Catch-up: 15 – 19 March 10
Monday and Tuesday last week we briefed potential new schools to join the Enquiry Programme.
Wednesday – School programmes review
The Wallace Space is amazing. It’s a fantastic place, really well thought out and the people who run it really know how to look after people.
We listened to a great overview from Pat Thompson about how schools change. I will download and read the full report next week (when I can find the link!). She pointed out one of the key things about working with a “creative practitioner” – is over a long period of time where a relationship has been built, it’s more than students taking on skills from them – it’s the exploration and subsequent adoption of principles. It’s about being able to see inside a practitioners head, whoever they might be and seeing how their brain works.
Thursday
The royal visit – PC the chief director of CCE came to visit us and see first hand some of our schools. The students were great – so eloquent and confident – it’s good to actually see the impact rather than just reading about it. Paul is great to watch in action – he has a quiet way of questioning that allows space for people to think about their answers.
Friday
My own visit: Leasowes Primary School in Stafford. A poetry and photography open day for parents to come and see what they’ve been doing on their project “Staring at the Sky”. I was impressed by a number of things – the confidence of the students, the buzz and atmosphere, the big number of parents, the friendly staff. Best of all was the work itself, the school have allowed the students to explore ideas and their immediate environment through poetry. The headteacher, expressed his own love of poetry (he’d come up with the great title) and his frustration with the literacy curriculum – children in Year 3 are expected to know what onomatopoeia and alliteration mean (and spell them) without then having the time and space to really explore words for themselves. Brilliant!!!
Adventures of a Polymath 