Waving not drowning

Waving, notDrowning:Taking the Plunge on Curriculum Change


This booklet describes how two groups of schools have taken the plunge and changed their curriculum.

In a defi ant spirit of optimism we have called the booklet “Waving, not Drowning”. The opening section, Turning the Tide, provides some background: reasons for changing tack; a summary of issues arising at the conference; a research report looking at impact so far. The next section, Dipping a Toe in the Water, describes the fi rst steps taken by individual schools as they set out to change their curriculum. Different Strokes for Different Folks emphasises the range and diversity of approaches which are possible, with schools organising their work variously around Literacy, Numeracy, Humanities or the Arts. Let’s Hear it for the Lifeguards is a reminder of how outside agencies can help. Finally, Armbands and Floats gathers together some advice on where to go for further information.

We hope schools will fi nd this booklet both stimulating and useful.


The combined forces of Wednesbury Learning Community and Gloucester Excellence Cluster

Illustrated by Simona Dimitri

Foreword

Mick Waters Director of Curriculum Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA)

With a name like “Waters”, the title of this book is really compelling! It should be compelling for all, whatever their names.

Our children need teachers and other staff in schools to be waving, bouncing up and down in excitement about learning. They can do this if they splash around and have fun with the curriculum.

This booklet explores learning. It tells of people taking steps towards a new depth. Some just take the plunge, some need supportive armbands provided by professional colleagues. All, though, have found that real engagement in professionally challenging projects has been exciting; far more exciting than standing, hovering on the edge, beached as the tide goes out.

If we want outcomes for young people to be better, we need to engage in “disciplined innovation”. This is not about doing revolutionary things, just things that are new for us ... and checking on the impact. This booklet is full of suggestions for the next steps for you. Wednesbury and Gloucester schools deserve credit for making this happen and the contents show how people have made it work so that the reader can see the possibilities.

Use the booklet, enjoy the stories, hold hands with someone else and take the plunge. Come on in, the water’s lovely!

� �

ForewordMick Waters, QCA �

Turning the TideWaving, not Drowning: 4-5 Taking the Plunge on Curriculum Change Kevin Jeffery

A Thematic Curriculum: 6-9 Principles and Practice Conference Report 2006 Kevin Jeffery

Floating or Sinking? 10-15 Research into the Impact of a Thematic Curriculum Gill Matthews

Dipping a Toe in the WaterGetting Started on a Thematic Curriculum in Schools 16-�0 Elaine Benbow

The Gloucester City Curriculum: �1 A Manifesto (from “Touching Gold” by Gloucester EAZ head teachers)

Alive, Alive Oh: ��-�4 Gloucester City Curriculum Development David Crunkhurn

The City Curriculum: �5-�6 A Thematic Approach Helen Davis

To Theme or Not to Theme? �7-�8 Managing Curriculum Change at Tameside Primary School Chris Warwood

Steps on a Learning Journey: �9-�1 The Thematic Curriculum at Albert Pritchard Infant School Jane Burns

Different Strokes for Different FolksGetting Creative With Literacy ��-�5 Gill Matthews

Learning Counts: �6-�7 Numeracy as Part of a Thematic Curriculum Jane Newnes

Taking an Arts-Based Approach �8-�9 to the Thematic Curriculum Haydn Moss

The Best Idea They Ever Had: 40-41 Humanities in the Thematic Curriculum Beccy Webber

Developing an Exciting Learning Environment 4�-44 Elaine Benbow

Using Study Workbooks 45-47 Elaine Benbow

Let’s Hear it for the Lifeguards!QCA’s Cunning Plan: 48-51 The “Big Picture” of the Curriculum Kevin Jeffery

Customise Your Curriculum 5�-55 Alison Willmott

Eight Forces for Leading Change: 56-59 Using Michael Fullan’s Work as a Blueprint Kevin Jeffery

A Word From Our Sponsor: 60-61 A Publisher’s Perspective Mina Gera

Armbands and FloatsUseful Resources 6�-6�

Contributors 64

Contents

Fore

wor

d

� �

Tur

ning

the T

ide

Waving, not Drowning:Taking the Plunge on Curriculum Change

Kevin Jeffery

Stevie Smith’s poem Not Waving but Drowning has entered into the public consciousness. Whether people know the poem or not, the central image, and the contrast it presents between perception and reality, has now entered the language to become a universal metaphor. To all intents and purposes, the swimmer in the poem appears safe, confident, waving back to watchers on the beach. The reality, though, is far more disturbing. Isolated, unable to cope, what seems from a distance to be a wave of reassurance is in fact a cry for help.

Teachers and heads among you may spot a parallel here. To official observers, the educational picture looks rosy. A series of decisive interventions have led to tangible improvements in service, greater accountability, rising attainment figures. Official statistics confirm that schools are positive and happy – swimming strongly in a supportive current of initiatives, we wave happily back at our observers, who are safe on the shore.

To the swimmer, the picture is a little different. In their view, a constant deluge of initiatives has swamped their schools and induced a sense of powerlessness. Far from waving, schools feel they are drowning – swept away by the tide. However much they signal their distress, no-one comes to their aid.

