techniques for interviewing and spent much of her time with us grilling staff members, practitioners and creative agents! Lucy also wrote a review of our Curious Celebration that you can read below as well.

Read Lucy's work experience blog of her week with Curious Minds: Work Blog

Read Connor's review of the Magritte Exhibition at TATE Liverpool: Magritte : The Pleasure Principle

Read Lucy's review of our Curious Celebration: A Curious Celebration

Sample the inspiring and cutting edge content you will find in our Creative Schools membership network by signing up to our taster day.

It’s FREE!

27th September Merseyside / 28th September Lancashire

Led by innovative and dynamic practitioners, sign up to a choice of the following sessions:

– OFSTED: Still expecting the expected? The Place of Creativity in the Process

– Sustaining Creativity: Funding for its Future

– The Place of Creativity in Family Learning:From Primary to Secondary

– The Core through Creativity: Approaches to Literacy, Numeracy, EBAC and STEM

– Environments for Learning: Engaging Places and Spaces

– Motivation and Engagement: Interested Learners Listen

All FREE. Up to two teachers welcome from each school. To book your place contact us:

Email: schools@curiousminds.org.uk

Telephone: Merseyside – 0151 708 8009 / Lancashire – 01282 435835

To find out more about Creative Schools : North West - Curious Minds schools memberships network please download our leaflet here: Creative School : North West

The event forms part of the London 2012 Open Weekend, a series of sporting and cultural events taking place across the UK to celebrate the ‘one year to go’ countdown to the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Loads of teams have entered The Big Game and will compete in new and whacky sports invented by the young people in conjunction with New York artist, Tom Russotti.

The Big Game is part of Blaze, an ambitious youth-led culture and sport participation programme, that is delivered in partnership with Lancashire County Council and Burnley-based Curious Minds, a company dedicated to helping people and organisations realise their creative potential. The event is supported by Friends of Rhyddings Park, the Civic Arts Centre, Oswaldtwistle and Fusion Community Arts.

Sara Domville, Blaze Programme Manager, said: “The Big Game is the first event in the Blaze summer events programme and we’re all very excited to see what weird and wonderful games the young people have come up with.

“We’ve had entries from all walks of life, including local youngsters and business people and it’s wonderful to see members of the local community getting involved in our unique project.”

The Big Game commences at 1pm on Saturday 23^rd July and is due to finish at 4pm. Spectators are welcome.

More than 2.4 million people across the UK have unleashed their creativity across a series of sporting, art and cultural activities by taking part in the London 2012 Open Weekend, which is now in its fourth year.

Further information about Blaze is available on www.blazeonline.org.uk, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Full listings for Open Weekend can be found at www.london2012.com/openweekend.   

On 23^rd July, Friends of Rhyddings Park in association with the Blaze project is hosting THE BIG GAME 2011.

The Big Game is a fun, spoof Olympic style event for teams to compete in weird and wacky games. There will be an Olympic style opening ceremony, daft games and of course a closing ceremony with prizes and awards.

www.blazeonline.org.uk

We’re looking for teams to take part. Teams can be made up of players of any age from 8 to 80+. We’re recommending that each team has between 6 to 10 players. Don’t worry if you’re not ‘sporty’, some of the games will favour the less athletic. Schools, Community Groups and Businesses are all welcome to enter.

The idea behind The Big Game came about last year when Artist, Tom Russoti worked with a group of young people in Nelson. He explains the idea far better than I can, “The Big Game is a sporting event which is a work of art. As participants, you will add to this work; you will play, you will compete, you will express yourselves. You will design games and costumes, maybe even mascots, goal celebrations, and dances. You will take pictures and video yourselves running around in odd positions. You will possibly do things never done before on a sporting ground. And you will collaborate with others, all equally hurtling themselves forward in their own madness, into one gigantic performance, to make the Big Game a most grand spectacle for the senses. And, maybe, just maybe, you might receive a trophy, not for winning of course, but for more important achievements: best fall, best moustache, naughtiest adult. In the end, The Big Game will not go down in sporting history, so you will make sure it is worth your while to play, for the most important reason of all, for the sake of playing itself.”

So, can YOU field a team? If you’re interested, all you have to do is fill in the entry form.  Entry is free.

If you want to know more get in touch – 01254 398319.  Please forward this to anyone who you think might be interested in fielding a team.

The Big Game 2011 is a Blaze project in partnership with Curious Minds, Friends of Rhyddings Park, Civic Arts Centre, Fusion Arts and Lancashire County Council.

• ‘Making connections: engaging the disengaged’ – 10am – 2pm, 26 July – Tate Liverpool 

When it comes to the most disconnected children, young people and families, how do we ‘reach the parts that other arts and cultural offers don’t reach’? How can we overcome barriers around... access... perception... poverty of aspiration? How can we convince gatekeepers to act as our champions? What does ‘demand- led, not supplier-led’ mean in practice? This discussion will centre on one of our sector’s thorniest issues – how do we ensure that all children and young people benefit from our work, not just the most capable, confident and connected?

•  ‘Thriving together: partnership and collaboration’ – 10am-2pm, 2^nd August – Royal Exchange, Manchester

What value can working in partnership add to our offer to children and young people? How can we maximise the benefits to our... learning and development... sustainability... and impact? What are rich and lasting partnerships really built upon? This discussion will seek to explore the ways in which cooperation not competition will help us survive and thrive together in difficult times

• ‘Capturing greatness: quality and excellence’ – 10am-2pm, 3^rd August – The Grand, Clitheroe

What does great art for, with and by children and young people look like? How can we capture and define it and, having done so, always ensure we offer it? Who decides what quality is? What is universal and what is unique to an artform? This discussion will focus on the challenges and opportunities involved in defining, then levering quality within our projects and programmes   

The last hour of each session will be an informal networking lunch. To register for any (or all!) of these events, visit http://www.eventbrite.com/event/1876868765 (Liverpool), http://www.eventbrite.com/event/1881631009 (Manchester), 
http://www.eventbrite.com/event/1880078365 (Clitheroe)

And if you’re in the mood to connect and share, you might like to know that Culture & Achievement North West  meets at Salford Quays between 9.45am and 1pm on 21 July. Culture & Achievement North West is a pan-regional network devoted to improving the quality, innovation, reach and impact of vocational and work-related learning for children and young people in our region who aspire to a career in the arts. To find out more and to book your place, e-mail our Arts Award Regional Development Coordinator, Hannah at hannah.baldwin@curiousminds.org.uk

As the government funded programme comes to an end Curious Minds would like to invite you to a FREE celebration of the programme and share with schools involved in the programme the great benefits Creative Partnerhships has brought to schools right across the North West.

Our two FREE events will include:

- A chance to share schools successes within the programme

- A round-table debate on cultural education with a panel of personalities from the political, creative and educational sectors –including writer Frank Cottrell Boyce, educational research expert Helen Manchester, educationalist and producer Anna Ledgard, Emma Wee, CEO of international creative learning charity CAST to name but a few.

- A whole host of Curious surprises and activities!

- Our promise that you'll leave with a mind full of creative memories!

- and some Ice Cream and Bubbly (Well it is a celebration and a party after all)

There are two events you can attend:

Lancaster Institute for the Contemporary Arts (LICA), The LICA Building, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YW
Tuesday 5th July from 2pm - 6pm.
Book Your Place

or

The Eden Building, Liverpool Hope University, Hope Park, Liverpool L16 9JD
Wednesday 6th July from 2pm - 6pm.
Book Your Place

Or come to both if you want! They are FREE to attend!

Once you have confirmed your attendance you will be contacted with further information about the event, including parking, catering and schedule.

If you have queries please contact glen.meskell@curiousminds.org.uk

We look forward to seeing you at our Curious Celebration!

On Monday, June 27th More Music will go head-to-head with other charities in the north west to win funding for a multi venue festival dubbed  'My Generation: A festival of Art, Music and Culture by and for the Young at Heart.'

More Music and Curious Minds would really appreciate it if you might get behind the campaign to celebrate creativity in older age. 

On June 27th ,the voting phone number will be published in The Daily Mirror, on The People's Millions website http://www.peoplesmillions.org.uk/ and The More Music site www.moremusic.org.uk . More Music have between 9am and 12 midnight to get as many votes as possible! 

More Music will appear on Granada Reports on June 27th with a public appeal for votes and they need as many people as possible to phone in on the day and vote for them!

Calls cost 11p from a BT landline and people can vote 10 times from the same number

My Generation: A festival of Art, Music and Culture by and for the Young at Heart

My Generation celebrates creativity in old age, proving that art, music and culture will always play a valid and important role in your life, no matter how many candles are on your birthday cake.

The two-week, multi venue event will showcase the talents and creativity of both first-time and professional older artists and hope to change perceptions about old age.

Over the course of a year it will be planned and curated by the young at heart, for the young at heart facilitated by acclaimed community arts organisation More Music.

With some of the world's most inspirational artists, such as Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan, Bridget Riley and David Hockney all over 65, My Generation wants to twist and shout about some of the most talented creatives of the last 60 Jubilee years.

My Generation will break down the stereotypes surrounding old age, allowing people over 55 to explore their creative talents and reap the physical and mental health benefits of cultural activity.

This first annual festival will forge the future for an event that will continue for generations, celebrating the arts in older life for years to come.

Using innovative ICT approaches, with Curious Minds creative practitioners - As Creatives, students have surveyed the grounds and devised maths activities for the whole space, ranging from calculating the number of spaces available in the car park, to dynamic exercises round the tennis courts!

The Trail will become a reality before the end of term and is being piloted in partnership with Year 6 pupils. The innovative element is that each group of pupils has an actual budget of £150 to spend on their part of the Trail - involving much poring over online catalogues and drawing up of budgets.

As one teacher commented:

It’s fantastic to hear so much discussion and conversation in a Maths lesson!

Written by Rosie Crook

Whilst this has been going on, the Reception children have been working with Dance artist Kat Irving, using repetition of simple dance movements over a long period of weeks to build up a significant piece of dance, based on observation and simple maths. Teachers have been surprised and pleased with the success of this physical approach to retaining information.

Written by Rosie Crook

Through their Change School Programme students and teachers from both schools have worked collaboratively to prepare for this new building.  Working to capture memories from their present schools to take forward with them into the future. The mix of traditional and contemporary ideas and art forms has become an important and guiding metaphor through this work. They have worked with digital artist Tristan Brady-Jacobs to use 21^st Century technology to capture images of themselves and the building and with sculptor Shane Meadows to use more traditional creative methods to capture important images as banners

It is exciting but both schools have strong histories and they do not want to forget where they have been but at the same time they want to look ahead at where they are going. 

Nick McGee School Coordinator

Pupils said “We were given the chance to really express ourselves." With the photography they loved their images of themselves with their friends as a boy band. They said "We all wear the same uniform but we are all really different". Being taken off timetable and given the chance to express themselves individually gave them a really good opportunity to tell their story and how they felt about the big move into the new school.

Teachers said “Tristan provided lots of light bulb moments!" They loved his delivery style; it gave them lots to think about. They said that giving the pupils more freedom had had a very positive effect. Tristan inspired the students to think about the future something which is very difficult to do with year 7's!

The practitioner said “Wade Deacon is full of individual identities and this was a chance for all the participants to show each other who they were. It was a really good piece of personalisation.”

Tristan Brady-Jacobs will be running a break-out session at both of our Curious Celebrations, Lancaster 5 July / Liverpool 6 July. More information on this here...

Written by Linda Meagor

We were all sad to see the end of what's been a very useful and fun set of meetings.
 

Seven Agents, from both Merseyside and Lancashire met once every 6-8 weeks facilitated by Joan Forshaw and Tina Taylor from Curious Minds.  They brought issues and challenges, both personal and professional, to be worked on.  Through a process of presentation, questioning and action planning, new ways of working were found.  There were eureka moments, moments of acceptance, moments of reflection, but most of all there was lots of laughter and mutual support.

We carried out an evaluation session at the final meeting and it was clear that participants valued the opportunity to develop positive methods of communication, meeting with colleagues to share common concerns and the feeling that they were really being listened to and supported.

Action Learning is being offered as one of Curious Minds services for schools 

Having a safe space I can bring things to is something I consider a gift

Written by Tina Taylor

The Big Game is a fun, spoof Olympic style event for teams to compete in weird and wacky games. There will be an Olympic style opening ceremony, daft games and of course a closing ceremony with prizes and awards.

We’re looking for teams to take part. Teams can be made up of players of any age from 8 to 80+. We’re recommending that each team has between 6 to 10 players. Don’t worry if you’re not ‘sporty’, some of the games will favour the less athletic. Schools, Community Groups and Businesses are all welcome to enter.

The idea behind The Big Game came about last year when Artist, Tom Russoti worked with a group of young people in Nelson. He explains the idea far better than I can, “The Big Game is a sporting event which is a work of art. As participants, you will add to this work; you will play, you will compete, you will express yourselves. You will design games and costumes, maybe even mascots, goal celebrations, and dances. You will take pictures and video yourselves running around in odd positions. You will possibly do things never done before on a sporting ground. And you will collaborate with others, all equally hurtling themselves forward in their own madness, into one gigantic performance, to make the Big Game a most grand spectacle for the senses. And, maybe, just maybe, you might receive a trophy, not for winning of course, but for more important achievements: best fall, best moustache, naughtiest adult. In the end, The Big Game will not go down in sporting history, so you will make sure it is worth your while to play, for the most important reason of all, for the sake of playing itself.”

So, can YOU field a team? If you’re interested, all you have to do is fill in the attached form. Entry is free.

Download Entry Form

If you want to know more get in touch – 01254 398319.  Please forward this to anyone who you think might be interested in fielding a team.

The Big Game 2011 is a Blaze project in partnership with Curious Minds, Friends of Rhyddings Park, Civic Arts Centre, Fusion Arts and Lancashire County Council.

 In fact, it is so big, the children are able to clamber onto the book and pretend to crawl into the stories themselves, becoming fully emersed in the adventurous tale they created about the escape and safe return of some hedgehogs to their home.

Thanks to Curious Minds funding, the children were treated to a weekly visit by a professional artist, to carry out the project’s aim of inspiring the children to write using the outdoor environment.

Oliverson’s Year 1 teacher Nicola Hall explained that one of the first activities was to spend a day outside building dens. The children then pretended to capture some escaped animals to put them into the story they would create.

They decided to do this with the large cloth-collage book, which measures approximately 4ft by 3ft, The tale describes hedgehogs having to escape from a lion and snake along the way.

The book is as big as the children and they can put it on the floor and actively get into the story. They are very proud of it and they have presented it to school and parents, it has been fantastic and very inspiring.

Mrs Hall.

(Taken from Longridge and Ribble Valley News - http://www.longridgenews.co.uk/)

Anyway over to Kelly's curious answers to my curious questions: 

1. What or who inspires you?

Right at the top of the list - nature!  The ultimate manifestation of creativity in my mind.  I'm constantly impressed the more I learn and I try to spend as much time in it as possible (although I would like to do this a lot more).  I feel inspired by people all the time - young people, creative agents, colleagues, teachers, friends  random strangers I find myself in conversations with.  I think it's much easier to have inspirational interactions with people who have a genuine spirit of curiosity and nothing to hide or prove.  That's when I find myself most likely to have a completely original thought, which is always inspiring.

2. What is ‘curious’ about your mind?

Goodness.  Lots of things.  Possibly the way it often surprises me - especially when an idea arrives fully formed and I don't really feel like I've had anything to do with it.  I did an NLP course recently and it's made me a lot more aware of how I actually think, so at the moment the curious thing about my mind is how curious my mind is about my mind....(unpick that if you dare!).

3. Tell us a ‘Curious Story’ about yourself

The first time I ever went in an aeroplane was when I did a parachute jump.  For about a year I was able to claim to have taken off in an aeroplane, but never to have landed in one.  Just before we jumped I remember thinking 'Why on earth did I choose to jump out of a perfectly good plane?'.  It was very exhilarating - everyone should do it at least once!

4. If you could be a famous artist/performer from present, past or future who would you be and why?

Erm......there are lots of people I admire, but I'm not sure I would actually want to be them.   Lots of the more edgey artists I like have had horribly troubled lives - and I'm all for a peaceful, gentle, playful life!  Also, if I was them, I wouldn't be able to appreciate them!  I think I'll stay being me thanks very much.

5. You've lived in Liverpool, Todmodren and now Burnley - one thing/place/activity in all three locations you would recommend?

Liverpool has changed so much since I lived there.  Part of me always thinks of Liverpool as home because I had such great experiences of being there, and I'm so glad I get to go to Liverpool quite a lot through Curious Minds.  Go to St Luke's Church (the bombed out church) at the top of Bold Street.  It's an amazing building which was hit during WW2, but still stands as a shell and physical memorial to some of the most amazing blitz stories about strong human spirit which I've been privileged to hear from people who experienced that time, when I worked with Urban Strawberry Lunch.  It has no roof, or insides, but is eerily quiet.  Urban Strawberry Lunch are still artists in residence there and regularly put on brilliant performances and events in this magical space.  Quite unique.

Todmorden - apart from the very dramatic hills, which I love, it probably has to be Three Wise Monkeys - a little bar that sells very unusual beers and has a nice atmosphere, friendly faces (and welcomes my little dog Barkley).

Burnley - Curious Minds.  Obviously.  I'm voting with my feet on that one.

6. Contemporary art - Tracey Emin, Damien Hirst etc. - This isn't art - Discuss .

I like anything that makes me see something differently, and challenges me to look from a different perspective.  Whether I really like something, or really dislike it, am made uncomfortable or elated I just want to experience some kind of strong response - it actually doesn't matter what the response is.  Some modern art completely does this for me and some I feel completely underwhelmed by, which is when it doesn't work for me.  But I appreciate that's different for everyone and what doesn't engage me will engage someone else.

7.  If you could live in one place in the North West where would that be and why?

In a wooden hut in the middle of a woodland, near a stream, anywhere that I can't hear traffic and can look at the stars without seeing light pollution from silly orange streetlamps.

8.   Desert Island – three luxuries  - what are they?

An endless supply of really good cheese and red wine (is that one or two?).  A sauna.  A really good masseuse.  I wouldn't want to be rescued - this sounds like heaven to me.

9. If you didn’t work for Curious Minds where and what would you be doing?

I'd be living out of a rucksack, playfully experiencing whatever life puts in my path.

