Future Creative

How would a new creative learning environment impact on the motivation and confidence of students with low self-esteem?

The art department has been identified as an area that would benefit from a highly creative enquiry to improve staff confidence and attitude, challenging teaching traditions to art. There is a lack of confidence and reluctance within staff to enable and motivate them to develop new creative skills, beneficial to both staff and pupils alike. The strength of this enquiry will be that at the end of the summer term the students involved will have the expertise and skills that their teachers don't - what a self-confidence booster! The young people will become enablers of learning challenging their own perceptions that teachers have all the skills and resources to teach them.

The idea is to use the pottery room and its facilities; Sharon will teach the basics of pottery, working with clay and colour, firing and using the potter’s wheels. Sharon will be working with three groups of 10-15 pupils from Years 8, 9 and 10 with each group having a 1 hour 40 minute session regularly. Sharon will deliver all three sessions over the course of one day. It is expected that these pupils will have up to ten sessions each, possibly more, depending on time. There will also be an opportunity for some pupils to record the work undertaken whether in film and/or photography. There was also a discussion about an Enhancement Week that the school organises which runs in July. The thinking behind this week is to create an opportunity for all pupils to participate in two days of sport and two days of creative arts. We discussed the idea of involving other students in pottery during this week. Nicola issued a questionnaire to all pupils in Years 8, 9 and 10 asking them what subjects they would like to participate in and the results showed that many pupils wanted to participate in pottery. Whilst pottery is not taught at the school, they know there is a pottery room that isn’t utilised. The pupils will be selected by Nicola with the idea to have a mix of pupils in regards to behaviour, talent and ability. Staff will attend all the sessions run by Sharon, in particular various teaching assistants who are highly creative and eager to learn new skills. In turn this will enable the pottery room to be utilised in the long term, after this particular enquiry has finished. There is also the possibility of Sharon running a couple of CPD sessions with staff to enable and encourage their teaching in the field of ceramics. There is the possibility of some of the work being exhibited to the wider community, in Faversham Library in May. This will be an excellent opportunity for young people to see their work in a public setting creating a great sense of achievement. In addition, this will also be an excellent publicity opportunity for the partnership, too. There will also be a chance for parents to view their children’s work during the end of the summer term within the school environment. The work will also appear in the school newsletter and website.

Faversham Library will demonstrate the work made and so it will reach the wider community. Confidence of the teachers and pupils should be much improved.