F.L.I.P. – Family Learning in Partnership: A Programme for Schools
FLIP is a family learning programme for schools that has been developed by teachers, parents and children of Shireland Hall Primary School. Working together they have developed an effective toolkit to support and enrich children’s learning. Shireland Hall Primary School are committed to developing innovative teaching and learning strategies and to sharing excellent practice.
Watch the short film above to see how the project has been implemented and the positive impact it has had throughout the wider school community.
Short Wood Primary School are committed to using the outdoors to create irresistible learning experiences for all of their pupils.
Emma Preece, Forest Schools Coordinator organised a community event that brought together parents, governors, creative partners and artists to create an interactive forest area within the school grounds.
The group planted trees, created a teepee village, a pond area, a wood henge and the day was completed with wonderful storytelling around the campfire.
“Our forest school plays a very important part within our curriculum and it is a really exciting learning space for all our pupils”
Emma Preece – Forest School Coordinator
The Nest is an innovative ‘floating outdoor classroom’ designed and built with children to enable them to enjoy the unique experience of learning on a lake! The design and build process was lead by our team but became an inspirational journey for children and their teachers that brought their curriculum alive. The Nest was created using locally sourced sustainable materials and it’s a welcoming , weather proof and deceptive large space easily accommodating class size groups into a beautiful timeless environment.
Media students at Great Barr school produced a great short film to promote their school.
A great way to showcase a school is through the voice, creativity and expertise of your students. This week we worked alongside Media students from Great Barr School in Birmingham. Responding to a brief the team produced a film for prospective parents and future students. Young people led the creative process and with our support and guidance developed this project from concept to completion.
Exceeding all expectations the students have managed to present the ethos, environment and heartbeat of the school in a natural positive way. Showcased at the Governors meeting last night, the film will be an important tool in the school’s ongoing public facing communication strategy. It has also delighted the current student group who agreed it represents their school really well.
The principles of the ‘student voice’ voice underpins our practice and we are always interested in finding ways to make learning experiences ‘real’. The students had a taste of the real world of film making and we also coached them in an after school ‘master class’ offering a critique (with practical tips) of their course work film assignments.
“This has been a brilliant project and the efficiency, creativity and quality of the whole process has been really impressive, I am delighted and the film has had an uplifting impact on our school community”
Ms Abbott, Head Teacher
The ‘Walk of Words’ is a new creative learning space designed to inspire creative teaching and learning and make literacy irresistible!
Blurring the lines between construction, sculpture, artisan and architectural design, we created a space that is practical and beautiful, and all in just seven days during the half term break! Featuring a quiet room ( inspired by treehouses) a ‘peace deck’ (pick out the words in the architecture) and numerous surprise and delight features, the ‘Walk of Words’ is a valuable new inspirational addition to the school facilities to inspire and raise standards in literacy.
There are unused spaces in most schools that with a bit of creative consultation with the school community can be transformed into something magical that will extend and enrich the curriculum. We believe spaces provided for learning should reflect high aspirations and demonstrate care and respect for the people who are going to use them.
The ‘Walk of Words’ was designed and built in just seven days and the immediate positive impact on the school community has inspired a new beginning and put smiles on many faces.
The Green Fingers Project engages looked-after children in artistic & horticultural activities.
We transformed a ‘retired’ articulated lorry into a beautiful low carbon Tree House featuring an outdoor room, a green roof low carbon heating and lighting systems and a creative working environment. that’s perfect for sessions, workshops and events.
We created the Tree House with using locally sourced sustainable materials and young people worked alongside us in all aspects of the design process generating innovative ideas and sharing ownership of the project. The tree house requires zero maintenance and blends perfectly with the surrounding area.
Use local heritage to inspire teenagers into creating great media content that benefits the local community.
This project challenged teenagers to experience culture on their doorstep in the form of heritage and create digital media content to promote the site to new audiences.
Visiting heritage sites of interest with the creative brief of: ‘how can we bring more visitors to our town / city and in turn make a contribution to the local cultural economy?’ was a great way to inspire learners to really think about language, local history and civic pride. Young people are very sophisticated consumers of media as this project help push some of them towards using their knowledge to create innovative digital content.
This was one of several films and podcasts produced and it was used by the local tourist board which added value to the learning process.
How can creativity ignite the primary curriculum and enrich a whole term of child led dynamic learning?
Selecting a rich open theme that kids completely immerse themselves in is a great way of sustaining their interest in the core subjects for a whole term. This project (from our archives) used the concept of “Freedom” and asked the question ” What do children think about Freedom and how would they like to express their feelings about it?
The project was an immense success on many levels and had a deep impact on engagement and attainment, we hope this short film will inspire and nurture your ideas.
Moustachioed movie making magic bristles it’s way to the US of A for the Maine International Film Festival!
Mini-Fest is an annual event celebrating the artistic talents and creativity of young people in Worcester. The 2011 Western themed event was bigger and better than ever.
This mini ‘spaghetti western’ gives a little enchilada of this important cultural event led by young people for their community and this unusual peep into Youth Culture in Britain has made a few people smile in America
How to use technology as integrated tools in 21st Century schools and create ‘neutral territories’ where we develop real ‘communities of learners’ ?
This short film shows young people responding to these questions in an innovative, entertaining way that demonstrates how they can use digital tools as part of their everyday learning experience. It also shows the role of the student voice in the planning and development of learning in the 21st Century.
The use of technology and the organisation of learning spaces will shape the future of education and we need to find creative ways to consult with young people ( as key stakeholders) if they are to play a leading role in their education and become successful life long learners. Young people are capable of leading their own learning and they are not only coachable, given the opportunity are excellent coaches sharing their expertise and skills with peers and teachers.
We are committed to supporting digital creativity and to assisting young people and teachers with their efforts to share their ideas in a meaningful and creative way.