10. What do you like about working for Curious Minds?

The total commitment of the people I work with to doing the best we can do to enable more young people to experience a creative way of being.  That our individual ideas are respected and heard and valued and we're a damn strong team.  That during busy and challenging times we're pulling together and supporting each other.  That we actually do make a difference to young people's lives - what's more important than that?

Chris first connected with the Creative Partnerships programme in 2005 as a Creative Programmer for Creative Partnerships Manchester Salford, before becoming Director of Creative Partnerships Merseyside in 2007. In 2009, Creative Partnerships Lancashire and Creative Partnerships Merseyside merged to form Curious Minds, where Chris has been a Director of Programmes with an increasing focus on business development. 

 Previous to this Chris graduated from university with a degree in producing documentaries, Chris wrote and directed a number of independent films and plays before joining the Yorkshire Media Production Agency (a regional funding and development agency) in 2000. In 2002, he joined Oldham's Peshkar Productions, facilitating first opportunities in the performing arts for disadvantaged young people. 

Curious Minds' Board of Trustees is currently putting in place a robust recruitment process for a permanent Chief Executive. Details will be announced shortly.

Last year, Bedford Primary Change School, Sefton addressed writing, MFL (Spanish), technology and parent and pupil involvement in the new creative curriculum.  Working with Curious Minds Practitioners Emma Bramley (Drama), First Take (Film makers), All things Latin (Festival and Dance), Donna Berry (Visual Artist), and Creative Agent Gaynor McHugh, the impacts included:

• Improved Spanish language skills leading to children speaking only in Spanish during an assembly.  Year 4 captured evidence of this in the film they made with First Take, which documented the process of the 'All Things Latin' project including changes made to the curriculum as a result of learning. The project also played a huge part in the school receiving their ISA ( International Schools Award) reflecting the high quality of MFL  teaching.
• Year 4 developed new technological skills working with First Take, evidenced by their production of live mobile phone broadcasts and video podcasts of the project, uploaded onto the schools ‘Radiowaves’ website after each session.

• Parental involvement increased: parents viewed broadcasts and joined blogs on the school's web site.  Parents said: 'I am very pleased, it has been packed full of fun, very educating, and I think you will find it hard to top next year...We as parents also enjoyed the fun homework tasks etc, Noah's ark, castles, dinosaurs...'

• Pupils communicated to staff what motivates them and written evidence demonstrates pupil’s ability to reflect upon resulting changes to their curriculum and lessons.

13 &14 December 2010 in collaboration with Mrs J. Lawton and the pupils of Kirkby Sports College

The aims of the two-day workshop was to give the pupils opportunity to influence the aesthetic of the school with two statements in mind:

Produce graphics/signage that will help invigorate, direct and engage students with the idea that Homebases are for learning.

Given the mission to achieve Dyslexia CharterStatus, visualise around the centre bothacademic and aspirational messages.

The aim of the workshop was to give the pupils an idea of how a designer might approach the project of developing academic, asprirational signage using way finding, brainstorming, development of ideas and design skills.The following presentation displays the results:

They are completely FREE and give pupils and teachers an opportunity to learn about architecture and the built environment asking questions such as...

How are buildings, public squares, parks and streets designed?
Why is design important to me and my community?
Can I be an architect or designer?

Workshops will be hands on and students will learn a range of skills and hear about career opportunities. Sessions will have strong links with KS 3 & 4, in particular maths, geography and art.

There's only 40 places available for each day, each focusing on specific year groups.
For more info get in touch on joanneharrop@hotmail.com

There was a huge amount of interest in the recent application process for the pilot, with over 250 applications received. 58 organisations from across the country have now been selected to test the new model between June - October this year. We are delighted to announce that the following North West organisations will be taking part:

• Tranmere Rovers Recreation Club
• The Valley Community Theatre
• Lancashire Music Service
• Zion Arts Centre
• Oldham Coliseum Theatre
• Walton Le Dale Arts College
• Bolton Playing for Success

More information about the pilot projects will be available on the 7-11 pages of the Arts Award website. It is hoped that the new programme will be rolled out nationally early next year, so watch this space!

As well as raising the profile of key projects delivered by the partner organisations, the event created a positive space for young people to showcase their talent and learn new skills. Claire from Peshkar explains where the idea came from: We felt that we wanted to have a way of celebrating our successful partnership work, bringing the young people we work with together, showcasing their work and involving other young people in all the amazing free arts provision that is available to them in Oldham. ..The event was a big success and we were all really pleased with the results. About 200 young people took part in creative activities throughout the day and the team of young volunteers were fantastic.

Curious Minds attended in our capacity as regional development agency for Arts Award. Many of the young people performing throughout the day were Arts Award participants. We would particularly like to thank Mark, Ebony, Cora and Cameron for talking to us about their Arts Award experiences. Their enthusiasm for exploring and combining different artforms was genuinely inspiring. Thanks also to Louise for helping us interview participants about the kinds of cultural activity they enjoy taking part in.

For more information about Art:FX and photos from the event, you can join the Peshkar ning group. 

On a final note: I am now a big fan of light graffiti!

Below is one of the interviews from the day. To view the other interviews from the day please click on our video player to the right of the webpage.

Through this project the pupils have looked at how they can develop a sense of global citizenship and develop a better understanding of the diversity of our society and world.

Over the last month, the year 5 pupils have worked with Kevin and Lily Earle – a second year trainee primary school teacher on placement with the theatre company from the University of Chester – to create a performance inspired by a new play being written by Kevin called The Girl Who Lives Under the Piano which is set in Iran.

After learning about Iranian culture and how different it can be for children their own age growing up in the country, the pupils created a short play that they performed to an audience of parents, family and friends on Thursday 26 May at the school.

Jane Evans-Woodason, the Programme Manager for Curious Minds has commented on the project:

There were really meaningful discussions about a different culture (Iran), exploration of the global context, and what it means to be a family within a different culture. The pupils were engaged and absorbed, which was evident in their performances and behaviour. It was brilliant, inspiring, fun, moving and truly educational.”

Kathy Crowe, Headteacher at Guildon Sutton Primary School in Chester has said:

This has been an amazing experience for our children and staff. Being part of a Curious Minds project has given us a great opportunity to benefit from the expertise of inspirational people from other walks of life. It has been thought provoking, challenging and fun. As a result, it will have a lasting impact on future projects in our school.”

Jude Bird Creative Agent has said

This project has been exemplary in modelling partnership working between Curious Minds, Action Transport Theatre Companny, Guilden Sutton C of E Primary School and Chester University and as a consequence creative learning has been of the highest order for all concerned". 

By Jessica Egan - Action Transport Theatre

This is a major achievement for these children.  At Marsden Community Primary, the vast majority of pupils have English as a second language and the teachers are working particularly hard to use creative approaches to help them develop their spoken and written language skills.  Through the Tell Tales project, teachers across the school are working with 7 storytellers and a visual artist to immerse the young people in story and rich language, whilst developing ways the teachers will do this themselves in the future.

Miss Fryer explained ‘They’ve completely bought into it.  I really had to act it out when we found the Mummy’s hand.  I screamed and another teacher had to pretend to calm me down.  The pupils are going home and saying to their parents ‘I’ve been to Egypt today’, not ‘I’ve learned about Egypt today.’  They’re completely immersed.’  She then demonstrated the obvious organic quality of their working partnership by diving straight in to illustrate the tale that storyteller Phil Hillbourne was telling on the board to help the children understand it, only asking for assistance from visual artist Steve Hutton when it came to drawing a goat.

I left the pupils working with Steve to create Egyptian portraits of themselves as heroes holding the objects they had used on their journeys.  Drawings which would commemorate their brave and noble quest to re-unite the Mummy’s hand with its owner, drawings which would remain on the inside of the Mummy’s tomb for all eternity.  Miss Fryer reminded them the direction to write their names in hieroglyphics next to their drawings ‘It’s like when you read the Koran from right to left, and English from left to right.  Egyptian reads from top to bottom.’

And this is just one classroom.  Goodness knows what might be happening in the others!  Exciting stuff.

Curious Minds are co-producing Blaze across Pennine Lancashire. Blaze is an ambitious youth-led culture and sport programme for Lancashire, Blackpool and the Fylde Coast that is part of WE PLAY, the North West cultural legacy programme for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The Nelson Institute of Sport, developed the BIG GAME in 2010 young producers from the fusion youth theatre, who commissioned New York based artist Tom Russotti to create an alternative sports event.  This event included brand new games and events, which played with the idea of competition and participation. The event was held in Nelson last summer and was a very successful first event. For more information and images please visit the Blaze website:

http://www.blazeonline.org.uk/

This year we are growing the event and two young producer groups from Nelson and Oswaldtwistle are co hosting the BIG GAME 2011 in Rhyddings Park. This year’s event will be bigger, better, crazier and will broaden participation from young people form across Pennine Lancashire

Workshop:

New York based artist Tom Russotti will be delivering a BIG GAME resource training workshop for youth leaders, teachers, community groups, other organisations anyone who would like to create your own unique game or event to be entered for submission in this year’s event.

To register for this workshop and for more details please visit: THE BIG GAME

If you would like any more information please contact Paul Hartley on e-mail paul1452@btinternet.com or 07967671156

With the greatest sadness Curious Minds have to announce our colleague and friend Chris May (Curious Minds' Chief Executive) passed away on Thursday 28 April from a sudden heart attack. Chris was on leave and had spent the day in the company of his family.

Chris was an exuberant figure, full of life and passionate about his work. He was immensely proud of the achievements of Curious Minds, our team and our partners, believing strongly that Curious Minds should be an organisation centred on a moral purpose and making a real and lasting difference to children's lives. He drew pleasure from his collaboration and dialogue with others and hugely enjoyed working alongside the education, cultural and community sectors right across the North West and beyond.

Since graduating from the Drama Department at Bristol University in 1981, Chris May worked as an artist, teacher, youth worker, project manager and consultant in a diverse range of educational and community settings. With over thirty years experience of working in the arts, he was passionately committed to developing the capacity of disadvantaged young people to realise their creative potential and campaigns to place culture and creativity at the heart of learning and community renewal.

Moving to Lancashire in 1989, Chris worked as an arts management consultant throughout the North West, helping organisations develop their practice around learning, evaluation and change management. In 2003 he joined Arts Council England, North West as Social Inclusion Officer and moved to Creative Partnerships East Lancashire as Creative Director in 2005. During 2007/8 Chris worked with Creative Partnerships National Office as Interim Director of Schools Programmes, returning to Lancashire in January 2009 to lead the establishment of Curious Minds – a new charity and social enterprise committed to enabling creative collaboration.

Curious Minds aims to enable children and young people realise their creative potential and currently works principally across Lancashire and Merseyside, delivering the Creative Partnerships programme in over 170 schools. In addition, Curious Minds is developing a growing portfolio of projects and commissions undertaken with a broad range of partners, maintaining at all times a focus on improving the lives of children and young people through active participation in arts and culture.

Over the past year, Chris and the Curious Minds team worked tirelessly to extend the reach of our work and vision and from April 2012 Curious Minds will be one of ten new national Arts Council England "Bridge Organisations".  Our role will be to make a rich range of arts and cultural experiences more joined-up and accessible for children, young people and their families across the North West. A vision and legacy all here at Curious Minds are fiercely determined to keep with the momentum and vision that Chris engendered alive.

We feel sure you will join us in our sympathy for Chris's partner Kate, their son Gabriel and Chris' family. 

The two colleges are now just one mile apart since being relocated into new buildings through the Building Schools for the Future programme.  Working with creative education specialists Curious Minds, they are finding innovative ways to openly discuss and celebrate their similarities and differences. 

Afrasiab Anwar Partnership Development Manager from the Burnley School Sport Partnership, based at Blessed Trinity RC College commented on the progress of the project so far: ‘We’re delighted with the progress made in such a short space of time.’

Currently 15 year 8 pupils from each school are working with youth theatre practitioner Karen Barnes (Burnley Youth Theatre) to explore issues around identity, race, faith and peer pressure. 

The late Chris May, Chief Executive of Curious Minds, belived in the importance of such work in our communities and had explained Curious Minds views on cohesion projects between communities and schools: ‘We’re delighted to be working on this creative project.  Our work over the last few years has shown us just how ready young people are to discuss the important issues they encounter on a daily basis.  By following the leadership and enthusiasm that young people can bring we find that schools can make a really valuable contribution to building strong communities. ‘

The schools will continue their collaborative project and then work with Seal Films to produce a DVD which will support teachers to help pupils challenge their preconceptions of others.  The DVD and accompanying resource pack will be launched at a special event at Burnley Youth Theatre during the summer term.

For more information on commisioning similar work through Curious Minds please email: schools@curiousminds.org.uk

Would you like to develop, share and celebrate outstanding creative practice in teaching and school leadership?

Do you have a real commitment to achieving through innovation?

All for the price of £295 you can do all of the above as well as:

• Networking and professional development days
• A regular members-only e-bulletin
• Briefings on changes in the policy, practice and funding
• A voice to influence senior decision-makers locally and nationally
• An annual ‘partnership development day’
• Access to an online library of resources and toolkits
• Access to members-only forums online
• Membership certificate and use of an exclusive network logo
• A profile page for your school on the Curious Minds website
• An annual awards scheme, celebrating exemplary practice in creative teaching and learning and school leadership
• A 10% discount on Curious Minds publications, conferences and other charged-for events

If you want to be part of this exciting and inspirational membership which will launch in september 2011 please give us a call on 01282 435835 / 0151 7088009 or email: schools@curiousminds.org.uk

The events are taking place at venues across Liverpool and focus on four different yet connected challenges posed by today's financial environment:

Financial meltdown, social collapse: can there be a new type of capitalism?

Tuesday 7 June, 5.30pm Victoria Gallery and Museum

Inequality: the enemy between us?

Tuesday 13 September, 5.30pm North Liverpool Academy

Can finance ever be fair and does it even matter?

Thursday 27 October, 6.15pm Anglican Cathedral

Tickets are free. To confirm reservations and learn more about the series contact Catherine Gibson on 0151 795 4617 or events@liv.ac.uk, www.liv.ac.uk/events/policy-provocations.

May 23rd 10am – 4.45 pm FACT

You are invited to an event that will explore how visual arts organisations in the UK have pioneered new ways of collaborating with artists, of engaging audiences and of becoming agents for social change through contemporary visual arts practice. 

In order to better understand the impact of socially engaged arts practice and the ways in which its value can be evaluated and articulated, Arts Council England, the Gulbenkian Foundation and Northern Rock Foundation commissioned The University of Central Lancashire (UCLAN) to completed an in-depth national comparative study of the practice of four visual arts organisations: Grizedale Arts (Cumbria), Artangel (London), Foundation for Art and Technology (Liverpool) and Centre of Contemporary Art (Glasgow).

The study evidences and conceptualises the different ways in which engagement with contemporary visual arts can change individuals, communities and organisations through deep, intensive and often personalised experiences where practice is informed by robust philosophies of social engagement and a strong civic mission.

This symposium invites practitioners, funders and educators to hear findings of the research, presented by Lynn Froggett; Professor of Psychosocial Welfare & Director of Psychosocial Research Unit, University of Central Lancashire, to discuss the potential future application of the research and to begin exploring a common language through which to articulate the artistic and social value of socially engaged arts practice.

Contributors include:

• Lynn Froggett, Professor of Psychosocial Welfare & Director of Psychosocial Research Unit, University of Central Lancashire.
• Alistair Hudson, Deputy Director Grizedale Arts Cumbria
• Patrick Fox, Head of Engagement, Foundation for Arts and Technology (FACT), Liverpool
• Rachel Anderson,  Head of Interaction, Artangel
• Claire Doherty, Director, Situations and Senior Research Fellow in Fine Art at University of the West of England.
• Sian Ede, Deputy Director Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation
• Helen Wewiora, Arts Council England

Book here: http://sociallyengagedartspractice.eventbrite.com/

Multi-partisan and fiercely optimistic, Dave Meslin embraces ideas and projects that cut across traditional boundaries between grassroots politics, electoral politics and the arts community. In his work, in Toronto and globally, he attempts to weave elements of these communities together.

The aim of this meeting was to provide an opportunity for Lancashire arts organisations to begin thinking about the opportunities and possibilities presented by collaborative working. Organisations gave a very quick overview of their current funding situation, revealing that most have had cuts in funding from different sources.  Some organisations now need to plan for operation independent of Arts Council England (ACE).

All About Audiences said: "This will be a challenging year, trying to run the business and plan for a different future at the same time. We are all part of the cultural ecology - what weakens one part weakens the whole.  Working together is crucial" A statement all here at Curious Minds agrees with wholeheartedly as partnership working underpins everything we do.

What was apparent at the meeting was a very strong intention to help each other in the areas we lack resources or skills. We shared a list of particular skills and resources our organisations could offer for free, barter for other skills or offer as a paid service. What was quite apparent is the whole sector in Lancashire is rich and vibrant, regardless of cuts or the awarding of grants from ACE. 

In the next few weeks we enter talks with ACE and the other 9 'Bridge' organisations across England to establish what our role and remit will be from April 2012.  What we do know currently is Curious Minds will play a huge role in ensuring that part of the rich offering of cultural activity for children and young people is signposted and encouraged right across the North West. Workshops like the one above is a starting point to start to share our resources and build a strong infrastructure right across the North West. 

These sculptures are then being photographed with the expert help of Pippa Pixley and put into an auction catalogue.  Pupils will then work with drama practitioner Steve Fairclough before using their new performance and numeracy skills to auction their artwork off to their parents at a profit.  Let’s hope they dig deep!

Artists Chris Rainham and Paul Gent, musician Richard Gordon-Smith and Drama Practitioner Ann Farrar worked with Year 5 and 6 children to stimulate them to approach their writing differently.  Children explain how the collaborative planning process is the magic ingredient:

'We got so excited about the planning because they always made it interactive.  They do it as fun as possible and you actually get a sense of what it's like to be in space.  They let us make planets and a rocket.'

'It was better than just writing a story.  It was cool.'

Staff now involve children in long-term planning for most lessons.  They immerse children in visits linked to curriculum topics and this generates ideas.  Both staff and children's ideas are recorded on the same planning grid and every child identifies a question that informs more detailed planning.  For example, 'Is there a footprint on Mars?', 'How does a spaceship move?'

Headteacher Ruth Braithwaite says 'The only way for Bedford to achieve high standards is by involving children and parents creatively.'  

