Pilgrims - A history-based learning experience

Creative Partnerships Northumberland, Newcastle & Gateshead

‘Pilgrims’ is an exploration of a historical theme through drama, music and the visual arts. The project aimed to develop a sustainable, innovative curriculum within a federation of three small rural schools. By working with a range of creative partners in a series of medieval settings outside the schools, children were able to extend their creative thinking skills, and gained a deeper understanding of their own heritage and culture, and that of the wider environment.

Although the schools involved have a long and successful history of working together, the federation identified a need to develop creative thinking and learning across phases, leading to a sustainable but innovative creative curriculum for their situation. Working with a range of creative specialists was seen as vital in this, to provide new skills and approaches to learning across phases for children, staff and parents.

The schools had already realised the need to develop further the children’s experience and understanding of the world beyond their home villages. The theme of pilgrimage and travelling and the planned learning opportunities in a gradually widening area was agreed as a means of extending horizons as well as developing their understanding of historical concepts in real place contexts.

CPD and staff planning

After initial planning meetings with headteachers, termly CPD sessions were built into each term of the project for each phase-based group. These enabled teachers and the creative in residence to explore ways to enliven and sustain the curriculum through creative learning (eg Living through history; VAK learning methods) with creative practitioners;

• to enhance understanding of a skills/concepts/attitudes approach to learning for children/adults;
• to develop co-operative planning for creative learning and to ensure that all staff have ownership of the project;
• to monitor and evaluate the progress of the project, and to focus on its future development

Curriculum development exploration

Spring Term
At the end of January, the children in phase groups met Steve Holden (Education Theatre Company) in role as a medieval knight (Sir Robert de Beauchamps) in a local church. Each phase group was able to interview Sir Robert about aspects of his life. The children were then commissioned by the knight to work together in achieving a particular task before his next visit to them, and to begin a journey or pilgrimage of learning. The children’s learning would culminate in their staging a pageant in a local castle in the summer term.

Helen Law (textile specialist) led three-day workshops in individual schools to develop sculptural textile work linked to the medieval project theme. Staff, parents and children worked together with Helen to learn new skills, including using large pieces of fabric to create drawings on the floor and instant costumes for play, and silk painted banners. Linked to literacy work on the theme of medieval legends of knights and dragons, each school then experimented with Helen in using withies and textiles to build giant dragon sculptures for the medieval pageant.

Margaret Watchorn and Virginia Kennedy held full-day workshops in each school, exploring aspects of medieval life through medieval music, song, dance and legend. Younger children developed their own songs and singing games based on knights and dragons, whilst older children explored status by creating dances linked to medieval jobs.

To add impetus and purpose to the project, the knight visited each school during the term, accompanied by his jester. He checked on what the children had learned on their ‘pilgrimage’, and issued further challenges to them. The social structure of medieval life was explored through the relationship of lord/master.

At the end of term, Foundation Stage children concluded their work on the project, and joined together for a medieval experience at Belsay Castle (English Heritage) where they visited the knight and the jester, and entertained them with dancing, singing and juggling.

Summer Term
The project continued with further song, dance, story and music workshops in preparation for the pageant. Helen Law returned to introduce further creative fabric play workshops, involving costume-making with children, staff and parents. Margaret Watchorn and Virginia Kennedy led full-day workshops in individual schools in preparation for the medieval pageant, helping the children to develop their own songs, actions and dances based on their knowledge and understanding of medieval life.

Key Stage 1 children’s learning was stimulated by a visit to the knight and jester at Chillingham Castle, where they explored the knight’s code, learned swordsmanship and jesting skills, and heard local legends from medieval times as a stimulus to language work. Key Stage 2 spent a day at Hexham Abbey, meeting the knight and jester, but also learning about the life of monks and pilgrims, exploring skills of calligraphy, and creating their own version of medieval plainsong with Margaret Watchorn.

The project concluded with a stunning medieval pageant at Aydon Castle (English Heritage) in June. All children from Reception to Year 4, teaching and support staff, school cooks and parent helpers took part in costume to display the knowledge and skills they had acquired during the previous terms. Children decorated the castle courtyard, performances of songs, dances and jesting were staged for the Lord of Aydon, the giant dragons were brought together for the first time, a medieval banquet researched by children and school cooks was eaten, and children presented books of their work to the Lord of Aydon.

