The school wanted to use the programme to address its SIP priority of improving the quality of learning and teaching from Good to Outstanding. This also linked to priorities to develop as an outstanding Science and Arts Specialist College, and develop an outstanding curriculum to support personalised learning. It specifically sought to support Maths and English departments in addressing their specific attainment targets.
The school wanted to explore creative approaches and use them as a springboard to success for students; creating resourceful, resilient, determined and aspiring students who are not afraid to take risks in the search for their potential. It wanted the programme to raise aspirations in the hope it would in turn raise motivation levels, (with improved examination results naturally following into place). It sought to raise aspirations for staff too: to give them the freedom and opportunity to move the boundaries of not just teaching to an exam syllabus, but to enjoy and value the learning process, in partnership with their students.
“They’re (teachers) making it better for us and the people around us – they’re changing the school for us. (It’s because we’re) saying we want it. We didn’t use to have that.” Pupil
“They’ve been given more opportunities to engage within lessons, giving their opinion. More staff (are) doing students surveys, and recognising the importance of student voice so pupils contribute more.” DB Head of science and acting Assistant Head
“The skills they have are immense, they’ve become independent and they work together in groups better. I can give them a task and I know they will get on with it. The other group that I haven’t done it with I still have to spoon feed.” Art teacher.
“The use of Cre8us developed projects has undoubtedly improved my students’ evaluative skills. The work that we initiated has boosted the two groups APP levels for evaluation by at least one level and in a few cases two (over less than one term).” Asst Head / ICT teacher
The school wanted to develop a programme that sought to understand how using creative approaches could help raise aspirations of students. It was deliberately quite an open brief to give both staff and students the opportunity to apply creative approaches to areas where they felt input was needed. It also enabled staff to engage without feeling threatened: often staff became involved with the work from the perspective of raising aspirations for their students, but ended up seeing how it could push and add value to their own practice. The school had introduced an ACE (Active, Creative and Engaging) Teaching and Learning strategy this year and the programme was designed to support its development.
Areas of specific interest for pupils was in student/teacher co-construction and student-led reflection, focussing on the application of skills across subjects, which would then lead to students being motivated to try new things elsewhere. Staff development was also at the heart of the programme, to ensure sustainable change. This was distilled down to focussing on staff risk-taking, staff reflection and staff co-constructing learning with students.
4 creative practitioners were recruited, each with a high level of experience and expertise, but also all people keen to develop skills, knowledge and learning. The key focus areas proved to be the extending or repurposing of skills, developing approaches to co-construction with young people, developing approaches to reflection with staff and students, and following from all these, increased confidence to develop creative teaching and learning in other settings.
A Student Consultation Group – Buzz – was established, with 24 members - a cross section of students - from across years 7 to 10. The purpose of the group was to:
• Be a voice about the quality of teaching – identifying improvements needed
• Be involved in training for staff – being active advocates for creative learning
• Co plan with identified staff
• Engage in active reflection which is fed back to all staff to inform practice
The group worked with a lead teacher and with creative practitioners to explore, document and reflect on what ACE teaching and learning was and where it was happening – or not happening - in school. They were introduced to a range of ICT tools and received training in filming and interviewing techniques. They then went into classroom to film creative teaching and learning. They were supported to think about what they saw and heard, and following this they gave feedback to staff in a staff meeting about their findings – including the resistance of some staff to them going to their lessons. The group also sought to identify possible ways to develop teaching and learning to be more Active, Creative and Engaging.
The programme also incorporated support for staff in relation to the ACE T&L strategy. It provided
• Creative tool boxes full of items to use in the classroom and to stimulate ideas and different ways of thinking
• Creative thinking tools to offer different approaches
• Co-planning time for curriculum (within depts.) each half term
• A creativity focus within departmental meetings – a schedule of meetings dedicated to ACE T&L with support from the creative agent and creative partners
• Co-planning time for wider enrichment activity across depts, with support from the creative agent and creative partners.
• Support for reflective practice – an area established within the staff room for displaying resources/success stories, and encouragement to share practice through a learning bulletin and in departments, and other ways, leading to the first TeachMeet style staff meeting.
Staff were also given training and support ‘surgeries’ to help them (individually and in their departments) to identify and incorporate developing ICT tools to support creative teaching and learning. One side effect of this was the formation of a group of gifted and talented ICT students, the (self-named) Geek Squad, who engaged in resource development with staff and took on new responsibilities in terms of providing help desk support for staff, beginning to work on developing a cross-subject student-led web presence and being involved with the school Twitter account.
