Stimulating Creativity

Coughton Primary School: ‘Monstrous Writing: Improving Standards in Writing’

  • Date:
    2009 - 2010
  • Introduction:
  • Article:

    Our Achievement

    • The APP assessment carried out by the class teacher showed the Year 2 children had made, on average, progress of 4.65 points.  This exceeded the progress of all other year groups in the school.
    • Six parents participated in the sessions designed for them, which equates to 30% representation.  Positive feedback, however, should spread quickly in the small community.
    • The participation of two governors in the CPD sessions has galvanised the governing body in their support of creative development as evidenced by the vote to fund the Change School project, despite the intensely tight confines of the school budget.

     

    The Feedback

    "We do nice stories."

    "The most important thing is having a try."

    "I've improved."

    "I wouldn't believe that the child who wrote that at the start of the year is now producing writing of this quality!"

    "The most notable impact has been upon the boys' willingness to write and their desire to impress with their writing."

    With regard to improving teachers' pedagogy, one said "The fog from the road cleared; I see how the teacher's role becomes one of facilitator, asking open ended questions, guiding creative discussion and setting tasks that require the learner to make choices and decisions in terms of the format of the outcome."

    A parent governor said "...learning needs to be enjoyable to be sustainable...developing creative skills will serve our children as long term learners far better than learning 'facts' will...I thoroughly enjoyed it and I'm sure the children will too."

    The Cre8us effect...at Coughton CofE Primary School: Monstrous writing

    The children were engaged in the writing process by being immersed in a range of activities in a variety of settings, which included using the outdoor space.  Opportunities for storytelling, performance poetry, song, debate, role play and other dramatic approaches were wove into the programme to help the children recognise that physical writing is a part of a much bigger process of exploration, investigatiion and experimentation.  The boys were particularly excited by the storyboard approach, which was used on some occasions.

    The spring term parents' evening was used as an opportunity to engaged with parents, inviting them to participate on days of their choosing in the activities.  Performance and standards governors were also invited to take part and the whole project concluded with a community event designed to enable the children to share their learning experiences with the rest of the school, parents, families and governors.  A blog was also created so the community beyond the school could engage and see the progress.

    With regard to ensuring sustainability throughout the school, inset days and paired and individual learning sessions were held.  This involved all teaching staff, TAs and some governors exploring the concept of creative pedagogy in sessions led by the Creative Agent.

    Creative Agent: Ruth Bell

    Creative Practitioners: Skatz (Andrew Scattergood)

    School: Coughton CofE Primary School, Warwickshire 

    If you are interested in this project and would like to find out more, please visit the Creative Partnerships' Project Database where you will be able to view Coughton's Project Planning Form and Project End Form for their 2009-10 programme.