Before I get carried away here, I would say that I think the tide is turning. It seems to me that an increasing number of strong and confident swimmers out there have learnt to read the shifting currents, and take charge of their own direction. Some of these brave souls have even taken time off to talk about their work and we are delighted to publish their stories here.

So what are these changes in the political and educational current that to some have proved so helpful?

• In �00� Excellence and Enjoyment marked a shift in government thinking, with a strong emphasis on encouraging creativity and flexibility.

• In �005 Every Child Matters placed the child firmly at the centre of the agenda, and widened the focus to include five outcomes: health, safety, citizenship and well-being, as well as educational achievement.

• Initiatives on Personalised Learning and Extended Schools encourage us to respond more directly to the needs of individual children and the wider community.

• QCA are reinventing themselves and their relationship with schools through the “Big Picture” of the curriculum.

• And underpinning all of these developments is the expectation that schools should work in partnership rather than in isolation.

Encouraged by this trend, and keen to find out what others were doing, Wednesbury Learning Community decided to gather together a group of fellow travellers to explore the principles and practice of a more creative curriculum. On 31 March 2006 we held a national conference in Sandwell entitled Thematic Curriculum: Principles and Practice. These are the collected papers from that conference, published for those who attended and those who would have done so if they hadn’t been too busy keeping afloat!

In a defiant spirit of optimism we have called the booklet “Waving, not Drowning”. The opening section, Turning the Tide, provides some background: reasons for changing tack; a summary of issues arising at the conference; a research report looking at impact so far. The next section, Dipping a Toe in the Water, describes the first steps taken by individual schools as they set out to change their curriculum. Different Strokes for Different Folks emphasises the range and diversity of approaches which are possible, with schools organising their work variously around Literacy, Numeracy, Humanities or the Arts. Let’s Hear it for the Lifeguards is a reminder of how outside agencies can help. Finally, Armbands and Floats gathers together some advice on where to go for further information.

Our thanks to all who gave up their time to contribute to this booklet. Also to Harcourt, the publishers, who donated their expertise. We hope you find the booklet useful. If you do, please give us a wave.

4 5

Waving, not Drowning: Taking the Plunge on Curriculum ChangeKevin Jeffery

A Thematic Curriculum:Principles and Practice Conference Report 2006

Kevin Jeffery

Why hold a “Thematic Curriculum” conference?To some extent we were responding to demand. Many schools are already looking to provide opportunities for creativity by re-organising their curriculum thematically. However, they are often working alone in this and struggling to maintain momentum. There was a strong case for bringing together interested parties so that they could learn from one other.

It was clear that a “thematic curriculum” meant different things to different people. We thought it would be interesting to see how much common ground there was, so we asked:

• why had people chosen to work this way?

• how (and why) had they chosen their themes?

• what had they decided to include in each theme, and what had they decided to leave out?

• how had they managed the process of development in schools?

Also, there is the crucial question of impact. What if any differences had schools noticed

• in terms of motivation, progress, attainment for the learner?

• in terms of commitment, job satisfaction, effectiveness of the teacher?

6

Who should come?In the first instance, we were looking to support work within our own network of schools in Sandwell, so they were first on our invitation list. But we also knew of other people who had experience of working thematically.

In Gloucester, a group of schools had developed their own City Curriculum. We needed to invite them to tell us what they had done, and what they had learnt. In particular, what use had they made of their local environment to stimulate learning?

In Cheshire, head teachers Martin and Carolyn Casserley had for some time been developing their own creative curriculum in their primary schools. They had pioneered the use of study workbooks to record and reflect the achievements of learners, which had influenced Sandwell schools at an earlier stage. They would provide a useful yardstick against which to measure our own schools’ progress.

Local Authority primary consultants accumulate valuable evidence of different approaches in their work with schools, and the relative merits (and pitfalls) of each. It seemed important to give them an opportunity to share their experience and findings. We asked one freelance consultant, Gill Matthews, to undertake some research into the impact of a thematic curriculum at two of our schools in Wednesbury. The conference provided an ideal opportunity for her to report on her findings to date (summarised on pages 10-15).

And then there was QCA. What did they think about the current groundswell of support for thematic teaching? How well did it match their plans for future development? In a nutshell, were they with us or against us? Whether we agreed with them or not, it seemed important that they were represented at the conference, and were able to comment on, and contribute to, the debate. As it turned out, their contribution was a revelation.

7

“Many schools are already

looking to provide opportunities for

creativity by re-organising their

curriculum thematically.”

A Thematic Curriculum: Principles and Practice Conference Report 2006Kevin Jeffery

So what should we do next?In their feedback on the conference, delegates asked for:

• copies of all contributions to the conference both from the platform and the fl oor

• further guidance on the thematic curriculum from experienced practitioners

• a copy of the research report on impact, when the research was complete

• an opportunity to reconvene in a year’s time, to compare notes on progress

• contact in the meantime, through a loose network of interested schools.

