Monstrous Writing: Improving standards in writing at Coughton Primary School
"We need to improve the standards in writing in the school as at the moment it can lack direction and imagination. We have chosen for the project to focus on the 20 children in Year 2 whilst at the same time one teacher will be active in exploring creative pedagogy to ensure the impact is sustained for the long term. We also want to use the project to increase engagement with parents and governors. The project itself will use performance arts to bring relevance to the children's writing and so excite and motivate them."
-Ben Crump, Headteacher
The Year 2 children were engaged in the writing process by being immersed in a range of activities in a variety of settings, which included using outdoor space. Opportunities for storytelling, performance poetry, song, debate, role play and other dramatic approaches were woven into the programme to help the children recognise that physical writing is a part of a much bigger process of exploration, investigation 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 engage with parents, inviting them to participate on days of their choosing in the activities. Governors responsible for performance and standards 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.
Inset days and paired and individual learning sessions were held to ensure sustainability throughout the school. All teaching staff, teaching assistants and some governors explored the concept of creative pedagogy in sessions led by the Creative Agent.
Impact
- 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 speak quickly in the small school community.
- The participation of two governors in the CPD sessions has galvanised the governing body in their support of creative developments evidenced by the vote to fund the Change School project, despite the intensely tight confines of the school budget.
Results
Pupils comments:
"We do nice stories."
"The most important thing is having a try."
Staff comments:
"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."
If you are interested in this project and would like to find out more about this and other projects, please visit www.cre8us.org.uk.