Blaze

Curious Minds are co-producing Blaze across Pennine Lancashire. Blaze is an ambitious youth-led culture and sport programme for Lancashire, Blackpool and the Fylde Coast that is part of WE PLAY, the North West cultural legacy programme for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The Nelson Institute of Sport, developed the BIG GAME in 2010 young producers from the fusion youth theatre, who commissioned New York based artist Tom Rosotti to create an alternative sports event.  This event included brand new games and events, which play with the idea of competition and participation. The event was held in Nelson last summer and was a very successful first event. For more information and images please visit the Blaze website:

http://www.blazeonline.org.uk/

This year we want to grow the event and two young producer groups from Nelson and Oswaldtwistle are co hosting the BIG GAME 2011 in Rhyddings Park. The years event will be bigger and better and will broaden participation from young people form across Pennine Lancashire. Ideas for this year already discussed include:

• An alternative opening and closing ceremony
• An alternative passing of the event torch between Nelson and Oswaldtwistle
• A viral campaign with the Blaze Bloggers to raise awareness of the event
• On the day live reporting from participants and spectators.

Artist Brief:

We are looking for an artist or arts organisation to lead the creative content of THE BIG GAME 2011 in collaboration with the young producers and their support organisations and workers to increase and enhance the creative vision and aspiration.

Objectives for the project are to:

• To engage with young producer groups from Nelson & Oswaldtwistle who lead on the event.
• To work collaboratively where possible with Tom Rossetti based in New York on the development of the original idea.
• To work collaboratively along side existing and new local partners.
• To oversee and develop the creative content of the event raising the aspiration and vision for the event with local partners, including deciding the final collection of games and events to be played devised by new local young peoples groups
• Work collaboratively with Hyndburn Sports development to make sure the event is well organised and structured.
• Mentoring and support identified young creative leader with in the young producers group.

Duration and Requirements:

Artists fee will be £2400 in total with 12 days @ £200 per day (or 24 sessions).

The project needs to be delivered between May & July, with the event-taking place on Saturday 23^rd July.

The successful creative practitioner will be involved in planning, delivery and reflection with the Blaze team. You will need to work within the Curious Minds and Blaze ethos, building positive relationships with partners, and young people. You will also need to have a current CRB certificate (min 2 years) and public liability insurance (2 million minimum).

You will be contracted through Curious Minds and the total fee will be paid in 2 instalments – at the beginning and at the end of the project subject to agreed terms and conditions.

To apply:

Please provide an A4 (max 2 sides) outline, which may be bullet pointed, of the following:

• An outline of your experience, skills and attributes.
• A brief insight as to how you might approach this project.
• Any reference to websites, visual materials or practice that you would like us to see in order to exemplify your work.
• Names of two referees
• Deadline for application 5 PM Monday 23^rd May 2010

If selected you may be asked to attend an interview on Wednesday 25th May.

If successful you must also be available for a resource training day on 31^st May lead by Tom Rossetti for youth leader who want to create a game with their young people.

Please send expressions of interest to:

Paul Hartley – Blaze Co-producer, Curious Minds

paul1452@btinternet.com

Contact joan.forshaw@curiousminds.org.uk for more information and to book a place.

This  learning journey began with the question: “How does a teacher developed creative curriculum inspire the teaching and learning of our pupils; what is the impact and how can we measure this?”

To explore this question and develop a topic approach to learning, the school collaborated with Curious Minds and as creatives. The staff looked closely at the school development plan and decided that they would use the inspiration of the city on their doorstep to improve curriculum teaching and develop the school environment . The project ‘In Our Liverpool Home’ was born.

Every child in the school accessed a school trip to a venue within the city to act as an inspirational stimulus for their artwork. 

Each class attended a trip around Liverpool:

EYFS: Underwater Street

Year 1: The Ferry Across the Mersey, Tate Museum, Liverpool Echo wheel and also  HMS Liverpool

Year 2 & Year 6: Liverpool Duckbus tour & Albert Dock.

Year 3: Knowsley Safari Park

Year 4: Liverpool Echo Arena & Liverpool Echo wheel.

Year 5: Liverpool World Museum,  Radio City Tower,  St. John’s Gardens & a walk around the city centre.

as creatives then delivered staff training, pupil workshops and developed playground artwork to provide a lasting and sustainable reminder of their  experiences.

Four students from Hope University chose to support the school through their teaching module ‘Wider perspectives’. Pupils raised just over £1000 during a sponsored event and even contributed 10% of their funds to a Japan appeal. The students then invested the money wisely into fantastic garden resources. These inspirational teachers of the future worked tirelessly to develop a wonderful garden area that will continue to develop over the coming years.

To extend the schools provision for Gifted & talented pupils they asked partners at the City Learning Centre to develop a filming project that would capture the essence of the journey through the ‘In My Liverpool Home’. The children worked hard to record all of our workshops in school, our class trips and the installation of the artwork.

I have  been so proud to see how all of our children, staff, parents and partners can work together to achieve such a fantastic learning experience for our whole
school. It has been fantastic!
Miss Toole-  project coordinator

When children and staff take risks, feel heard and have a passion to work together, projects like our ‘in My Liverpool Home’ succeed beyond our expectations. This Creative approach to our learning has reminded us all why, in the footsteps of Jesus, we all think so much of our school and are committed to it’s future.
Mrs. Farrimond—Head teacher

The project has really given everybody the opportunity to reflect upon the magnificent history and the diverse culture of our city., It has been fantastic to have the chance to participate in the learning experiences, exploring our wonderful Liverpool home.
Mrs Fillingham—Learning Mentor

Thoroughly enjoyed doing this topic. All the staff and children have worked hard to make it successful.
Mrs Perry—School Governor

In my Liverpool Home was an exciting experience got me and has made our school more beautiful
Tayla —year 5 pupil.

I liked learning about my Liverpool Home.
Joel—Early Years Foundation Stage.

Curious Minds practitioner Joanne Holt has worked with staff to develop a new and innovative curriculum that reflects this ambition.

On Thursday 31st March a special Community Cohesion day was held to mark the progress made. In science and technology Years 9 and 10 looked at science within local industries visiting Jaguar, Knowlsey Safari Park,Stadt Moers Park and Cains Brewery. These visits helped put learning into context and develop an understanding of how it links to job's in the local community.  

The atrium held a faith market place where pupils were introduced to people and artefacts from different faith communities completing an investigative journal on their experiences . Another visit took pupils to Manchester Art Gallery to look at how artists had explored cultural identities. On the day there were also opportunities to study Urdu and Mandarin, to participate in Bollywood style dancing and to rap in Spanish.

Curious Minds were taken around the school by members of the 'super team' whose enthusiasm was a credit to the school. This is an exciting and ambitious Change School programme that connects learners and their learning to the world and community surrounding them.

Their school's enquiry was:  How far and in what ways can aspirational and inspirational learning opportunities be developed for young black minority ethnic (BME) pupils by fostering a sense of history, identity and place?

The project focused on twelve pupils in year 8 and 9 who were not fully engaging and therefore not attaining to their potential, with a view to developing leadership and literacy via technology.

Jude Bird (Creative Agent) and Thomasina Afful (lead practitioner) worked with James Kerfoot (deputy head), Marcelle Greenbarg (lead teacher) and young people to investigate and explore inspirational black leaders and role models, looking at ways of working in partnership with them to develop aspirational learning. 

Pupils examined and expressed in writing the necessary skills they felt are required by role models they admired eg Police Superintendent Rowley Moore.  They made a film of their findings, including interviews with local leaders and role models.  They presented the film to an invited audience (including parents) and spoke confidently and eloquently about how the project was developed and what skills they had each developed, including investigative, interviewing, filming and editing skills.  Most importantly the young people saw these inspirational leaders in terms of their own future.  Their vision of themselves and what they could achieve had expanded and with this their self-esteem increased.

During the project, pupils from Guilden Sutton Primary - a mainly white rural West Cheshire school which is undertaking an Enquiry project on global citizenship - visited Childwall to discuss and explore this topic from very different perspectives.  Teachers from Guilden Sutton reported that Childwall pupils hosted the visit with confidence, making the younger pupils very welcome, and debating some interesting issues.  A selection of thank you letters from the Cheshire pupils were on display at Childwall.  It is hoped this partnership will continue beyond the project.

James Kerfoot (deputy head at Childwall) said:

The Childwall Sports and Science College ethos is to promote Leadership at all levels. The Curious Minds Enquiry School project  allowed a small group of students to develop their ideas about the cultural barriers to success and to raise their aspirations and to develop yet again the power of student leadership in our school.

Jude Bird (Creative Agent) said:

 This project has raised the pupils expectations-how will the school sustain this?

The film produced during this project will soon be available to be published, when it is we shall post it on our Vimeo site and also in a future e-bulletin.

Arts Council England (ACE) today (30 March 2011) announced their funding decisions for England’s new ‘National Portfolio Organisations’.

The North West charity Curious Minds is pleased to announce that Arts Council England has chosen the organisation to become one of ten new national 'Bridge Organisations' for arts and cultural work with children and young people.

The new 'Bridge Organisation' will help make a rich range of arts and cultural experiences more joined-up and accessible for children, young people and their families. Particular emphasis will be placed on:

• making available to children and young people, as well as their parents, carers and teachers, up-to-date information on opportunities for participation in the arts in their local area
• harnessing the power of the arts to underpin the teaching of different parts of the curriculum in schools
• encouraging young people to pursue employment and self-employment within the fast-growing creative industries and to become the artists of the future
• ensuring that children and young people who face particular challenges or who experience severe economic disadvantage can nonetheless take part and create their own work

Curious Minds is a charity and social enterprise  that has, since 2002, delivered a number of acclaimed programmes across the North West designed to improve the lives of children and young people by increasing opportunities for their active participation in arts, culture and creative learning - both in and outside of school. A central belief of the organisation is that it is everyone’s right to have the opportunity to realise their creative potential, developing the knowledge, skills and attitudes they need to contribute fully to society and lead positive and productive lives.

As a partnership organisation - summed up in its strapline: 'enabling creative collaboration' - Curious Minds will be working hard to help the region's arts and cultural sector for children and young people to thrive  in challenging times, including:

•  working with partners to improve the quality of arts programmes for children, young people and their families - seeking out and celebrating excellence and offering networking and training opportunities for artists attracting more investment for life-transforming creative work with children and young people in the North West
• facilitating the establishment of new working partnerships between arts and cultural organisations and a range of other partners.

Chris May, Curious Minds Chief Executive commented today:

We are delighted to learn of our success in becoming a strategic partner to Arts Council England. Across the North West a vibrant community of organisations and individuals has a strong reputation for developing exciting work with children and young people.  Our aim will be to work effectively with these partners to create and enhance mechanisms which enable young people to be part of the cultural landscape as cultural producers and decision makers in ways that ensure their talents and achievements are spotted and celebrated; progression routes into employment in the creative industries are made easier; and that children and young people have a genuine voice in the planning, delivery and evaluation of services. In the year to come, as we prepare for this new role, our job will be to listen carefully to the views of our partners so that we can be clear about how we can best work together to create exciting and  sustainable provision that makes a very real difference in children and young people’s lives.”

The new Bridge Organisation's programme will come into full effect in April 2012 but work begins immediately on an interim year in which Curious Minds will build on its already strong presence in the region, strengthening   relationships with and between schools, arts organisations, artists and other strategic bodies in the North West and getting a better sense of the job that needs to be done.

Family Works helps schools to work in partnership with parents to help children to be happy and successful.  It is an eight week programme with weekly two hour sessions. After a fun, relaxed and interactive introduction there are seven workshops.  Each focussing on one of the following core skills:

• Self esteem;
• Motivation
• Attention;
• Co-operation and collaboration;
• Understanding and managing feelings
• Empathy
• Social skills.

Parents learn the importance of each skill and how to work with their child’s school so that:

• Behaviour is managed in a consistent way between home and school;
• Parents can work with schools to enhance their child’s learning skills and their emotional health and well being (positive mental health);

The children join their parents to enjoy a family activity which enables tutors to build a strong relationship with each parent and an opportunity to model key Family Works Strategies.

In Wirral Family Works is successful in reaching parents including those that have previously been hard to reach.   Last year nearly 2,000 parents of Wirral children in Foundation Two engaged with the programme.

Robust evaluation highlights that Family Works has a positive impact on learning, behaviour and emotional health and well being.

Other Family programmes include:

• Family Welcome (Secondary Family Works),
• Family Wise (aims to raise aspirations and positive attitudes towards learning.

Other programmes include:

• Community Works
• Lunch Works

info@familyworks.org.uk

Mantle of the Expert at St Gabriel's Church of England Primary School, Knowsley

Over the past three years St Gabriel’s young people, staff and school community have been on an exciting journey with Curious Minds.

All 232 children in the school from Nursery to Year 6 and every single member of staff have been directly involved in a whole host of creative activities, ranging from podcasting to photography, sensory explorations to imaginative story-building, textile design and environmental investigations.

A fabulous multi-media celebration of school history and heritage performed by pupils at St Gabriel's Church brought parents and church members together to share in the journey; photographs taken by Year 2 and  Year 3 pupils were displayed in pride of place at Huyton Library and in local shops and pupils spoke eloquently on the local history show on Radio Merseyside.

Part of this resulted in the development of a comic book project diary that you can view here...

Year 5 teachers and pupils selected drama practitioner Emma Bramley because they had worked with her on last year's project celebrating the past and looking to the future in a new school building.   This year, Emma used Mantle of the Expert to fire up creative entrepreneurs.

Mantle of the Expert is a dramatic enquiry pedagogy that involves the children imagining and acting "as if" they are a responsible team. They imagine they are a company who are set commissions by clients. They then 'work' to fulfil the commission which involves both problem seeking and problem solving. Through the imaginary world the children are able to explore a wide range of fictional contexts and different points of view. It creates a safe yet active space that allows them to explore ethics, moral dilemmas and as well as the curriculum.

The aim of the project was (a) to equip the teacher with understanding of how to plan and structure enquiry based learning, (b) how to use drama as a form of inquiry and (c) how the Mantle of the Expert system can create a framework for deep learning to occur. The teacher really enjoyed being moved gently out of her comfort zone, in order to use techniques such as teacher in role, as well as learning how to plan learning that allows children to be meaningfully involved.
 
Emma Bramley reports:
 

St Gabriel's was interested in exploring how Mantle of the Expert could be used in class to create learning opportunities, and how drama could be used for enquiry.  I worked with the teacher and pupils on exploring different communities and strategic planning.  The children imagined they were a company who conducted feasibility studies for large developments.  The "client"'s brief was to go to a small island in Narnia to see if it would be suitable for a five star hotel. However we what we didn't know was that there was a small, isolated community who lived here in secret!  During the six days the children developed self management skills, particularly negotiation! The comic visually documents our journey, experiences and learning. Children spoke about the realisation that they were capable of creativity and that they were 'good' at drama as the emphasis is on "if this was you..." Rather than "pretend to be..."

Deputy Head Kate Sawyer reported:

Emma skilfully led the children through a deliberately structured drama process which took form initially giggling and focusing on each other to really concentrating and focusing on their own part and ‘performance’.  Children who thought they were no good at ‘drama’ commented in their evaluations that they were able to join in, enjoy and were actually good at drama and thought hey might try it again in the future. The mantle work really empowered a lot of the class as it gave them the opportunity to work at their own level, some work was given to less confident children to boost their self- esteem and others were given the opportunity to work on a specific aspect eg technology and run with their ideas within the framework of the enquiry.

For more information on Mantle of the Expert please go to www.mantleoftheexpert.com Evaluation structure was provided by Paul Mayers

Visiting Castercliff Primary School in Nelson she learnt how the school was working with drama practitioner Jenny Harris across classes in KS1 and 2. Jenny has been on a longterm residency working alongside teachers to create amazing literacy lessons – for example, children made recipes based on their favourite genre of writing, or created an Ancient Egyptian marketplace  and used persuasive speeches to sell each other real grapes. Hard haggling honed those all important communication skills and created a model for teachers to use when the programme finishes.

Moving to Whitefield Infants School, also in Nelson, Helen saw how the creative curriculum underpins everything the school does. Staff have networked with cutting edge practice in Barcelona, Italy and the Netherlands to support their creative journey and the school still works with creative practitioners and uses a creative approach to all its teaching.

Many thanks are extended from CCE and Curious Minds to the schools for these inspiring visits.

We found this both fun and a great educational experience.

Drawing upon Mantle of the Expert techniques Chris got the pupils to use their imaginations to travel back in time to Liverpool 1961. To think about the differences in people lives. Through careful questioning he encouraged the pupils to think about and act out the situations, the places and people they might discover.

The pupils quickly remembered what they had done in previous sessions recreating the docks and the Liver Building, with boats bopping on the River Mersey and, our favourite, a stomping, sweating Cavern club with some very nifty dancing.  

Chris got them to think about what a classroom would be like in 1961. How would teachers be different ? A pupil described the '60's teacher as being 'demanding' with a cane. One of the pupil's bought in a photo of his nan, a nurse in 1961, and Chris used this to get the pupils think about how hospitals would be different. How nurses would have been different, more formal and strict.  

The pupils had fun recreating the cartoons on the walls of the hospital, using a wide variety of language to describe the tableaus they created. While we were there the pupils worked with Chris solidly for two hours and we were impressed with their concentration and imaginative ideas.

The Deputy Head of Rainhill St Ann's, Laura Rynn,  said the work was improving pupils imaginative writing because they could describe the detail: the bopping boats, the stomping dancing, the demanding teacher.  Chris built a detailed story that they were involved in, this involvement enabled them to be more descriptive with language.

Continuing our series of interviews with the Curious Minds staff - this week we introduce you to Rosie Crook, our Programme Manager based in Burnley. Rosie is the baby in the picture above with the quite interesting hairstyle. A hairstyle that was to influence much of the punk movement of the 1970's and Robert De Niro during the making of the film Taxi Driver. Rosie would like to make it clear she no longer has this haircut.

1.     What or who inspires you?

Every time I visit a school I feel inspired – not just by the creative work I see but also by the day to day stuff that people do with and on behalf of children and young people.

2.      What is ‘curious’ about your mind?

I love the connections between things – the way ideas link to each other.

3. Tell us a ‘Curious Story’ about yourself

I once dressed up in a Victorian nightie as the Ghost of Local Democracy being murdered by a colleague wielding an axe. This powerful piece of political drama was enacted outside a Council Headquarters and was intended to impress a Government Minister as his car sped in for a meeting. Sadly the audience was his bodyguard – he’d gone in the back way! But I still have the nightie and I’m not afraid to use it...