A co-coaching model was developed to help move teachers from Satisfactory to Good, or Good to Outstanding. Eva Bennett, a visual artist with a background in HR, worked with a group of identified teachers in reflecting on and stretching their practice and in developing their coaching skills, as they in turn coached a number of other staff. In addition to the one-to-one coaching, which involved staff from across different departments, two departments were identified as needing support as departments: English and Maths. Eva Bennett (Visual artist) and Mick Supple (drama practitioner and creative agent) were identified as having the skills necessary to support these departments, working with individual staff to help them develop ACE teaching and learning, and ensuring reflection and shared learning in the departments.
Throughout the programme evidence to aid reflection and support impact was gathered and assessed through questionnaires (with staff and students), through the Buzz blog, through formal and informal conversations and twitter exchanges, video vox-pops, and through focus group session of students. A number of staff meetings were also dedicated to creative teaching and learning, and these proved good opportunities for more informal evaluation, where staff were able to feed back their responses. The Buzz group also gave their feedback to staff in two staff meetings. The focus of these conversations was on what creative approaches had been used, how it had raised aspirations for students and for staff in terms of their practice, and what was changing as a result.
Although it happened right at the end of the programme, Teach Meet Hartshill – a staff sharing – was seen as hugely successful, with staff enjoying the approach and wanting to share practice in this way it the future. This was echoed by SMT members who recognised the value of making staff meetings more focussed on sharing of practice rather than imparting information.
Teachers who had worked with the creative partners spoke enthusiastically about ideas they were developing, things they were trying out – and the impact on students. They felt empowered to experiment. Important to this was the approach taken which has created ownership by enabling staff to engage at a level and in areas which are right for them, and to see the work as a way of developing their practice, rather than as something imposed on them. “I initially kept out of the ACE work but the ICT grabbed me and (I’ve) been encouraged to make use of these things in a way that works for me and my classes. Wordle, Prezi, Voicethread, bit/ly, Twitter, TeachMeet, Edublogs, Linoit – all now in my life!” Science teacher.
For students in Buzz, the most significant thing was probably being given permission to question and give their opinion in an open and supported forum, with a remit to report back to staff in a formal way. It was also significant that they began to see change in practice as staff began to be more confident with creative tools and with the creative use of ICT.
The level of motivation was noted by Ofsted in May 2011: “The school raises the aspirations of its students with a growing number successfully going on to further education or employment. Staff are highly committed to the school's continued improvements. As one student put it, 'teachers are always telling us that no goal is beyond us and encourage us to do our best – we all have mentors'.”
SLT expressed their view that (some) staff have developed more confidence to take more risks, and to share practice. Because ACE teaching and learning was recognised and promoted as a key focus, people were planning for it. This meant that they were trying things out and taking more risks – including experimenting more with ICT in the classroom. Planning has changed, and people are reflecting more, with at least 50% of staff working in this way. Staff involved in co-coaching identified that it helped them develop risk-taking, and gave them more confidence, helping them to believe in themselves more, and this was recognised by the CP coordinator: “They feel more confident in what they are doing in the classroom and more confident to take risks, which then take them to being outstanding teachers.”
Teachers and practitioners felt that the work with Cre8us – including a range of tools and approaches - had pushed staff to give students more of a voice in teaching and learning, and that students were taking up that opportunity well.
The programme was innovative for the school in that it introduced a strategy for teaching and learning that focussed specifically on being Active, Creative and Engaging, supported by CPD that gave staff the confidence to try new approaches, and by timetabled and facilitated planning and reflection time that enabled greater sharing of practice. The use of ICT as a learning tool (rather than just a teaching tool) was also new for most staff, and the use of social media was also something the school had not really engaged in as a learning tool before. Coaching that was focussed on improving practice for staff at any level (as opposed to the support given to under-performing teachers) was a new concept for the school, and the formal involvement of students in reviewing and developing teaching and learning was also new, and was a challenging concept for some staff.
ICT is now used as both T&L tool and used in increasingly more creative ways. Buzz have a good understanding of what ACE teaching and learning is, and could be, and are confident to give feedback to staff, with staff becoming more willing to take it and act on it. An increasing number of staff are involving students in planning, and Buzz have been actively involved in planning and delivering Transition day. Staff are more often using ways of involving students and making lessons fun – they are more confident to do this and recognise the value of it. Staff are sharing practice formally and informally – some good links between different teachers and have been departments made, with some cross-curricular work beginning. Staff are keen to go on sharing practice and want to repeat the TeachMeet style staff meeting.
The key factor in making this change has been the introduction of an ACE Teaching and Learning strategy with a number of related strands, and the pushing of this by key SMT members. The expertise and skill of the creative partners has been important, as they have gained the trust of the staff, who have seen the value they bring: this trust enabled staff to take more ownership of the ACE T&L strategy.