Methods

• Interviews by creative in residence with all children involved in age and/or Key Stage groups
• Children’s questionnaires available for children wishing to make written comments
• Dialogue with teachers and support staff in school settings
• Dialogue with creative artists
• Survey of parents by questionnaire and by reported comments from schools
• Impact evaluation meeting with headteachers and assistant headteachers
• Governor report on CP project

Outcomes for children

Children identified the following:

• Physical fun - through dancing, acting, singing, juggling, building dragons, making garlands, swordsmanship
• Team work - through banner/dragon making, learning attack/defence strategies, working with children from other schools
• New skills - costume making, using withies and textiles, catching stories
• Experiencing medieval life - interacting with characters in role, visiting medieval sites, preparing food
• Staging a pageant - displaying skills and knowledge, working for a purpose

In addition, staff identified the following:

• Increased ability to apply skills from one curriculum area to develop understanding in another
• Improved understanding of how to approach historical projects
• Improved ability to ask historical questions to aid research
• Deeper understanding of their local culture and historical sites
• Higher achievement in Year 4 writing, especially for boys (level 4 achieved by some boys at Cambo, exceeding predicted achievement before project began)

Engagement in learning process

• All children in each school interested and motivated to learn throughout project
• Increased motivation to carry out own research
• Project theme equally suitable for both genders and all age groups
• More children demonstrated their learning in classroom into playground/home-based play activities

Confidence gained

• Improved confidence in mixing/developing friendships with other children in larger groups for learning and social purposes
• Improved confidence in learning offsite
• Improved confidence in interacting with male role models
• Improved independent participation in demonstrating learning to other adults
• Improved interaction between age groups in school through sharing of joint topic, enabling older children to act as mentors/teachers to younger children

Impact on future learning

• Children clearly identify that most school projects and topics are too short for them to learn as much as they want; this project provided enough time for them to explore and develop new skills, and to follow independent trains of thought sparked by creative opportunities.
• Children value more opportunities for practical learning through visits, movement, song, story and textiles work, and for exploring their ideas through regular dialogue with a character in role.
• The role of a learning guide or mentor (eg. the knight) who appears at regular points throughout the project helps to keep children on track, provides an exciting source of knowledge, concepts and skills, and gives impetus to learning.
• Visits off-site are more interesting to children when they involve practical activities for which children have to research/prepare in advance.

Outcomes for teachers and support staff

Skills and knowledge acquired/developed:

• Practical skills which are transferable to other subject areas and themes eg. sculptural textile work, developing historical/geographical. concepts through dance/story.
• Phase group-based planning and sharing of ideas offers extended opportunities for CPD .
• Ability to transfer model for this project to any other history-based project.
• New model for curriculum planning and delivery explored and now needs to be developed.

Engagement in learning process:

• Staff enthused by working with creative in residence and creative practitioners.
• Staff motivated by children’s enthusiasm for learning.
• Support staff fully involved in the project; they have developed new skills and contributed their own skills and ideas (eg school cooks preparing and researching medieval food).

Confidence gained:

• Increased confidence in developing new curriculum model.
• Increased enjoyment and confidence in delivering historical concepts/knowledge through other curriculum areas.
• Increased confidence in adapting timetabling and curriculum planning to meet needs and expectations of children.

Challenges encountered:

• Communication between schools is sometimes difficult - strategies can be developed in future work to overcome this
• Expectations for future projects are high; senior management has an obligation to meet this!