4. If you could be a famous artist/performer from present, past or future who would you be and why?

Dame Nellie Melba the Australian opera singer – she could break  recording equipment with the sheer power of her voice  and she inspired a pudding.

5. What is your favourite book of all time? And Why?

My curious mind is a bit indecisive on books! Persuasion by Jane Austen – everything there is to say about love, grief, constancy and real versus imagined status ... and Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons because it’s brilliant parody and laugh out loud funny.

6. Young people in the driving seat – discuss.

I’m always struck by the way children see the world – their minds are utterly different from the adult brain. For this reason, much of what happens to them is `done’ to them. What I like about Curious Minds’ approach is that when you have the confidence to step back and let children lead, the results can be right for both children and adults. If adults have the humility to listen to and learn from children, we can change the world!

7. Traffic roundabout art – discuss.

Gateway? Gateway? !! If it isn’t beautiful, humanising, fun or uplifting – don’t do it! Plant flowers instead. Road (or roadside) art I love...`Dream’ by Jaume Plensa; Twin Cones’ by Thomas Heatherwick.

8. Desert Island – three luxuries  - what are they?

Well Kirsty, I know you won’t allow me to take my husband and daughter – so I’d like some fabric, some needles and some embroidery thread so that I can make a creative HELP banner.

9. If you didn’t work for Curious Minds where and what would you be doing?

Striding through some lovely wood with a daft lurcher, hoping we don’t meet a rabbit.

10. What do you like about working for Curious Minds?

It’s a fantastic team, really professional, warm and open. I also love the impact we have and the moments you see every time you visit a project in a school – it feels like you are encountering something genuinely life changing and worthwhile.

Sir Ken Robinson is a leader in the development of creativity, innovation and human resources, working with governments and the world’s leading cultural organizations. Born in Liverpool, he was Director of The Arts Project (1985-89), and is Emeritus Professor of Education at the University of Warwick. He was knighted in 2003 for his contribution to education and the arts. Recent publications include Out of Our Minds: Learning to be Creative (2001) and The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything (2009).

This secular sermon took place at Conway Hall on Sunday 13 March 2011

Clare and her crew visited four schools across the North West to capture the activity taking place in the Creative Partnerships' programme and to record the influence Curious Minds, Creative Agents and creative practitioners have on schools, how after working with Curious Minds their schools become a better place to learn, teach and be present within.

We would like to say thank you to the following schools and all of their staff, our Creative Agents and practitioners that took part in recording and interviews. We would like to pay particular thanks to parents at Moorfield School in Widnes who visited the school to help pupils build dragons as part of their interaction within the school setting. There was plenty of scary dragons built on the day, more of which you can see when the film is released early summer.

"People around the world do things differently", so begins De La Salle Humanities Schools fillm celebrating the rich cultural differences of its pupils and the diverse culture that exists in Liverpool and brings such a great cultural heritage to the city. Recognising that students lives are enriched by the diversity of two cultures or more living and learning together.

St Gabriel's Church of England Primary School in Knowsley is in its final year of the Creative Partnerships Change School Programme.  The teachers and pupils have selected drama practitioner Emma Bramley to work with them on this project. Emma had previously worked with teachers and pupils during the second year of the programme on a reminiscence and family engagement project, culminating in a multi-media performance at St Gabriel's Church. 

This year Emma worked with year 5 Pupils using the Mantle of the Expert pedagogy.

Mantle of the Expert is a dramatic enquiry pedagogy that involves the children imagining and acting "as if" they are a responsible team. They imagine they are a company who are set commissions by clients. They then 'work' to fufil the commission which involves both problem seeking and problem solving. Through the imaginary world the children are able to explore a wide range of fictional contexts and different points of view. It creates a safe yet active space that allows them to explore ethics, moral dilemmas and as well as the curriculum.

Over the past three years St Gabriel’s young people, staff and school community have been on an exciting journey with Curious Minds.

All 232 children in the school from Nursery to Year 6 and every single member of staff have been directly involved in a whole host of creative activities, ranging from podcasting to photography, sensory explorations to imaginative story-building, textile design and environmental investigations. 

For this years Mantle of the Expert project students presented their work in a creative format of a comic book, images of which you can view here.

In our next edition of the Curious Minds E-bulletin we will be presenting part 2 of our St. Gabriels feature and offering further information on the Mantle of the Expert, feedback from the projects Creative Agent, practitioner and school coordinators. As well as presenting you the full version of the projects 'comic book'.

The network session was run by creative agents; Jude Bird and Rob Howell on fundraising and developing ways to sustain the work achieved through the Creative Partnerships programme.

The group reflected on what they had achieved on the programme as well as looking at building their capacity to resource future work. They talked about top tips for fundraising and began developing their strategy for what they could achieve in the future. 

The school has also been selected to show their work at a special exhibition called Architecture for Everyone at the NOVAS/CUC Centre in Liverpool. Teachers and students will be showing their work and attending a workshop on the 28^th March. For more information see www.placesmatter.co.uk/education

Meanwhile back in school the whole of Year 7 took part in a Super Learning Day  when pupils made animated films, took photos and created dramas, based around the themes of `playground bullying’.

Creative Agent Steve Brown and Co-ordinator Jean Cockerill sought far and wide to find the most innovative practitioners for the children with profound learning needs. Finally, they hit upon Soundabout, an arts organisation based in Oxfordshire, who specialise in fantastic communication projects for children with severe and complex learning disabilities– and in supporting teachers to use these tools in everyday classes.

Practitioner Harry Dawes has been working with children in the Rainbow Room and in  other classes, using resonance boards and sensory stories. With a class last week, he created a magical Under the Sea story, authored by the children, performed on the boards and involving lights, textiles and sounds in a multimedia performance which enthralled all the participants – and was also really possible for teachers to recreate.

Royal Cross is an enthusiastic adopter of the creative school approach – here are the children in last year’s project `Food Glorious Food’.

• St Edward's Catholic Primary School is a Curious Minds Change School in Halton.  Its 'Ready and Able' project explores how 'learning to learn' strategies impact on pupil's emotional wellbeing and readiness to achieve and attain, particularly in writing and speaking.  The project involves writer Hilary Keating, Community Consultant Gerri Moriarty, and drama practitioners Konflux Theatre and Peter Kennedy.

The following projects are all being developed in Enquiry Schools:

• English Martyr's Catholic Primary School in Sefton is asking, 'How can a community of learners use new, emerging technologies to encourage positive social behaviour?'. Working with Lynne Harwood from First Take Film Company, the project will involve children in filming, post-production, literacy, numeracy and ICT to research the impact of using positive language and behaviour.
• St Sebastian's Catholic Primary and Nursery, Liverpool, is collaborating with drama practitioner Lisa Rowe, wellbeing practitioner Kate Norfolk and visual artist Sophie Bower, to support the understanding of empathy amongst Year 2 children.  The project, called 'How do I make you feel?', will explore Alice in Wonderland character traits and develop understanding of the impact our actions have on other people's feelings. 
• The Grange Infant School, Halton, asks 'How can art and creativity help us promote community cohesion in our curriculum?'.  It will involve whole families in exploring diverse communities and cultural networks using art, creative role play, video and conversation.  The project, called 'You, Me and Us', will also support speaking, listening and literacy objectives.
• Wellesbourne Community Primary School in Liverpool aims to raise aspirations, improve self-esteem and change attitudes using drama, massage and art.  The project is called 'A Spaceship to my feelings' and involves drama practitioner Emma Bramley, massage practitioner Kate Norfolk and visual artist Karen Edwards.  Emma will use the 'Mantle of the Expert' drama technique to enable children to explore space and meet a sick alien from a planet where everyone expresses feelings through talk and touch.  Living on earth, where this doesn't happen so much, has made him sick.  The children will help him find ways to recover. The school will be monitoring the impact the project has on attendance and behaviour.

• At Holly Lodge Girls' College Year 7 pupils are designing a project that will teach Year 6 pupils a new skill or idea.  They aim to help the Year 6 pupils build confidence about change, challenge and learning and dispel myths about secondary school.  Called 'The Science and Language of Learning', the project also aims to empower Year 7 pupils to become leaders.
• Year 8 pupils at St Hilda's CE High are using art to communicate their learning outcomes in science lessons to peers and parents.  The school is asking, 'How can each pupil think creatively and take intellectual risks and what can staff do to make this happen?'.  The aim is to encourage pupils to think independently and originally.  These skills will help them progress through school and into higher education, work and other environments, managing their own learning, change and transition.

The series of lectures at the Academy of Architecture were organised by artist Dutch artist, Jeanne Van Heeswijk who is currently working in Liverpool on a young peoples project in Anfield. For more info please visit: Radicalising the Local in Amsterdam

All notes and materials from the session will shortly be available on the Curious Minds website. Resources from all the other training sessions in this series are available here. 

The next session will be on Outdoor Learning.  Please click here for more details.

Curious Minds' exciting new programme of co-mentorship between private business and school leaders got underway last Friday. The programme has been established and is facilitated by Sheila Large - one of our Creative Agents - and is built around a series of co-mentoring partnerships between leaders from the fields of business and education. Anna Mitchell (Irwin Mitchell), Steve Mahon (The Bluecoat), Marie Rice (Sefton NHS), Neil Meekin (HSBC bank), John McLoughlin (POLYnnovation) and Norman Sadler (Sadler Quality Ltd) will be collaborating with Jean Cockerill (Royal Cross Primary School for  Deaf Children), Davina Aspinall (Maghull High School), Carol Machell (Broadgreen Primary School), Fran Parsonage (Wallassey School), Holly Porrino (Newton-le-Willows Community High School) and Rob Stevenson (Kirkby Sports College) respectively.  

Between now and July, these pairs will meet regularly to exchange knowledge and expertise and to support each other to problem-solve and forward plan - both personally and organisationally. The launch day last Friday (4 March), held at Birchwood Park in Warrington, brought co-mentors together for the first time. The group were offered advice from Sheila on getting the most out of their learning partnerships, before engaging in exercises to facilitate sharing between pairs on their life and work journeys to date and their aspirations for the next five years.

Funded by Creativity, Culture and Education (CCE) as a small-scale pilot, we hope this programme will offer us enough valuable learning for us to be able to offer it again in future years. If you are a school or business leader and are interested in this area, let us know and we'll keep you posted. In particular at the moment, we are on the lookout for businesses, as we are still actively seeking partners for two of our schools in Lancashire - if this sounds like you or someone you know, e-mail Director of Programmes Chris Finn at chris.finn@curiousminds.org.uk by 21 March.

Hosted by Professor Bill Lucas, a motivational speaker, facilitator, author and learning strategist; we all spent the day looking forwards to a positive future, analysing the current strategic situation our sector finds itself within during recent times. How to get the most out of that situation and overall raising debate and planning for the future.

We feel the subjects discussed on the day will help us all become stronger as we work our way through the next 12 to 24 months. 

Documentation from the day and more images will be available on the Sharing and Reflection CPD blog within the next two weeks.

Information gathered revealed that the Art and Design Departments belief in building relationships, inspiration and challenge enabled learner's independence. Through the observations teachers could articulate and understand what they did better.  This good practice was then disseminated to other departments, Maths being the first. Teachers involved in the project found the process extremely useful, it provided a chance to be self critical but also to act on their concerns, ideas and motivations. 

Below we have some tips on how to use this process:

OBSERVING SESSIONS

Questions to bear in mind when observing.

Challenge - Learning: 

What are the challenges for the pupils?

At what points are the pupils challenged?

Who is challenging who? Are pupils overcoming personal challenge? How?

Inspiration - Teaching

What is the inspiration and what part does it play in the lesson?

Is the teacher the inspiration?

Is it external?

Is it another pupils work? What is the purpose of the inspiration?

Is the inspiration re-enforcing key elements that are not directly related to the lessons objectives?

Imagination - Creativity

Where are pupils using their imagination and exploring (with techniques, materials, skills, communication, etc,)?

Are the pupils applying this to their work?

Expert Richard Demby led a persuasive session in which participants argued about what actually constitutes Citizenship, where we can find it and how it can nurture a whole range of attributes in young people. Citizenship projects can cover the whole range of community events  from environmental awareness to community cohesion, helping young people to build emotional strength and support for each other in school and in the wider community.

We looked at whether citizenship without activism is ever meaningful idea and how the spontaneous movements that arise from young people’s passion about causes can become genuine forces for change. An inspiring and thought-provoking session, our Lancashire event was hosted by Woodfield Nursery School whose own current Creative Partnership project involves children, parents and community in understanding themselves and each other using avatars, dollshouses and film!

All documentation from the session will soon be uploaded onto the 'What's all the Fuss About' miniblog.

We have commisioned Clare Makes Films to produce the film for us and Clare and Sammy from Clare Makes Films have been contacting schools across the region to pull together a selection of some of the fantastic projects schools have been working on.

Curious Minds has chosen Clare Makes Films to produce our film about the 'Curious Minds Experience' in schools because we felt they held the same curious beliefs and view as ourselves. Within their work they question and challenge, connect and collaborate, enable imagination and ensure reflection is a learning journey. All of which make Clare Makes Films and Curious Minds a perfect fit to capture our work in schools. We look forward to a fruitful, fun and exciting time working together.

We would like to give a big thank you to all the schools who have agreed to allow filming to take place, and also give thanks to the other schools who showed an interest in taking part. Unfortunately we couldn't film at all interested schools, but we would encourage all other schools to continue to capture visual documentation and send it through to us so we can promote your activity here on the website and elsewhere.

Filming commences next week (w.c. 7 March) and the film will be available to be viewed on the Curious Minds website from May.

The Brewery Arts Centre is now an ‘Arts Awards Welcome' Organisation and the event showcased what is on offer through ‘Brewery Youth Arts’ and other organisations running Arts Award in South Lakeland.

The event aimed to cater for all Arts Award users; including secondary, primary, special and independent schools,  youth groups, artists and of course young people.  The event mixed  information, celebration and inspiration about Arts Award and presented it in an exciting showcase of performance, speeches and networking opportunities.

Following introductory speeches from representatives from the Brewery, Creative Futures Cumbria and from the Arts Award National Team, attendees were treated to some fantastic performances by young people which really showcased the diversity and quality of Arts Award in action.

The event kicked off with a screening of a film and presentation by three students at Dallam School who have achieved their Gold Arts Award through their school's Arts Award Club. Three young men, with three different interests (acting, film-making and script-writing)  pulled off the ultimate collaboration and created a 30 minute film and  trailer, which was showcased in their school to rapturous reviews. These enthusiastic  students spoke articulately and confidently about their Arts Award experiences; about their enjoyment of the process,  how it had helped them to develop as young artists in their particular specialism and how much they recommended Arts Award to other young people.

There were some captivating energetic and imaginative performances from two of the Brewery Youth Dance groups. Firstly a  haunting and evocative, eclectic piece of dance theatre entitled 'Trapped' combining both live and filmed performance from the Brewery Youth Dance group. The 'Boyz Moves' group then took the floor to showcase their dark and edgy piece Cirque de Nuit demonstrating skilled  partner and group dance work...including the group forming a human staircase for one dancer to climb!

Next the attendees were treated to a film showcasing  a collection of diverse work from  Art Locates Me, a digital arts project for young people in Cumbria run by Connexions Cumbria. Finally a group of young people from South Lakeland Young Carers shared their experiences of doing Arts Award through a collaborative project at the Brewery Arts Centre focusing on Asian Arts. The young participants spoke confidently are articulately about what they had got out of the project and in particular how doing their Arts Awards had helped them to not only develop their arts skills, but also their  confidence, communication and social skills.

The event culminated in a unique Q&A session...with fun balloon passing round the auditorium to music  before popping the balloons to reveal the questions for the panel to discuss.

 It was a fantastic event, which truly showcased the diversity and quality of Arts Award activity in the South Lakes and demonstrated how through collaboration and partnership, we can truly celebrate and promote the value and impact of Arts Award and increase opportunities for young people  to grow, develop and achieve through Arts Award.

The event was supported by Cumbria County Council through ‘See it Do it’, Creative Futures Cumbria and ourselves, Curious Minds.

Cheryl Hoos, school co-ordinator, wanted to find out if documentary film-making could develop boys’ empathy and understanding of different cultures. 

Twelve year nine boys worked with Handstand Productions to make a film about different cultures in their local area.  They researched, investigated and interviewed people to explore what the term means, focusing on the Chinese and Polish communities, represented by pupils in their school.

They produced research and interview questions, write a storyboard and script and developed film-making skills including editing, presenting and acting.

They looked at the target audience of year 6 primary school children and talked about how to engage them eg food-tasting.

In December 2010, the boys presented the film to the school, parents and community group, explaining the film-making process to the audience.

In January 2011 the film was shown at a primary schools event, where boys cooked from the cultures they were introducing in the film.

The project encouraged more parents to visit the school for celebration event. 
Each boy got a copy of the DVD to take home.

Cheryl said that boys had developed improved levels in English and understanding of different cultures.  She added that they were more motivated and confident, working well in teams and displaying unexpected levels of maturity, adding that pupils’ learning logs showed increased levels of literacy.

The boys said they really looked forward to the weekly sessions.

Cheryl:  “There is a real opportunity to be able to show the impact of creativity and increased learning levels in English levels as a result of the project.”

“The project has raised aspirations of the learners and there has been a real interest in Media as a future career path for the young people involved.”

“Creativity in the curriculum continues to inspire the pupils and adults in our school and the evidence in increased learning levels within a subject and confidence achieved as a result are a real achievement.”

Boys:  "I have learnt a lot about cultures in our city and communities."
I have learnt about the food that other cultures eat, the traditions of different cultures, the greetings of different cultures, a better understanding of the word 'culture'."
"We learnt how different cultures celebrate traditions and how they communicate language wise."
"I thought culture was mainly a language difference, now I know it is a lot more than that: traditions, food, celebrations..."
"In a job interview you get a head start if you know about other cultures."

The sessions gave teachers and coordinators across the region a chance to explore different ways to document their projects within their Creative Partnerships' programme.

During the day we used cameras, video, Twitter and Wordle.

We recreated famous paintings using a whole host of mixed media (fabrics, photographs, powerpoints and more).

All of the information, resources and tips (as well as images and video from the sessions) are available on the Curious Minds blog: Creative Documentation CPD

Cath and Curious Minds, as well as the coordinators and teachers present at the workshops, will be updating this resource with more information and comments as the weeks continue. With school projects presented creatively at our celebration events and posted on the blog in the Spring term.

• address the Community Cohesion agenda
• take away with them practical ideas, tools and resources 
• help learners take more control over their learning
• explore strategies to enable students to develop a range of transferable skills 

The worksops dates are below:

31st March - Alston Hall, nr Preston, Lancs

1st April - Civic Arts Centre, Oswaldtwistle, Lancs

8th April - Pendle Heritage Centre, nr Nelson, Lancs

This is an opportunity for participants to contribute to several whole school agendas including: 

Every Child Matters; Personal, Learning and Thinking Skills; PSHE; Citizenship;  The Creative Arts;  Community Cohesion;  Inclusion 

To book please visit:  curiousminds.eventbrite.com 

[Enquiry School programme - July-October 2010:  3 teachers and 160 Year 7 pupils took part]

Teachers at St John Bosco Arts College in Liverpool worked with Robert Meadows to transform teaching and learning at year seven.

As part of the Building Schools for the Future programme,  the school would  trial a completely new and different style of teaching  and learning to take into their planned new building.

Although BSF funding was cut (and with it the new building), developing an integrated curriculum remained at the heart of the school's change agenda.  The Creative Partnerships programme supported teachers to investigate how three separate subject areas could be integrated into one learning community, combining subject knowledge with skills development.  It was hoped that if successful, this model could be replicated across other subjects and year groups.

Within the pilot "Salesian Community", teachers would learn how to nurture a love of learning and independence amongst students; taking on a supportive role, as facilitator rather than imparter of knowledge.  

Three subject teachers visited a BSF school for ideas and then worked closely with Robert Meadows to draft a new curriculum integrating subject areas of RE, History and PSHE.  This was then presented to departmental staff and Deputy Head Teacher. 

In September 2010, teachers trialled the new Salesian learning Community with year seven students, introducing brand new teaching plans and approaches to learning, including a new openness towards external partners and speakers, with invitations for them to come and support the school's teaching aims.  Eg Tracey Carmen - songwriter and community musician worked with students on lyric and melody to create a song that reflected what they had learnt so far.

In October all parents of Year seven students were invited to a netbook distribution evening, where parents and community members were made aware of new curriculum developments and encouraged to ask questions.

The girls performed their song as a celebration of the first term’s work and were asked to report on how and if it worked for them with their comments informing developments. 

Pupils said:-

 “We learn more because it is three subjects instead of one”

“It was FUN!  Interesting facts, works and topics.  Amazing activities.  It is all work but it is fun, for example games and drawings.”

“I think teachers have learnt more about us and what we know too.”

"Working with Tracey and making a song up was great, you do exactly realize how much work we have done over the year."

One pupil said to a teacher:  “We didn’t realise how much we learnt because is was learning in a fun way.”

Teachers said:-

“The project did arouse interest in both pupisl and parents”

“It’s been liberating to write our own curriculum.”

“The more we went into it the more we thought:  Why haven’t we done this before?!”

“New relationships between departments worked really well.”

“This way of teaching allows for creativity.”

“Lessons are more innovative now.”

“I wouldn’t want to go back to how we used to teach.”

"I learnt a lot from the practitioners. I could see myself doing this next year. I am still relaxing into the new role and the new way of learning."

Practitioners: 

“As always, working to the brief of the school to CP ethos lends itself to practising reflective skills.  Something as a practitioner working with creative practice, it’s essential to keep at the forefront of conscious practice.”

Further information [taken from Project End Form]:

• The development of the Salesian community was instrumental in the school's change management process in a BSF context.  It was always envisaged that the curriculum change would take place prior to any building.  Hence a curriculum would be in place first.
• The skills set of school-based staff allowed for simplistic ideas about possible curriculum change. This was enhanced significantly by the experience brought particularly by Robert Meadows.
• Tracey Carmen added a music dimension which aided in the completion of the first term's project.
• The support of the Deputy Head allowed for logistical issues not to get in the way of progress.
• Relationships between pupils, teachers and practitioners has been very positive and improved through the project.
• All practitioners communicated really well with staff and pupils.
• Strong relationships and appropriate allocations of time allowed the work in hand to progress well. A  timeline was kept to with appropriate updates provided to key stakeholders, such as Senior Leadership Team of School, Governors (Curriculum Committee) and Liverpool Archdiocese.
• The project was truly collaborative equally owned and driven:
  Song writing part of the project was owned equally by the students and the teachers and facilitated by the practitioners. It was a teacher's idea initially and pupils had strong ownership of the outcome (they wrote the words and the lyrics).
• A notable feature of the success of the project has been the teamwork of all stakeholders and the shared vision of how to move the school forward.
• A first attempt at an integrated curriculum has brought with it many challenges. However, its success has informed the Leadership Team of the school and governing body of the benefits of such curriculum innovation. Hence already the school is planning for its second curriculum development area - Creative Community.
• Next time it would be good to have involvement of pupils in the planning process.  Also a more appropriate time line - with planning much earlier in the academic year to give teachers more time for planning.
• Despite the collapse nationally of the BSF project, the school is still committed to curriculum change.  Hence the project has assisted significantly in the change management process. Discussions are now taking place with regards to phase 2/Year 2 of the project. Staff clearly indicate that there is no going back.
• Although a lot of hard work has been undertaken, the outcome – an integrated curriculum in Year 7 and Year 8 – is certainly better than what was previously in place. Student/staff feedback eg blocked am/pm lessons will be considered in terms of moving the project further forward.
• Plans are already in place for phase 2. A deputy head has been allocated responsibility to work with the Arts Departments in the establishment of the Creative Community for Sept 2011.
• Curriculum change has been at the heart of school improvement. Further curriculum change has been incorporated in the school development plan. All things being equal there is still the potential and drive for 5 communities being created within Key Stage 3.

PQASSO is the Practical Quality Assurance System for Small Organisations.  It has been developed by The Charities Evaluation Service who also train and coordinate a network of PQASSO mentors. There are 11 standards to measure against, including Planning, Leadership & Management, Communications, Working With Others.

Each standard has 3 levels and organisations are expected to achieve Level 1 in all areas before deciding whether to progress to Levels 2 and 3.  Level 1 sets the minimum legal requirements that should be met as a service provider and employer, ensures planning and activities meet the business objectives and can be used to support the longer term development of the organisation.

For example in the Working With Others  section we felt we were 'progressing well' on the following: "The organisation identifies key organisations with whom it needs to work for a range of purposes", and will be developing a contact management system so we can fully meet this at level 1.

Glen Meskell and Tina Taylor from Curious Minds are currently working with colleagues and their mentor  Graham Whalley from Young Lancashire to achieve Level 1.  The process is proving extremely useful, provoking ideas and discussion for everyone in the team.

We have a lot to be proud of, but also plenty to room for improvement and PQASSO gives us the framework to make it happen.

Curious Minds has noticed how many of our Creative Partnerships projects this year are looking at using the school environment for learning. Projects underway range from creating treasure maps and treasure hunts in the school grounds to support maths ( Lytham C of E Voluntary Aided Primary School) to making dens (Longshaw Infant School) and sensory gardens ( St Michael’s on Wyre C of E Primary School). We also have some fantastic models of good practice in using school grounds and sustainability in our CP schools. Brabins Endowed, Chipping – nominees for a Learning Outside the Classroom Award, has held conferences and good practice sharing sessions for other schools and has been developing its outside space for 10 years. Holy Trinity School in Darwen hosts allotments, this year with the addition of bees and chickens and St Leonard’s in Padiham has done projects tracing food from field to fork. 

The Association for Science Education recently fuelled the debate by calling for imaginative teaching of science using the school  environment: their report is HERE http://www.ase.org.uk/documents/ases-oswg-report/  but you can also access it on our Environment Day resources.  They give a resounding endorsement to the value of fieldwork and external teaching in supporting the science curriculum – but acknowledge difficulties around resourcing, access to information and expertise and perhaps a lack of initial confidence in teachers in knowing where to start.

With all this debate and expertise around it’s no wonder that Curious Minds has been keen to respond to teachers’ interest in the subject. We recently held a successful training day on the subject with our partner Places Matter! and have uploaded the resources onto this site.

Using artists adds to the huge range of possibilities offered by even the most unpromising school environment. The creative eye can help and support teachers in their adaptation of their outdoor classroom and some of our great practitioners have huge experience of creating learning environments in even the most unpromising of settings.

It’s worth looking at the resources and also at some of our case studies here on the site.

That was lesson one on Curious Minds' 2-day writing course run by Nick Corder: writer, teacher, editor and ukulele player extraordinaire.  Other lessons were:

• Why use many words when a few will do?
• What, who, when, why, how...be a journalist by answering these crucial detective questions.  Try and craft your first paragraph into a summary of the whole story.
• Open sesame!  Use magic first sentence 'openers' to hook readers in.  Start with a name, quote, question or intrigue.  'The class could not believe it when they discovered that aliens had kidnapped Miss Scott.' 
• What is it with all the jargon and gobbledegook?  We're cohering, co-constructing, adding value and being 'fit for purpose' all over the place.  What do we actually mean?
• Sometimes something wordy is a good read, as long as it's riveting and the audience can absorb it in one go
• We do have different audiences: how can Curious Minds write well for schools, parents, businesses, funders and....children and young people!  It's not a case of one size fits all.
• There's a process to writing.  After you have scribbled some notes and ideas and bashed out a first draft, put it aside.  Leave it for a week if that's realistic.  If not, leave it for as long as you can.  The next step is the edit.  Make your cuts and changes with fresh eyes or ideally, ask a trusted friend or colleague to edit it.  Once you're happy with content, style, format and length, proof-read it for spelling and grammatical mistakes, missing words or rogue repetitions.  Finally, it's over to your in-house design expert (that's Glen for us!) to stamp on your unique brand and make it look striking.

Ooops... I've hit my word count!  I'll just have to write off all Nick's other tips (PS, puns are not always advisable...)

Early on a January morning, head teachers and teachers from across Merseyside met over breakfast to look at Creativity in the Early Years. The event started with a sharing of current activity in schools. Creative Agent Sarah Pickering presented findings and recommendations from previous Enquiry School projects that had, had a positive impact upon speaking and listening, as well as looking at national research by CCE and DEMOS Born Creative http://www.creativitycultureeducation.org/research-impact/exploreresearch/

The teachers then worked with a visual artist, dancer and musician to learn simple, exciting and sustainable ideas that could be used in the classroom. Stories of mermaids were produced on floor books and musical instruments sparked journeys on a magic carpet.

"Loads to think about and take back to school which will develop our teaching and learning further. A huge thank you!"

The next network event will focus on Learning Outside and will take place at Knowlsey Wild Flower Centre on Wednesday 30th March 8.30 - 11.30. There are still places available for Merseyside Primary schools, if you are interested in attending contact linda.meagor@curiusminds.org.uk

What’s All The Fuss About is a series of training events, designed to help Creative Practitioners understand exactly what schools want and need. The subject of the sessions is a direct result of feedback from our partner schools on what they want Creative Practitioners to understand more about. 

We’re offering these free sessions to help our Creative Practitioners tailor their work to enable schools to achieve their aims. We want to make sure everyone gets the most out of the final year of Creative Partnerships funding as well investing in the knowledge and skills of the creative workforce that will move forward with us into the future. The sessions are FREE, short, sharp and jam packed full of information and practical ideas which make them entirely worth the journey.

The first sessions on Citizenship in Schools are on the 10th and 17th of February and will be led by expert trainer Richard Demby.

If you’re interested in preparing for changes ahead and improving your work in schools, get your FREE tickets booked now

Specialising in Early Years she asks 'is what happens between the age of 0-5 the blueprint for the rest of our lives? Sarah recommends reading 'Room' Emma Donoghue, a powerful tale of incarceration and the mother child bond.

I would like to think I'm a kind person but I can be really bad tempered, especially in the morning and I am a grumpy old woman when it comes to poor service in shops. But I also try to treat other people how I would like to be treated and try not to bear grudges and people say I'm a good listener. 

Sarah says 'I love reading and I enjoyed helping other parents to enjoy reading with their children too.

Sarah's favourite books include 'A Prayer for Owen Meany, John Irving and The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry. I am currently reading Stuart - A life backwards by Alexander Masters which is about homelessness.

(* Although the height of fashion in the 1980's Alice no longer wears glasses like this).

1. What or who inspires you?

I am fortunate enough to meet people who inspire me every day: creative agents, teachers, young people, my colleagues. Or more boringly, I am inspired by a really long run in the rain - I make my biggest plans and solve lots of big problems out there.

2. What is ‘curious’ about your mind?

I am very curious about people and finding out how they tick; what has made them the way they are; what do they believe in; what will become of them. All really just a smokescreen for being a nosey parker! I am also curious to know where technology is going to end up in 20 years time. It's already pretty mindboggling.

3. Tell us a creative joke

“Knock Knock”

“Who’s there?”

“Granny”

“Granny who?”

“Granny in the car with Bella”

I made this joke up when I was 4, misunderstanding how jokes work  

Bad jokes unite people!

4. If you could be a famous artist/performer from present, past or future who would you be and why?

I’d love to have been Leonardo DaVinci’s apprentice -ok so not famous. To have learnt a craft from such an extraordinary and visionary character would have been amazing. I’d like to write a book from that perspective- observing his genius evolve and recording what onlookers might have thought.

5. Last film you saw?

‘The Hurt Locker’. War makes me sad.

6. Tell us about an adventure you have had on holiday 

My family holidays were all adventures- usually camping in France. My dad would start driving without any destination in mind and we’d just camp where we ended up. We would drive through rather suspect looking roads and occasionally the odd field. We often found ourselves somewhere obscure but always lovely, near a vineyard and swimming pool. 

7. What do you dislike the most?

Motorway service stations. Cultural black holes. I can feel the despair rising as I turn off the motorway!

8. Desert Island – three luxuries - what are they?

Running shoes

Sun cream

Wind up radio

9. If you didn’t work for Curious Minds where and what would you be doing?

Probably teaching in a primary school in an inner city. The path I was set for.

10. What do you like about working for Curious Minds?

I love that I work for an organisation whose purpose I wholeheartedly believe in. We are really fortunate to have our interests nurtured here. We also get on really well as a team. My colleagues are my friends too. 

Check out the next e-bulletin to find out a little bit more, curious, about the Curious Minds staff.

1. What or who inspires you?

Other than my kids...

Camila Batmanghelidjh (founder of Kids Company) - for providing security and support for extremely vulnerable young people.

Shami Chakrabarti - Director of Liberty - for intelligently and passionately fighting for everyone's human rights.

2. What is ‘curious’ about your mind?

I like to learn new skills.  Last year it was the ukulele, this year it's drawing.  I love novels and am (rather excessively) in 3 reading groups.

3. Tell us a tale about yourself

One summer, I was in a swimming pool on holiday with my brother and sister, idly wondering what would happen if I took my water wings off my arms and put them on my feet....  The experiment dramatically concluded with a daring rescue by my brother (according to him) as my upper body struggled not to sink beneath my absurdly buoyant feet.
Don't try this at home.   

4. If you could be a famous artist/performer from present, past or future who would you be and why?

Ute Lemper - Garbo-esque singer, writer and performer.  As well as her own stuff, she beautifully interprets the words and music of Weill & Brecht, Kander & Ebb and more contemporary artists such as Nick Cave and Elvis Costello.   (Not everyone's cup of tea...)   

5. Last book you read?

Brooklyn by Colm Toibin

6. Who do you trust?

Very few politicians

7. Who do you not trust?

Very many politicians

8. Desert Island – three luxuries - what are they?

Ukulele, photo album and writing set

9. If you didn’t work for Curious Minds where and what would you be doing?

If only I had the talent, I'd be singing and dancing in the West End.  More realistically... I always wanted to be a make-up and hair artist for theatre (or film and TV).

10. What do you like about working for Curious Minds?

I like the banter and the laughs... and most importantly I like that I'm working for an organisation that has pioneered teaching and learning for creativity and supported schools to  equip young people with the skills and confidence to lead fulfilling lives...
.. Thank goodness for the dedication of our creative agents and practitioners!

As the school enters the third and final year of the Creative Partnerships Change School Programme, the focus is on improving confidence, quality and enjoyment in the writing process for children, teachers and parents.

The last two years of the programme, led by Hilary Keating (writer and lead practitioner) and supported by Caren Greaves (Creative Agent) have developed children's speaking and listening skills.  This year pupils will cement their ability to write competently and confidently in a wide variety of genres.

The pupils were accompanied by creative practitioners Ali Gadema (Beatbox Poet), Leonie Higgins (musician and storyteller) and Alan Gibbons (writer), who are working with Broadgreen on "Write On" - the main programme of work for this third year. 

Pupils donned hard hats and toured the underground tunnels, finding out about the mysterious history of "the mole of Edge Hill", philanthropist Joseph Williamson who supervised and funded the building of the labyrinthian tunnels in the early 19th Century.  There was plenty of opportunity for pupils to ask questions and ponder the enigma of the tunnels' existence.

After the tour, pupils handled artefacts salvaged from the tunnels and worked together to determine their history by asking questions, problem-solving, guessing their purpose and writing about and drawing the objects.

Pupils worked with storytellers Tricia Lee and Susan Cowell (Liverpool Libraries), on riddles, wordplay and ghost stories.  There was lots of interaction and engagement between pupils and storytellers, as the darkness and chill enhanced the spooky atmosphere and made the ghostly stories a bit more credible..!   They then took part in a quiz, working together to work out and write down the answers to some wordy and relevant questions.

Pupils and teachers fed back on the Creative Partnerships programme at Broadgreen:-

Anna (teacher):  There has been a noticeable improvement in children's writing and confidence ...  Pupils and teachers are enthused and enjoying the activities ...

Erin and Lucy (Y5 and 6 pupils):  We've made dens and used them to make stories...  It's been fun working with Hilary [Keating], she's not like a teacher - we can talk to her differently ... 

We create characters and write them up in our stories - it's easier to imagine what they're thinking and feeling... 

We buddy up with reception children and read with them in the dens - we learn more and so do they.

Michael and Tom (Y5 pupils):  We've been doing horror stories with Alan [Gibbons].  We worked in groups to write a story, and acted it out, which was more interesting and we wrote complex sentences ...  It's made us more enthusiastic about writing and inspired us to write at home as well.

We're writing on a blog that our parents can see.

He takes our words for his stories and we take his.

As they left the site, children were asking all kinds of question about the visit and had clearly gathered useful material for writing back in school.

Wednesday 26th January at Novas Contempory Urban centre 8.30 - 11.30 (breakfast provided)

This year there will be two further network events on the 20th April looking at learning outside the classroom and the 15th June focusing upon parental engagement.