Impact on future learning:

• Staff motivated to develop further topics and curriculum areas along similar models, and to develop different approaches

Outcomes for parents / carers

Skills and knowledge acquired/developed:

• Parents working alongside Helen Law in school have skills in handling textiles
• One parent was inspired by the visit to Hexham Abbey to take up calligraphy
• One father was inspired by hearing Margaret Watchorn’s storytelling to begin re-telling stories at home with his children

Engagement in learning process:

• Schools report that parents have nurtured project through increased level of conversation and shared practical activities with their children at home
• Parents more involved in school life through learning new skills alongside children/staff
• Parents more excited and stimulated by their children’s learning. All who responded report increased amounts of conversation and free play at home, linked to the topic
• Parents more eager to take part in off-site visits and willingly participate in/support practical activities (garland making, calligraphy)

Impact on future learning:

• All parents who responded to questionnaires (or verbally to staff) requested similar topics and approaches

Outcomes for federated schools

Skills and knowledge acquired/developed:

• Improved creative curriculum planning evident through divergent thinking when working together with a creative in residence
• Colleagues throughout the federation have supported each other in their journey towards a more creative curriculum by sharing ideas and encouraging each other to take risks
• Project has been an experience in creative learning for the children, but also a vehicle in creative curriculum planning development for the staff

Engagement in learning process:

• Planning for creative learning is stimulated by phase-based planning groups working with a creative in residence
• Risk taking and refining of ideas is more likely when discussing creative learning in federated groups

Confidence gained:

• Staff even more willing to move away from previous curriculum planning/timetable models
• Staff more confident in acting as learners alongside children

Challenges encountered:

• Systems/strategies can be creatively developed to improve communication between schools
• Schools need to take into account children’s comments on the importance of using creative practitioners as learning mentors/guides, and on their request for longer topics

Impact on future learning:

• Vital that schools continue to develop creative learning through federated phase-group based work
• Schools need to consider how to implement children’s request for learning mentors/guides to promote and sustain creative learning
• Teachers, parents and children welcome and request the use of further creative practitioners who will help schools develop the use of creative learning
• High level of organisation/support by creative in residence is vital in maintaining impetus and challenge of project

Outcomes for creative practitioners

Skills and knowledge acquired/developed:

• Improved confidence in using skills to work with children from Foundation Stage to Year 4
• Improved understanding of mixed age work in rural schools
• Development of own skills and knowledge relevant to supporting and promoting creative learning (eg knowledge of medieval life)

Engagement in learning process:

• Enjoyment and stimulation from children’s enthusiasm and energy
• Improved understanding of methods for working with children
• Freedom to try out and modify approaches for different age groups

Confidence gained:

• Increased confidence in planning and delivering activities for mixed age groups of children
• Increased confidence/enthusiasm in developing own creative skills to enhance understanding of history

Challenges encountered:

• Working off-site requires preliminary/preparatory visits - should practitioners be paid for these?
• Time allocated for practitioner to work with federation needs to be more clearly split into time allocated for each school (large schools need more time than small schools)

Impact on future learning:

• Steve Holden would value further involvement with schools in federation to develop learning mentor approach in a different role
• Schools have requested CPD work on using textiles from Helen Law
• Schools need to develop a legacy of approaches and activities based on work undertaken with creative practitioners during the last two terms

Future development

Dissemination
Headteachers and assistant headteachers agree that the model for this project will be of value to other schools who wish to consider developing an interdisciplinary skills/concepts/attitudes based curriculum, and to Northumbria University as a model for student learning.

Margaret Watchorn (Creative in residence) will produce a final report and forward copies to

Creative Partnerships Northumberland
Mick Waters (QCA)
Northumberland LEA: primary schools team and Robert Peers
Northumbria University

Future planning

1. Schools identify the need to capitalise on what they have learned from this project, and to extend and develop their work in other curriculum areas, thus producing a new refined model which can be used with any geographically based project.
2. Whilst working with Helen Law, schools realised the need for more CPD in the use of textiles/sculptural textile work and would value more input from Helen. They also wish to continue working with Steve Holden and the Education Theatre Company, exploring how the role of a learning guide/mentor for children can affect learning within a geographical theme. Schools are interested in exploring links between music and geography as a cultural learning tool, and would like to work with performers/a composer in developing cultural understanding. Cambo in particular would also be interested in working with film as a means of promoting learning and research by children. An application will be made to Creative Partnerships for funding from 23007/2008 to fund these identified needs.
3. Schools will use the basis of their findings from this project to inform their work on curriculum development with Chris Quigley over the next year.