There are still places available for these events contact: linda.meagor@curiousminds.org.uk 

Childwall, also a Curious Minds Enquiry School have secured 4 grants from the Royal Society of up to £3000 to set up projects in the school. Mike McAteer, ICT co-ordinator says  'It inspires us to think beyond the exam results'  Since the schools first grant in 2004 there has been a 24 per cent increase in pupils studying GCSE science.  

Mike says 'We wanted the year 12s to be able to see what sort of jobs are available to them, whether that's as a scientist, engineer or mathematician,' Through these projects, they get to meet people who have done the learning and see where they end up.     

http://royalsociety.org/

http://royalsociety.org/Partnership-Grants-Good-Projects/

http://www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=6067588

The first sessions will take place on 10^th of Feb in Merseyside and 17^th of Feb in Lancashire.  These will explore how creative practice can enhance the Citizenship curriculum and will be led by expert facilitator Richard Demby.  The following two sessions will explore Family and Community Engagement and Outdoor Spaces. 

These short but informative sessions, delivered by experts in their field are packed with ideas and information to help Creative Practitioners tailor their practice to meet the needs of schools.  For more information about the sessions, including how to book, please click here. 

Dr Helen Manchester provided the context and helped us role play a pitch to a challenging team of school senior managers.  Then we played with lots of new tools. 

Paul Main presented ICT methods including Garageband, Exploratree and funny phone techniques. 

Alison Unsworth and Paul Merrick from BALTIC Arts facilitated a hands-on session using scissors, glue, card, charcoal and video. 

Perhaps most useful was the reminder that it doesn't matter what tools you use, it's the quality of the questioning, listening and the dialogue that's important.

Pictures by Cath Ford - Cath in the Attic - To read her Blog on the Creative Documentation session please visit: Cathintheatticblog

The West Cheshire CP programme works in partnership with the University of Chester, to investigate how learning outside the classroom impacts on pupil (and teacher) creativity.

Eight Year 2 students on the BEd programme at Chester have the opportunity to enrich their training by participating in the programme, linking their standard teaching and non-standard setting placements together through an enquiry project.  This gives them a unique opportunity to underpin their coursework with a case study based on action research and partnership between a school and a creative setting.  Students are placed with a school in January and then with the partner setting in May.  The school and the setting work with a creative agent to investigate their enquiry based on learning outside the classroom.

Four creative agents have worked with Curious Minds to co-construct the programme, which was piloted last year. 

Organisations involved in the programme include Catalyst Science Discovery Centre; Waterways Trust, Ellesmere Port; National Museums Liverpool; Forestry Commission at Delamere;  West Cheshire and Chester Rangers Service and Action Transport Theatre.

The event was facilitated by Programme Manager Jane Evans-Woodason and included an introduction to Create Partnerships by Alice Birdwood (Director of Programmes at Curious Minds); presentation of a case study by Sue Halliday (Director of Catalyst Science Discovery Centre); the Creative Agent perspective by Sue Reddish and the student perspective by Brendan Hoare.

Sue Halliday's Case Study was a partnership between Catalyst and Brookside Primary School:  "The Catalyst Apprentice".  For Sue, a key outcome had been the retention of a valuable member of staff who had developed skills in working with young people and had pioneered a hands-on approach to working with artefacts in the school (where previously these items had never left the centre).

Class teacher Caroline Kendal felt that providing a ‘real’ situation with ‘real’ people was crucial for the year 6 children selected to take part.  Many had low self-esteem, lack of trust, tolerance and understanding of each other, which could often lead to conflict and limited teamwork and collaboration.  As a result they were underperforming in the curriculum and unprepared for the important transition to year 7.

University of Chester student Victoria Czerepaninic spent a four-week enrichment phase at Catalyst, researching how the centre and its collections could support the project.  She worked with practitioners and school staff to develop her teaching practice and understanding of the value of an outside learning experience.

Pupils were introduced to the project by a video stimulus and their first task was to create an advert for ‘The Catalyst Apprentice’, much like the opening teaser sequence for ‘The Apprentice’.  Then in small groups, they organised themselves as discrete companies - deciding on a company name, logo and ethos.

Pupils visited Catalyst in May, where they participated in workshops, activities in the Interactive Theatre and investigated exhibitions.  Back in school, working as discrete companies, they collaborated on an idea for improvement which they pitched back to  Catalyst.  The idea from winning pitch would be put into production at Catalyst.

Remaining in their 'companies', pupils developed ideas formed during the visit.  Practitioners facilitated them in workshops to develop confidence and skills in  teamwork, collaboration, listening and questioning and presenting.  Practitioners included  Carrie-Ann Parkes (Education) and Meryl Jameson (Marketing) from Catalyst; Graphic Designer Sophie Bower and Drama specialist Diane Carson.  Children were encouraged to evaluate and review their ideas throughout.
 
Sue Halliday - Director of Catalyst - delivered science CPD for teaching staff to develop their confidence and encourage them to try 'hands-on' science back in the classroom.

On 28 May children presented their  pitches to an invited panel of judges, including John Stephens, Director of Children's Services, Cheshire West and Chester and Sue Halliday, Director of Catalyst.  This included presenting the journey of their prototype. In addition, to the panel, parents of the children involved and other classes of the school were invited to listen and vote for their favourite pitch.  Completed pitches were added to the school and the Catalyst websites.  During the summer holidays, Catalyst held a variety of different open days and conferences, where pupils' photos, design boards, presentations, interactive working walls were displayed as part of a temporary exhibition.

Sue Halliday (Catalyst):  “Being able to work with a school for an extended period of time allowed us to build up a relationship and really understand the needs of the class. The project was particularly beneficial for one member of my team who was able to work at the school leading small groups and getting instant feedback, tailoring the sessions to the children and thinking on her feet. This was excellent professional development and has encouraged her to develop activities for our programme having tried them out in school.”

Caroline Kendal:  (class teacher):  "The children made huge improvements in their social skills". The session ended with lunch and an opportunity for questions and informal networking.   

The Brewery Arts Centre is an ‘Arts Awards Welcome Centre’ and the event will showcase what is on offer through ‘Brewery Youth Arts’.  Creative Futures Cumbria help to promote Arts Award in Cumbria and trains the Arts Award Advisers who work with young people.

The event is all for all schools – including secondary, primary, special and independent, as well as for youth groups, artists and of course young people.  The event will be an entertaining combination of information, celebration and inspiration.  Information about Arts Awards and how it works, celebration with performances by young people from ‘Brewery Youth Arts’ and ‘Connexions Cumbria’ and inspiration through what young people can achieve.  It will start at 4pm with refreshments, with the event between 4.30 and 6pm.

The event will be in the theatre at the Brewery Arts Centre is FREE thanks support from Cumbria County Council through ‘See it Do it’, Creative Futures Cumbria and of course, Curious Minds.  Tickets are limited and must be obtained IN ADVANCE through the Brewery Box Office – 01539 725133.

For further information please contact: Tricia Gordon, Education and Performing Arts Officer (tricia.gordon@breweryarts.co.uk Brewery Arts Centre, Highgate, Kendal LA9 4HE; tel 01539 725133

If you want to know more check out these excellent resources:

http://www.placesmatter.co.uk/education

http://www.curiousminds.org.uk/curiousproject6/

What's Outside Matters from Curious Project 6 on Vimeo.

Curious Minds has used Action Learning as a tool for continuing professional development and self reflection with both its staff and freelance workforce, and several of its staff members are accredited facilitators.

Joan Forshaw and Tina Taylor are facilitating the latest set and excited to be working with a new group of people.

Those of you who have been completing the Arts Council portfolio application over the past weeks will recognise how closely the award supports key aims for children and young people. We anticipate further information about how Arts Award can deliver against the goals identified in 'Achieving great art for everyone' with the publication of the ACE corporate plan in Spring 2011.

We would also like to welcome back Hannah Baldwin, the Regional Development Coordinator for Arts Award, who has been on maternity leave for the past 9 months - 'With the confirmation of ongoing commitment from key funders, this is a fantastically exciting time for Arts Award. It's great to be back and I look forward to working with and supporting all of the great centres and advisors delivering Arts Award in the North West'.

To find out more about Arts Award please visit here...

This is what the children said:

'I used to hate starting off a story because my mind goes blank. We have made the start of the story and I can see it in my head. This is helping me write about it.' (Year 2 girl)

'Mrs Hodge doesn't tell us what we are doing. Our groups pick what we are going to find out and make. Then we have to show the rest of the class our project in the Dragon's Den.'  (Year 6 pupil)

'The Lost Boy only had dirty water. I knew that water goes through the pipes to make it clean. We tried it out with Mrs Fish and wrote an e-mail back to the Lost Boy.' (Year 2 pupil)

Staff planning allows time for pupils to generate their own lines of enquiry around a topic. Teachers are changing their practice in response to pupil interests or misconceptions.  They might use PowerPoint to show images as a stimulus but pupils gain their own knowledge through independent research, presentations and questions. Teacher as well as pupil enjoyment and motivation is increasing: 'Because the class are picking the direction of their projects I am learning with them. I know everything there is to know about the Solar System!' (Year 6 teacher).

Teachers don't mind admitting it's a challenging process: 'It is hard when you have to change the way you teach. I worry sometimes that I'm not prepared and I won't be able to answer their questions if I haven't picked the focus. I need to start asking the questions and not giving the answers.'

Arts Council England is inviting organisations across England to apply to become one of a network of regional development agencies that will focus on arts and cultural work with children and young people. These organisations will develop coherence across a diverse range of artistic practice, increasing young people’s participation in creative and cultural learning and improving access to high quality arts and culture, a particular focus being on collaboration with schools.

Through our work, we have reached and improved the lives of over 53,000 children and young people across the North West since 2002 and have worked with nearly 400 schools.

Curious Minds is submitting a bid to become the regional development agency for work with children and young people in the North West. Chris May, our Chief Executive,  tells us here why he feels Curious Minds is the right organisation to become the regional development agency for children and young people in the arts for the North West.

If you agree with Chris, we are collecting endorsements from people and posting them onto our website section: "I'm backing Curious Minds"

To learn more about the early ideas Curious Minds have for a new regional development programme, read our 'ideas paper'

If you would like to back us, please tell us why at the following email: backus@curiousminds.org.uk

Don’t forget to book your place on this event on the 18^th January at Marsden Heights Community College Nelson...

Aimed at both Primary and Secondary sectors, the day will include presentations from landscape architects and artists, practical exercises for designing your space and case studies from Lancsahire schools. Not to mention free resources to take away.

Not to be missed and likely to book up fast.

To secure a place please email info@curiousminds.org.uk 

Pupil voice and decision-making, consultancy, out door spaces, lancashire

St Kentigern’s is a city school dating from the Edwardian period and its outside spaces are small and have an urban feel. Staff at the school felt that the positive behaviour and relationship building they had done indoors courtesy of Creative Partnerships/Curious Minds was being undermined at playtimes. Photographer Pippa Pixley and movement artist Anna Daly spent time in the playground watching the children using the spaces, devising activities and games and feeding their results into a truly child centred approach to the design of the outdoors. 

St Kentigern’s will be sharing its experience and giving tips on using your outdoor space for maximum benefit at the FREE Teacher CPD event on January 18^th

Well-being was referred to frequently throughout the day.  How do we manage the tension between our fast-paced, social networking, information-overloaded, downloading, gaming society, engaged in its virtual realities, and our mental health and wellbeing?  How do we address the issue of our highest-ever ‘NEETs’ statistics (Not in Education, Employment or Training)?  How do we develop the skills and qualities that employers demand over and above academic results, a capacity for creative collaboration and the ability to care for each other and our planet?

The people we met at the conference and the organizations they work for are, like Curious Minds, involved in the task of answering these questions.  You can find out more about some of them at:

Personal Development Point: www.personaldevelopmentpoint.com

ASDAN: www.asdan.org.uk

Building Learning Power: www.buildinglearningpower.co.uk

Channel 4: www.c4education.wordpress.com

Flow: www.floworganisation.org

School-Home Support: www.shs.org.uk

Speakers Trust: www.speakerstrust.org

Studio Schools: www.studioschoolstrust.org

The Young Foundation: www.youngfoundation.org

The Whole Education Network brings peer organisations together to drive forward a national movement for change that chimes with the work Curious Minds is already developing across the North West.

Whiston Willis Community Primary School, Knowsley, Merseyside asked the question:

How can we encourage parents to become more confident and actively involved in their children’s reading?

Whiston Willis decided that if they were going to raise readers they needed to catch the children’s interest in reading at a very early age at home as well as in school. They understood that the help and support of parents was needed to encourage reading at home. As some of the parents lacked confidence in their own skills, the project focused on developing both pupils’ and parents’ confidence and enjoyment of reading. 

Creative Practitioner Sarah Pickering  worked with a small group of parents and their children in the mornings as well as the whole class (Y1) in the afternoons.  She helped the  parents to understand what was going on in the classroom, so they could support their children at home. She looked at how to approach reading with children in a more creative way, through playing and making reading games. Sarah involved parents and pupils in creating a book of personal stories. Chris Ball, a drama practitioner, then worked with the pupils to bring stories to life, igniting their imaginations about the potential of stories. The project encouraged parents to come into school to work with the practitioners as well as their children over a four month period.

One of the results of the project is that parents are now showing value in their children’s reading, regularly writing notes in the reading record. This was not happening much prior to the project, so this alone has helped children to see that their parents value the importance of reading at home. All of the children who took part in the project with their parents have gone up by at least one sub-level in reading during the half term of the project. One child has improved in reading and writing by 2 sub-levels during the 8 week project. Considering that good progress over a whole school year would be to improve by 2 sub-levels this shows the amazing progress of these children within a short timescale .The majority of the rest of the children, who were involved in the story making without parental involvement, have improved their story writing ability. Their work is clear evidence that many children are able to approach story writing in a much more creative and imaginative way now. This has led to an increase in sub-levels for writing for many of the class. 

Sarah Pickering ensured that the parents felt that they could talk freely to her and share their concerns or issues. Whiston Willis Community Primary School found out what misconceptions parents had surrounding reading and what they will need to do more of as a school to form links with parents in terms of reading at home. 

1. What or who inspires you?

My parents. They have always pointed me in the right direction and on many an occasion I have needed to be not just pointed but pushed in the right direction!

2. What is ‘curious’ about your mind?

I like listen to the white noise gaps between radio stations on the Medium Waveband or Short Waveband. Why? The noise you hear is actually noise produced millions if not billions of years ago that is breaking through the earth atmosphere. The sound was produced either at the point of the Big Bang or just after and has taken that long to reach us. Plus I hate listening to the Today show so I have to listen to something else. Sometimes it makes a lot more sense.

3. Tell us a tale about yourself

When 7 years old on Christmas morning, just after 2am, I crept down the stairs hoping to find Santa Claus delivering presents. He hadn’t been however. I heard a stirring from what sounded like a sleigh on top of the roof. So I climbed into the large chimney in my parents’ living room. I however climbed into the chimney far too much and became jammed in the stack. Then I heard Santa come into the living room and placing the presents around the fireplace and in our stockings. Being terrified in case Santa discovered me and turned my presents to soot I kept completely quiet and then fell asleep. The next thing I remember is hearing my name being shouted by all my family and feeling dreadfully frozen. But being scared of being found out by my parents I kept quiet again, forced my way out of the chimney, covered in soot, it was 10am, there was a police car outside and no one in the house. But all my presents sat unopened, not made of soot in front of the fire. My parents returned 10 minutes later and gave me the best Christmas present I have ever had, lots of hugs, kisses and love – them being so glad to see I was safe. Of course they then gave me a right telling off for being so stupid.

4. If you could be a famous artist/performer from present, past or future who would you be and why?

Merce Cunningham – Choreographer of contemporary dance and one of the leaders of the avant garde. Not only was this guy one of the most graceful dancers in Martha Grahams company he also developed dance into something which took away the restrictions of ballet and worked with such visionaries such as John Cage. As he became older he was one of the first choreographers to use digital technologies to write routines. A really inspiring man without who modern dance would not be the same.   

5. Last book you read?

The Tipping Point  - Malcolm Gladwell

6. Who do you trust?

I trust ‘Trust’ for what it is. A word to describe something that should happen naturally and not be forced. If you have to think ‘Do or should I trust this person’ then you shouldn’t trust them.

7. Who do you not trust?

See answer 6

8. Desert Island – three luxuries  - what are they?

A boat, a satellite phone and bubble wrap

9. If you didn’t work for Curious Minds where and what would you be doing?

My mother always said I would make a great Vicar. She once even sent application forms through to me for a position that had come up in an Appleby Bridge vicarage. One problem I told her, ‘I’m an atheist.’ She replied ‘Oh they don’t need to know that do they?’

10. What do you like about working for Curious Minds?

We help young people, schools, teachers, arts professionals, local authorities, arts organisations and individuals improve their lives and their practice. Knowing everything we do is leading to improvement and positive outcomes for all who we work with makes one jump out of bed in the morning and with a hunger to arrive into work to get cracking.

If you would like to be interviewed for a future Curious Minds e-bulletin please drop an email to glen.meskell@curiousminds.org.uk

"Congratulations! It’s a fantastic achievement to be recognised as one of the best projects in your region, and testament to the passion and commitment of the young people who are making a difference in the community. Our youth judging panel were responsible for choosing the regional finalists from over 200 entries received this year, which was not an easy job! They were particularly impressed by your project and commented that it was challenging the false idea of terrorism and actively trying to change it and admired how the young people are wanting to engage with wider community." - Philip Lawrence Awards Network Team

Philip Lawrence Award for Pendle Vale College Pod Cast from Curious Project 6 on Vimeo.

This project brought together a diverse group of young people within Pendle Vale College, Nelson.

The group of young people all demonstrated leadership potential throughout the life of the project. Initially a youth worker who ensured that the participants took ownership of the project throughout facilitated the work. The final toolkit was designed by young people for young people, the intention of the group was to use the ‘card game’ with peers in various settings to assist other young people to gain an understanding of violent extremism and help prevent it. This game will also be used to help teachers begin conversations around this theme.

The group worked together to challenge each other’s understanding of violent extremism and explore other controversial issues in an appropriate and critical manner. Together they responded appropriately to current events and news articles that impacted them and their communities. The young people looked at the misconceptions that were often globally viewed, though particularly within the school community. They worked together to develop understanding of their own identities and cultural diversity.

Initially the young people had little or no understanding of the many forms of extremism, not just violent extremism. Some of the young people who were Muslim, honestly and openly expressed their views, thoughts and feelings with the group, and also brought things to the group that they thought to be fact, but when further explored by the group together found them to be conjecture or conspiracy theory often ‘hyped’ by the media or internet sites.

The general consensus from the group was that they had never been given the opportunity to hold these types of conversations, where they could questions issues, views and find facts. This project allowed young people ‘scratch the surface’ of a very sensitive subject, that many young people know little about. They wanted like to find out further facts, in a safe and stimulating environment.

Most of the young people felt that they had had the opportunity to learn something that they did not know previously, meet other young people who they would not normally mix with and get their point over in a non-confrontational manner and be challenged appropriately. This project gave consent for all of the above to happen, and the group wish to take this forward to other colleges, schools also youth and community centres

Written by Sharon Connery

St Anne's Catholic Primary School, Knowsley is working with drama practitioner Kate Gorst from Altru Drama Ltd and wellbeing practitioner Kate Norfolk.  Kate Gorst uses drama to encourage people to consider their understanding of themselves and the world around them. Kate Norfolk uses a collaborative approach inspired by pupils' ideas to develop engagement and personal learning and thinking skills.  St Anne's will observe children's teamwork and interpersonal skills and capture evidence of change using video and diaries.

'A Space Ship to our feelings' is the name of a project being developed by Wellesbourne Primary School, Liverpool.  The school is working with drama practitioner Emma Bramley and wellbeing practitioner Kate Norfolk to build children's self-esteem and aspirations.  The school wants to improve attendance and punctuality and help children think carefully about the choices they make in their lives.

Grange Infant School, Runcorn is currently looking for practitioners to support pupils' understanding and appreciation of Halton's changing community.  The school wants to help children appreciate the culture and values of people from different national and international backgrounds.  The school would also like to establish a link with another North West school whose pupil population is much more diverse than their own (are you interested or know of anyone who might be?).  The project will use creativity and art to build bridges between the different communities around the school, engaging whole families in the process.

When you see the work happening on the ground with pupils, teachers and practitioners you bear witness to the positive effect a creative collaboration has on children's engagement, confidence, imagination and learning.  Hearing those involved in programmes describe what is happening differently because of Creative Partnerships is often powerful and moving.   Pure form-filling, box-ticking and jargon is not enough to communicate the significance of this work.  Schools need to use methods that display outcomes in a visual, tangible and multi-sensory way.

On Monday 17th January Curious Minds is giving all Creative Agents the opportunity to explore different approaches to evaluation and documentation.  Dr Helen Manchester of the Faculty of Education and Language Studies and the Child and Youth Studies Research Group, The Open University, and Paul Main, Curious Minds Creative Agent, will facilitate an interactive session using ICT and digital media for evaluation and documentation.  Paul Merrick and Alison Unsworth from BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Arts (www.balticmill.com) will help us explore beautiful, artistic approaches to evaluation and documentation, embedding methods such as video, photography, drawing, movement and questioning into the learning sessions.

Agents need to book for this via eventbrite by Friday 10th December after which date we will open this offer up to our creative practitioner workforce.
Please contact the office for more details: 0151 708 8009 

To see the notes, audio, pictures and video from the previous seminars we have held please visit our Creative Agent - Sharing and Reflection blog.

The event is aimed at 11 to 16 year olds who have a passion for media and want to be part of the media industry, both in front and behind the camera. 250 places are available for the event. You will be treated to free workshops held by industry professionals.

The application process is the same as applying for a real job at Channel 4, giving you a chance to experience what it is like to apply for a job. The application process is now open.

http://4talent.channel4.com/getstarted/kickstart/idl

The main reforms proposed within the paper are as follows:

• An increase in the number of top head teachers helping struggling schools from 393 to 1,000 by 2014.
• Forcing weak schools to become academies - managed out of local authority control
• A new reading test for six-year-olds
• A new baccalaureate - focused on students gaining at least grade C in maths, english, a language, one science subject and one humanities subject
• An overhaul of league tables to stop schools using vocational exams to boost their GCSE-level scores
• More assessment of teacher training applicants, including tests of character and emotional intelligence
• Reform of teacher training, introduction of special teaching schools modelled on existing teaching hospitals
• The scrapping of rules limiting head teachers' ability to observe teachers' lessons to three hours each year
• Anonymity for teachers being investigated for inappropriate behaviour, to protect teachers from malicious allegations
• Greater powers for teachers to search for banned items, give no-notice detentions, rights to restrain pupils physically
• A more equal distribution of funding between schools, sixth forms and colleges 

To read in detail the white paper please download it here...

The new iPhone application will allow young people to find opportunities, share their videos, images and experiences.

You can find out how to download the application  here...

In ten quick fire questions you will find out more than you probably hoped for about us all.

To start us off we have Lindsey West, our Director of Finance and Resources. We all love Lindsey here at Curious Minds, and not just because she ensures we get paid our wages! 

1. What or who inspires you?

People who consistently put others before themselves and make it look easy!

2. What is ‘curious’ about your mind?

I like spreadsheets and numbers and my curiosity is aroused when I need to problem solve and make improvements to the way things are done. It would appear that I am obsessed with systems.

3. Tell us a tale about yourself

I got married earlier this year and am 30 weeks pregnant! I am over the moon and very excited by motherhood.

4. If you could be a famous artist/performer from present, past or future who would you be and why?

I’d be Audrey Hepburn... petite, beautiful, gorgeous clothes and had a string of hunky leading men; Gregory Peck, Cary Grant, Humphrey Bogart, Fred Astaire....

5. Last book you read?

I can’t remember! Currently reading the Baby Whisperer which was a lovely gift from Kate Hobson our Director of Programmes who is currently on maternity leave. I’m guessing that I’m going to be very grateful for this in a few months!

6. Who do you trust?

My Dad. While I’ve spent most of my life disagreeing with him I can see now that he knows what he’s talking about! He is always right!

7. Who do you not trust?

People who overtly tell lies.

8. Desert Island – three luxuries  - what are they?

Endless supply of wine. Iphone. Massage chair. I would be very happy to stay on an island alone for a very long time!

9. If you didn’t work for Curious Minds where and what would you be doing?

If I listened to my Dad I’d be a solicitor earning a fortune. If I never left London I’d be a Floor Manager working in television.

10. What do you like about working for Curious Minds?

I love that fact that we are all creating new projects, programmes and ways of doing things every day. We’re a young organisation that is driven by a group of very passionate, lovely and talented folk - staff and partners. Plus, when things are hectic, busy and stressful all I have to do is remember why we are all doing it... changing lives. That’s enough to put a smile on my face.

Many thanks to Lindsey. Well I think that sums it up nicely, we all do our jobs and carry out our creative practice because it helps to change lives for the good. A point always worth holding close to heart in the current climate.

If you would like to be interviewed for a future Curious Minds e-bulletin please drop an email to glen.meskell@curiousminds.org.uk 

Neil has been consulting experts including game designers, software programmers, animators and illustrators to create the content of the course, which will take place on the 16^th and 17^th of December in Manchester.  If you, or someone you know, would like to secure one of the last places on the course, please email Neil burnleyict@zoho.com

On Monday and Tuesday we held inspiring seminars (Liverpool/Preston), where invited speakers talked and discussed creativity and what it means for them. The second What’s All The Fuss About sessions took place on Wednesday and Thursday with the focus on pupil tracking and assessment. Creative agents met after the Sharing and Reflection seminars to join up in their “pods” to discuss best practice and help agents work closer together and mentor each other through the creative process and projects they are all working on.

The images, film footage and notes from the Sharing and Reflection seminars will be live to view over the Curious Minds website by the start of next week, as will the new images and notes from the 2^nd What’s’ All The Fuss About sessions on pupil tracking. Please visit the Curious Minds resources section of the website then to access that information.

The meeting was very positive and was followed up by visits to two Liverpool schools (Broadgreen Primary School and Archbishop Beck Catholic Sport College). Both schools informed CCE of their great practice and how working with Curious Minds has helped transform their schools.

Carol Machell Headteacher at Broadgreen Primary commented that working with Curious Minds and the Creative Partnership Change School programme had helped to:

improve teachers confidence to teach in more creative ways, developed pupil engagement in the running of the school and the curriculum and greatly helped engage parents to become part of the school life.

The Arts Award North West team at Curious Minds will host their monthly online networking session on Thursday, November 25 from 4-6pm.  Log in to share your stories about Arts Award, chat to the team and other advisers and get answers to your questions about the award.  To mark Arts Award's 5th birthday this November, this month's forum is focussing on celebrating young people's successes - although you're welcome to join in with discussions on any theme. 

To check out the notes from last month's forum on Arts Award in SEN settings, or to view the broadcast this time around, visit www.curiousminds.org.uk/exciting-online-networking

CLASSIC fM's Managing Director Darren Henley said, 'There can be a tendency for music teachers to be the unsung heroes of the music world. Yet without them, many young people would not have music introduced into their childhoods in a structured way. Our Awards have been created to reward those music teachers for their work in instilling a passion for their subject into a new generation of music lovers - and none more so than Sarah'.

Sarah has recently worked for Curious Minds with The Elms School in Knowsley, and is responsible for two West Lancashire Schools.  In her spare time, she plays violin in her ceilidh band, Gallimaufry.

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.

Does your bid concentrate on young people leaving Young Offenders Institutions or young people leaving care?

If so, Curious Minds and TiPP could be great delivery partners for the programme you are designing. This is a new collaboration between ourselves and TiPP (The Theatre in Prison and Probation Development Centre) - an independent charity that focuses on using creative approaches to engage offenders in education and training.

For more information on what we could offer your Youth in Focus bid, contact our Director of Programmes Chris Finn at chris.finn@curiousminds.org.uk

Staff reported that collaborating with the creative practitioners enhanced their confidence in teaching and learning across a wide range of curriculum areas. They could articulate what makes a creative lesson, and this helped them to plan and observe lessons. A new staff member commented that she felt confident teaching a 'creative lesson' because of the shared ethos developed by the school.

An OFSTED subject survey inspection took place after the residential, in which the number of 'outstanding lessons' observed increased and it is believed that this is a direct result of the impact of the Change School programme. Ofsted reported: "In the overwhelming majority of lessons, good use is made of adventurous techniques such as drama and role-play". 

Online Campaign Day 24^th November 2010! ENYAN is encouraging the youth arts sector to promote the National Campaign 2010/11 ‘Youth Arts Transforms Lives – FACT!’ on an official day (24 November 2010) dedicated to raising the profile of the campaign and reaching out to any many people as possible. A ‘Campaign Badge’ and animated flash banner is available, to take part simply email: enyan@artswork.org.uk.

Launch of NEW Online Youth Arts Portal! If you have videos of youth arts projects that you would like to share with others, join the new YouTube group:

‘YouthArtsTransformsLives’:http://www.youtube.com/user/YouthArtsPortal. Showcase your work and learn about the successes of other youth arts projects that have taken place.

Regional Youth Arts Champions! The National Campaign will be recognising the efforts of individuals who have made an outstanding commitment to youth arts and deserve further recognition in their region and beyond. All of the nominations for this campaign initiative are now in and ENYAN’s Regional Advisory Panels will shortly be announcing the successful Champions.

Online Campaign Resources! ENYAN has been seeking case studies which illustrate and provide evidence that the arts do transform lives. Contributors have been encouraged to submit case studies of projects that feature individuals or groups of young people that are/were between the ages 12-25 when the youth arts project took place. Thank you to all those who submitted case studies in time for our recent deadline. We are delighted to have received such high quality submissions and to have gathered together a fantastic wealth of evidence. The Case Studies will now be used as advocacy and lobbying tools and, in the New Year, many will be included within our 9 Online Campaign Resources (one per region). We trust that these will become extremely useful resources for the sector.

The Online Campaign Resources will also hold an invaluable Appendix – again we will be collating information provided by you!. This will be a list of essential publications plus internet links to major arts and youth organisations, research and statistics relevant to those offering youth arts services. We are therefore seeking reports, resources, publications, evaluations, surveys etc which can offer the sector a coherent appendix of evidence. There is no restriction on the delivery date of projects or date of publications; we are pooling together evidence new and old. Please send us the material/link or signpost us by emailing: enyan@artswork.org.uk.

The Online Campaign Resources will also feature key statements from leading sector representatives who are working with us to help drive forward the campaign and all Regional Youth Arts Champions will also been provided with a platform to have their say!

ENYAN launched this year-long national campaign – ‘Youth Arts Transforms Lives- FACT!’ - in June 2010 at a hugely successful conference in Northampton.  The aims of the campaign were decided following a sector-wide consultation and relayed for the first time to conference delegates at the launch. The aims are:

• Produce and share evidence to support key messages regarding the value of youth arts
• Increase knowledge, understanding and support for youth arts by politicians and government ministers
• Make a strong case to local stakeholders and local authorities, to regional and national agencies and to funding bodies to invest funds in youth arts and for us to be able to provide evidence as to why this is relevant
• Demonstrate the value and impact of youth arts to services and agencies supporting hard to reach young people
• Highlight  key national initiatives benefiting the youth arts sector and creating a framework for how they can be delivered at a regional level

A key outcome of this campaign will be to equip sector professionals with the evidence to back up their claims that the arts can and do transform the lives of young people and help us all to demonstrate this to investors and stakeholders.

For more information regarding the campaigns aims, objectives and delivery model, please contact t: 023 80682 535 or e: enyan@artswork.org.uk

Blast is the BBC’s youth creativity service. From first-timers to emerging artists, Blast gives teenagers the chance to try out new skills, showcase their own work and find out more about working in the creative industries. Each year the BBC takes Blast out on tour, giving young people the opportunity to get some hands-on experience and training in a wide variety of free multi-media workshops. Last year, Blast engaged over 170,000 teenagers in face-to-face activities throughout the UK.

BBC Blast will build an impressive mobile creative village, complete with digital workshop spaces at North Street Car Park on Wednesday 17^th November. Over the next three days, teenagers with a passion for music, dance, drama, film and fashion, will be able to take part in a variety of free workshops, meet industry professionals, learn new skills, use the latest technology and get creative, whatever their ability.

For this visit to Clitheroe, BBC Blast has teamed up with Curious Minds to accredit young people's development through the Arts Award Scheme. Arts Award helps those aged 11-25 to enjoy the arts, develop creative and leadership abilities and achieve a national qualification.  Anyone visiting BBC Blast will be able to complete the first section of the Award through the new talents they gain whilst on board. In addition, the work experience team selected for BBC Blast will be working with Curious Minds staff to complete the Silver Arts Award, using their placement to learn new skills, share them with others and explore creative careers. 

The Arts Award was launched in 2005 and will celebrate its fifth birthday on November 16 - the same week as BBC Blast comes to Clitheroe.

BBC Blast offers a fantastic opportunity for young people to learn what it's really like to work in the arts, and to share their skills with others who might be learning it for the first time.  This fits in perfectly with Arts Award, which encourages young people to engage with professional organisations and to develop as individuals and as leaders in whatever artform most inspires them.  It's particularly exciting that BBC Blast's visit to Clitheroe fits in so perfectly with the celebrations around Arts Award's fifth birthday - five years in which almost 40,000 young people have successfully gained awards across the country.

Arts Award Regional Development Coordinator Bryony Bell

Participants in BBC Blast can create their own 'happy birthday' message for the online campaign.  The most creative response uploaded from the North West will win £25 in theatre or book tokens, so there's added motivation to get inspired!”

Other highlights include:

• Fancy being a Sports Commentator? Get top tips and techniques from TV presenter Michael Absalom (better known as Abs), who has worked on BBC1, BBC2, CBBC and Eurosport.
• The Three-Day Performance Challenge - are you experienced in either dance, drama or music? Work in a group to create a performance for the Blast Showcase.
• Filmmaking - take on one of the behind-the-scenes or on-screen roles in a small film production crew and be part of the scripting, planning and shooting process.
• Create your own fashion collection - work with fashion designer Kirsty Doyle to re-vamp vintage clothing and create your very own look for the catwalk.
• Fancy a career in the creative industries? Come along to this Q & A session with a panel of industry experts to find out what it’s really like!

Other exciting workshops on offer include:

• Music: Try composing a film soundtrack or taster sessions in music production, electronic dance music and creating a hit single; if you are in a band, come along to the basics of sound engineering session and take away a demo.

• Media skills: Workshops include radio reporting, DJing and programme making; or use TV special effects to make it look like you are floating in space or sitting on a desert island.

• Performance: Create your own spoken word piece with a professional poet; or bust some moves in the contemporary/street dance fusion session.

• Free your artistic side: Work with a professional graphic designer, using a variety of techniques, to create a flyer for the BBC Blast showcase; or try your hand at animation and photography.

A selection of work created at the event will be shown at the Blast Talent Showcase in The Grand on Friday 19^th November at 6pm, where you can get to see the future stars of the area showing off their new skills!

All workshops and showcases are free, for more details and to sign up please see http://www.bbc.co.uk/blast/events or email blast-clitheroe@bbc.co.uk.

The Clitheroe event runs on Wednesday 17^th (9am – 6.30pm), Thursday 18^th (9am – 6.30pm) and Friday 19^th November (9am – 4pm). Work created here can be uploaded to the BBC Blast website, while the Talent Showcase will enable participants to show their new skills to family, friends and the public.

BBC Blast is working in partnership with  Arts Award (www.artsaward.org.uk) through Curious Minds. For more information on Arts Award contact Bryony Bell: bryony.bell@curiousminds.org.uk

The BBC Blast Trucks house a mobile learning environment, complete with a television studio, VT/audio editing area and digital workshop. Industry professionals and local facilitators are on hand to offer expert advice and support.

The festival was set up so that residents and visitors alike can celebrate what makes Burnley special. Each year an important part of the day is the amount of community groups that come along and promote the great work they do in the borough throughout the year.

The evaluation report was compiled by Curious Minds, on behalf of Burnley Borough Council. Information gathered and represented in this report has been collated through creative consultation methods, used to generate interest and gather an accurate response from attendees, community exhibitors, organisers and volunteers.

Methods used included:

• Video and audio records
• Analysis of children and young peoples’ poster designs
• Comments and data were collected on the day through questionnaires and an informal comments wall for additional thoughts and feedback. Proceeding the festival
• Information was gathered from exhibitors and performers through SurveryMonkey.
• Stakeholder evaluation briefings both through consultation and over the phone

For more information on the Burnley Community Festival please contact: 01282 664413

Read the report below:

The sessions are designed to maximise the effectiveness of joint working between educationalists and creative practitioners on the creative partnerships programme and will also help equip them to succeed in what will become a highly competitive market.

The next sessions on the 17^th and 18^th of November will focus on Pupil Tracking and Assessment, with expert input from Miriam Hill.  For more information about how to book your FREE ticket, click here: http://www.curiousminds.org.uk/whats-all-the-fuss-about...-pupil-tracking-and-assessment

This is what Curious Minds learned from experts about how to combat stress:

• Chris Shaw demonstrated how tai chi and Qigong can get you moving at work: shaking, circling and swinging joints, slapping (honestly!) and massage improve circulation, posture and concentration.

• Steve Cody ran a mini 'boot camp', first emphasising the importance of motivation, goals and nutrition in the pursuit of physical fitness. Then press ups, sit ups and squats, which we anticipated as a 'beasting', turned out to be a laugh! Other exercises involving stretch and resistance showed us how to develop muscular as well as cardio-vascular strength.

• Donna Burden, Mental Health Nurse and wellbeing adviser to global pharmaceutical company Astra-Zeneca, challenged assumptions about stress, depression and mental illness. We discussed the significance of good breathing and time to listen to and support struggling colleagues, improving the quality of performance.

• Jan Goss helped us meditate and 'be in the present' using an approach known as 'Mindfulness'. This focused us on accepting and not judging our thoughts and experiences and recognising the power of nature in relaxation.

A creative day that provided immediate innovative strategies to change unhealthy working practice.

praxis in conjunction with Participatory Practitioners for Change is hosting CONSEQUENCES: Participation in Action at Staffordshire University on 13 January 2011.

More and more health and wellbeing commissioners have been using the arts to promote the five ways to wellbeing and this is a unique opportunity to hear Juliet Michaelson from the New Economics Foundation deliver a keynote presentation on their Five Ways to Wellbeing programme.

Delegates will then have an opportunity to choose from a number of workshops throughout the afternoon. This will be a chance to hear about a range of creative approaches which have involved communities in exploring wellbeing issues or in making things happen locally. The workshops will be delivered by experienced practitioners representing a variety of disciplines.

Details of the event are available to download at http://praxisartsandhealth.org.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/consequences-programme.pdf. 

Storytelling is a basic human instinct and a natural way to communicate. Many pupils in the school have English as an additional language and therefore do not tell stories in English. To help support literacy and oracy in school, the aim is for everyone to develop the story habit: teaching and welfare staff will tell stories to children at break and lunchtimes and this will encourage the children to retell amongst themselves and in class.

A parents group will be included in the project to encourage storytelling in English at home, with the children having a chance to be the lead storytellers for their families.

Cedars Infants has been a Creative Partnerships Change School for two years already. In this third year, Creative Agent Cath Ford and school Co-ordinator  Rachel Furness are aiming to build on the fantastic achievements of the previous years  by leaving staff with lots of techniques they can use every day.

Here (http://cathintheattic.posterous.com/shoot-from-the-hip-the-shoulder-your-feet-and ) is a really good example of how one of our Creative Agents, Cath Ford is sharing her practice in an inspirational manner and a clear illustration of how documenting projects is a lot easier than many people imagine

Chris May - Chief Executive Curious Minds

Visual artist Sophie Bower and musician Sarah Marks delivered creative workshops with the pupils exploring their experience of transport and the environment. It was observed by teachers that participation in these creative sessions improved pupils behaviour and ability to concentrate.

At the end of the term, parents were invited in for a slideshow, a small art exhibition and a music workshop. Parents attended and the teachers took the opportunity to talk about what their children had been doing and how they could more effectively talk to each. A  family ceildhi for the whole school and parents was held at the end of term bringing everyone together to enjoy music  and dance.  The school intends to continue their dialogue with these parents with the hope of setting up a Parent Support Group.

Our project went some way to break down barriers that exist with some parents and our next steps will be to build on the contact we have made with them in order to take discussions about home/school communication further.

Lisa Bradley, ALFA Teacher, The Elms Special School, Knowsley

The latest Arts Award North West Online Networking Forum took place on Thursday 28 November from 4pm - 6pm and the topic of the forum this month centred around using Arts Award with young people with special educational needs.

It was an exciting and dynamic session, providing a chance for Arts Award advisers to ask questions on how they can utlise Arts Award with young people with special educational needs and Bryony Bell and Michelle O'Callaghan shared some fantastic examples on how Arts Award has been used to tremendous effect in SEN settings.

Creative Approaches to Evidencing

One of the key messages of the forum was that alternative approaches to evidencing are in no way limited to young people with special educational needs.  Advisers working in youth justice and with disengaged young people have used many similar techniques successfully; similarly, many cultural organisations who wish to avoid making the award feel too 'schooley' can adopt these approaches to move away from long, written portfolios.  Using video, artwork and recordings is in no way a 'second choice' option; it is equally valid and in many cases more appropriate to creative work.

Below you can view an examples of a completed Bronze portfolio from Robert. Hopefully this example can give you some ideas of some of the techniques used to make Arts Award evidencing as accessible and creative as possible.

Robert's Bronze Arts Award Portfolio

Top Tips for Running Arts Award in SEN settings

During the forum, Bryony Bell shared a series of recorded interviews with Sue Caudle from DIY Theatre in Salford which is for adults with learning difficulties. Sue is an Arts Award trainer and senior moderator and runs specialised training for advisers working in SEN settings. In these interviews, Sue shares her top tips, ideas and experience of running Arts Award. We will shortly be uploading Sue's interview for you to dowload and listen to.

Arts Award SEN Web Resources

Arts Award have recently launched a special educational needs page: www.artsaward.org.uk/special. This new space within the Arts Award website includes case studies, ideas, and advocacy for running Arts Award with young people with special educational needs. It's also a space to share your success stories - there's a link on the page to add your case studies, whether they're from a whole group project or of an individual's development. Downloadable directly from this page is 'The Ideas Bank' (worked on by Sue Caudle) - a brilliant new resource for anyone looking for ideas and advice about running Arts Award in this sector, as well as a number of advocacy resources including documents on running Arts Award in SEN settings (published by Nasen) and on the value of the arts for people with PMLD (published by Mencap).

Online Networking Forums

The full notes from this Online Networking Forum can be downloaded here:

Online Networking Notes Arts Award & SEN 28 Oct 2010

Our Arts Award Advisor Online Networking Forums take place on the last Thursday of every month, running from 4-6pm. Whether you're an existing adviser or you're looking to find out more, this is your opportunity to join a regional conversation and get advice on making Arts Award work for your organisation. More info...

The next session is due to take place on 25 November, from 4pm-6pm, live on-line here and the next session focuses on 'celebrating success'. We hope to virtually see you there.

Impacts included:

• Two or more sub-levels of progress in Maths, Literacy and Reading SATs.  Some children are now as much as 5 levels higher.
• Reluctant workers became more active due to open-ended problem solving.  For example, in Year 3 children with behavioural difficulties worked well together for a sustained period and demonstrated profound levels of engagement (Assistant Head Teacher lesson observation notes).

 On the first day many of the boys stood on chairs and took photos with their mobile phones of their own pieces of art.

A recent year 9 options survey found that students wishing to select drama and music have increased. Drama numbers have increased from 11 to 22 and music has increased from 9 to 15. Art numbers have remained stable. The overall students opting for an expressive arts subject has increased from 33% to 48%.

Paul recently ran a consultation project to mark Holocaust week.  Collaborating with primary schools and a poet, the process covered Humanities, History, Literature and Art in one exciting creative package. At the exhibition, teachers who viewed the work went on to plan a similar project with secondary schools. Paul has also worked with young people to develop a visual resource challenging attitudes towards crime. The school children decided to produce a 'crime awareness top trumps game'. The game has since been used as a stimulus for drama projects that help schools empower young people to make the right decisions.

We must work together in collaboration no matter how difficult that may be.  We need to be needs based and focussed" – Chris May, Chief Executive Curious Minds

The day opened with presentations from Chris May, Bryony Bell and Chris Finn from Curious Minds.  They outlined the importance of collaboration, shared the background and aims of Culture and Achievement North West consortium, and presented the case for holding this conversation in advance of governmental announcements; taking advantage of 'the calm between two storms.'

The first group discussion asked what a great cultural learning offer should consist of within the cultural sector.  What appeared was a balance of the practical and the ideal.  Above all, the group recognised the need to present the economic case for culture and vocational learning, to respond in kind to national priorities and to engage with business, develop entrepreneurship and build employability.  On the other hand, they emphasised the need to create an individualised yet inclusive  offer built on the demands of learners and the capacity of the sector; to ensure that any expectations raised were carefully managed and did not promise too much to participants, nor ask too much of already stretched organisations.

Next, the group agreed that the sector was about half way down the road to the ideal vocational learning offer outlined above.  Three breakout groups then discussed the question 'how did we get to where we are now?' focussing for the moment on the positives. On reflection the responses seem to be shared between ‘approaches and attitudes’ and ‘physical resources & evidence’ which have been utilised or produced to lead the sector to its current position. 

Attitudes & Approaches centre on: effort, belief, positivity, creativity, learning, progressing and adapting, collaboration, being proactive.

Physical Resources & Evidence centre on: initiatives, partnerships, collaborations & consortia, people and advocates, strategy and structures, case studies and results of high quality work.

In the final round of discussions the group looked at how, as a consortium, they could improve the region's vocational learning offer. They identified the resources and expertise they needed to focus on, the weaknesses which should be addressed and the strengths which can be maximised.

Across all discussion groups the main themes that appeared were:

• sharing our knowledge and making that into an open shared resource
• building and tapping into the partnerships we have and sharing knowledge of the forums and networks we already use
• presenting a positive attitude
• advocating for the sector as a whole in the North West
• and building CPD (continuous professional development) into our strategic planning for young people and staff.

One of the main themes that came from all the discussions is that working as a consortium, working together, advocating as one, it can only make the North West youth arts and vocational learning sector stronger and better positioned to face the obstacles that we all may come up against in what may be a difficult 12 months.

Boulders may be scattered across the shoreline but gather together the pebbles of many colours and size and they will tower above those obstacles –

One of the comments from the day.

Chris May closed the meeting with a summary of the key points arising from the day's discussion, and by inviting delegates to suggest what the group should be doing, who else should be invited to join it and what its key focus should be.  It was agreed that a second meeting would be held in December with an agenda to be agreed collaboratively by forum members through online discussion as the wider economic picture emerges over the next six weeks.

To read the full notes of the day’s session and who was present please download the document below:

Culture and Achievement North West Summary and Discussion Notes

Pupil voice has been a strong focus of their Creative Partnerships projects so it is no surprise that these young people were able to articulately share with the several hundred delegates, their ideas for a new eco-friendly, sustainable building for their new school.

See Gareth Long’s blog which gives high praise for their presentation: http://blog.garethl.com/2010/09/learner-voice-accrington-academy-stuns.html

How do we achieve a happy love-match between school and external partner? 

What are the steps to a successful partnership? 

Agents discussed these questions and many others at events on Monday 20 September in Liverpool and Wednesday 22 September in Preston.

 Agents said, 'I found it very useful to discuss, listen and explore different aspects of the brokerage process, especially overcoming challenges' and 'It's always very beneficial to hear how different agents handle different situations.' 

Curious Minds identified some tricky areas that agents would appreciate further discussion on and gained ideas about how to facilitate future sessions and use online forums.  Curious Minds also launched the idea of 'Pods': small groups of agents focusing exclusively on evaluation methodology during the afternoons of all future Sharing and Reflection days this year. 

Please let us know if you are interested in coordinating a Pod, or would like to be involved in an Action Learning Set.

 Creative Partnerships, the government’s creative learning programme that works in 155 of schools in Lancashire, Merseyside and West Cheshire, through Curious Minds, is expected to generate nearly £4 billion net positive benefit for the UK economy. New independent research from PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) reveals the programme will generate the equivalent of £15.30 of economic benefits for every £1 of investment in Creative Partnerships (www.creative-partnerships.com).

Chris May, Chief Executive at Curious Minds, commented: “This research confirms what we at Curious Minds know from delivering this programme in hundreds of schools across the North West – quite simply – the programme delivers fantastic value. It’s absolutely proven that Creative Partnerships is succeeding in bringing about sustainable change where many other programmes struggle, and is consistently helping achieve the Government’s aims of raising attainment, motivating teachers and generating increased parental involvement in the life of schools.  Anyone seriously concerned with improving outcomes for children and young people would certainly benefit from closer involvement with Creative Partnerships" 

‘The Costs and Benefits of Creative Partnerships’ report was commissioned by national charity Creativity, Culture and Education (CCE) to analyze how its work with learners, parents, schools and teachers has impacted on the wider UK economy. PricewaterhouseCoopers has analysed CCE’s existing large-scale national evidence and considered impacts of the programme, including:

• the premium associated by gaining five good GCSEs
• the avoided social costs of crime and truancy
• the improved teacher morale from being involved in Creative Partnerships leading to higher retention rates.

Creative Partnerships, which is managed nationally by CCE, was launched in 2002 to foster innovative long-term partnerships between schools and creative professionals, including artists, performers, architects, multimedia developers and scientists. These partnerships inspire young people, teachers and creative professionals to challenge how they work and experiment with new ideas. To date the programme has worked with over 1 million young people in over 5,000 schools and has engaged over 90,000 teachers in local arts education projects. Other independent research has already shown the impact the programme has on attainment with young people who have attended Creative Partnerships activities making, on average the equivalent of 2.5 grades better progress in GCSE (NFER).

Paul Collard, Chief Executive of Creativity, Culture and Education, said: “In this tough economic climate, with every penny of public money under pressure, and the need to prove that investment yields results, it is vital that decisions are made on the evidence of what works both at a local level and a national level. This independent report builds on our rich research base to show the real economic impact of the investment in the Creative Partnerships programme which works with thousands of schools across the country.”

He continues, “Through programmes like Creative Partnerships, children are able to gain real and tangible benefits from working with artists on creative and cultural projects. Children who have been exposed to the arts are far more likely to continue with these as adults, enriching the quality of their lives. In addition, learning with artists through the creative process helps them to develop the ability to question, make connections, innovate and reflect critically. Developing these skills early in life through creativity in schools enriches the lives of young people while also meeting the requirements of contemporary employers and benefiting the wider economy.”

Please visit www.creativitycultureeducation.org/pwcreport.html for a copy of the ‘The Costs and Benefits of Creative Partnerships’ report by PwC. For more information about CCE and Creative Partnerships please visit www.creativitycultureeducation.org or follow @CCEinsights on Twitter.

The Arts Award team from Curious Minds were at the event to congratulate the young people and to see how this model of partnership working might continue.

If you would like to learn more about Arts Arts visit here...

The school moves to a new site in September 2011, as part the BSF (Building Schools for the Future) programme, and this two-day event, facilitated by “as creatives”, gave staff the opportunity to develop radical new ideas for teaching and learning to take to their new building. 

To read more about the BSF programme please visit here..

“It’s good for community cohesion....everyone can come together in a neutral environment. Everyone’s getting on and taking part.” Burnley resident

For further info go to http://www.burnley.gov.uk/festival/

Creative practitioner Amy Robinson worked with Nursery and Year 6 pupils worked with Amy Robinson and the and the church sewing group to create a new school banner that was a symbolic representation of the school.   

The school is currently undergoing a complete re-build and as reflections of the past converge with a vision of the future a project has emerged and been embraced by the school and wider community. 

Memories, experiences, anecdotes and photographs have been recorded and shared in this cross-generational community project. Pupils and practitioners, with help from families and the community have worked together to create a multi-media drama production that was performed at St Gabriel's Church in Huyton on 15 July at 2.00pm and 6.30pm.

The project has encouraged positive links with parents and actively engaged them in the life of the school and their children's learning. 

This was the opening sentence of a story created by children at St Edward's Catholic Primary School in Runcorn, Halton.

All year groups have been working with children's author Hilary Keating to talk about what's good about stories and what's difficult about writing them.

On a huge roll of paper spread on the floor, children offloaded their problem areas: keeping going with writing, spelling, full stops and finger spaces. Children could see they weren't the only ones struggling with these challenges. Hilary then facilitated children to create stories as a group, taking the pressure off each individual. To help with spelling each child made a word bag in which they collected difficult words they wanted to use, to refer to when writing.

Alice Demba, Programme Manager, observed a Year 1 group practice a technique Hilary had developed to help them structure their stories. Children explained to Alice the significance of the following stages of story writing

Opening line • Setting • Character • Problem • Solution 

Children used the fingers on one hand to memorise these tricks. Sitting in a circle they shouted them out to Alice and then began to work through each stage. Lots of children contributed ideas for the story and the class voted for their favourites. They described a house in a forest, some sad flowers whose petals were falling off and a fairy coming to the rescue with glue and sellotape.

Now that they had their basic story structure, Hilary and the staff let children transform their classroom space into the setting, to inspire them. Splitting into groups, children took over each corner of the classroom and used bamboo poles, cloth, pegs, masking tape, scissors, pens and paper to create a forest, flowers, a house and the sky. Then someone from each group described their setting. One boy in the 'sky' group created 'soft, comfy clouds' that he could sit on to watch the flowers and the fairy in the forest. Another boy spread out sparkly cloth which was 'the sun shining on water'.

As a result of the project, children are able to tick off the problem areas on their big sheet of paper, knowing that they have found solutions. And staff have seen children's story structure, spelling, full stops and finger spaces improve dramatically, what a result!

On 14 May we met with Creative Agents and the University of Chester B.Ed programme leaders to discuss Cheshire's pilot enquiry school programme.

This programme is different from the classic Enquiry Schools programme, as it has a focus on teaching outside the classroom and ITT (initial teacher training).

This programme has been an example of co-construction between all partners, and relationships between settings, external partners and primary schools are contributing to enriching and informing the learning of year 2 B.Ed teacher trainees. This has offered valuable additional layers of learning that will be examined, evaluated and celebrated, leading to an improved model for ITT.

John Stephens Director of Children's Services, Cheshire West and Chester will be attending a presentation at Brookside Primary School, where year 6 pupils have worked in partnership with Catalyst Science Discovery Centre and Museum, looking at how creative approaches and enterprise, inspired by an outside learning experience can help to develop confidence, collaboration and independence for year 6 pupils. In small groups, pupils will use a stimulus from the setting to create a new idea for Catalyst and pitch it to them. The winning ideas will be put into production at the Centre.