We are responding to these requests by:

• producing this post-conference report

• arranging a second conference for June �007

• setting up a number of action research and training sessions, to which interested schools would be invited

• maintaining contact with interested schools and organisations, to develop and share ideas.

We also plan to take our own work forward by focusing on:

• issues raised by teachers at the conference

• recommendations of the commissioned research

• QCA’s plans for reviewing the curriculum

• established views on managing effective change.

9

What have we learnt?The conference provided some fascinating insights into current thinking in schools. All right, the 80+ teachers who attended were not necessarily a cross section of the teaching community – they had all chosen to come to a conference advertising itself as a seminar on teaching thematically – but there was ample evidence from their reaction that schools are looking to change the way they work.

Whether this is through restlessness, external infl uence, or a growing awareness of their own independence is diffi cult to judge, but there is undeniably a sense of change in the air. Talking to teachers, there is a strong sense that the present curriculum is unsatisfactory, and needs to offer a better balance between subjects, and between different areas of learning. The question is, what to do about it.

There is strong interest, variously expressed, in:

• organising learning thematically

• increasing opportunities for creativity

• providing access to a wider range of learning styles

• making learning more experiential and child-centred

• making greater use of new technologies.

At the same time, it was clear that schools are at different points on a spectrum. Some negative legacies surfaced which, in their different ways, could hinder development, but they need to be addressed:

• a fear of accountability (yes, but what if Ofsted come?)

• a familiarity with prescription (yes, but what do they want us to do?)

• a dependence on offi cial schemes (well that’s all very well, but we do QCA)

• a sense of bewilderment (I didn’t train this way – what an earth are you talking about?)

• a rush of nostalgia (yes, thank God – I remember topic webs!)

• a feeling of rising panic (how am I supposed to do this and everything else?).

We felt that any concerted approach to change needs to recognise and respond to these issues if it is to produce lasting and genuine improvement.

8

A Thematic Curriculum: Principles and Practice Conference Report 2006Kevin Jeffery

“There is undeniably a sense of change

in the air.”

11

Floating or Sinking? Research into the Impact of a Thematic Curriculum

Gill Matthews

Background and contextDuring the spring term of 2006, I carried out a research project into the impact of a thematic curriculum on teaching and learning. The research focused on two schools in Wednesbury.

Albert Pritchard Infant School has 200 children on roll. It serves the local housing estate, built in the 1930s. Eighteen per cent of the children receive free school meals, although the school believes that the number who are eligible is actually higher. Twenty-eight per cent of the pupils are on the school’s register of special educational needs, which is above the national average. About nine per cent of pupils are from minority ethnic groups. The school started to develop its thematic curriculum by trialling the approach in the summer term of 2003.

Moorlands Community Primary School is also situated on a housing estate. It has a significant number of pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds, who enter the school with standards well below expectations. A higher than average proportion of pupils have special educational needs. The number of pupils with English as an additional language is relatively low. Moorlands has been running termly Arts Weeks since 2001. The staff found that the standard of children’s writing improved during these weeks and in 2003 they started to explore how they might deliver their curriculum in a more creative manner.

Both schools have been following a thematic curriculum for three years but head teachers emphasise that it is still under development and not the finished product.

10

Research aims and methodThe two main aims of the research were:

• to consider why the schools moved towards a thematic curriculum

• to explore the impact of a thematic curriculum on teaching and learning.

I used qualitative research methods during the project. Teachers and support staff completed questionnaires about the research areas. I interviewed the head teachers, key teaching staff, children and one parent. I also sampled children’s work and observed lessons in both schools.

Reasons for changeThe main reasons for changing the way the curriculum was delivered were to raise standards, develop a curriculum that is meaningful and relevant and to make learning fun and exciting. In both schools, teachers identified the need for a “driving force”, in terms of leadership and management, behind curriculum change: the deputy heads took on the role of curriculum manager and have been heavily involved in planning and implementation. Staff felt it was important that they too were involved in the development of the themes and in planning.

ResultsI spoke to staff about the perceived benefits and advantages of a thematic curriculum and also the impact on teaching and learning. Across the two schools, responses were very similar. The benefits for teachers were seen to be that:

• a thematic curriculum made it easier to cover the curriculum requirements

• teaching was more enjoyable and creative

• it made planning easier, although initially more time consuming.

As far as the children were concerned:

• contextualised learning made more sense and was more relevant and practical

• learning was both fun and enjoyable

• a variety of learning styles were used, so the needs of individual children were met and they were able to learn in a way that was most appropriate.

Floating or Sinking? Research into the Impact of a Thematic CurriculumGill Matthews

“Teachers identified the

need for a “driving force” in terms of leadership and management.”

At Moorlands, there has also been a considerable improvement in reading results, from 62 per cent in 2002 to 96 per cent in 2005. Overall, the English results have moved from 13 per cent below the national average in 2002 to 6 per cent above the national average in 2005. The school were disappointed with the 2005 writing results, particularly as the trend had been upwards. However, the teacher assessment for writing for 2005 was 82 per cent, which was considerably more encouraging.

A number of teachers mentioned an improvement in children’s behaviour and attitude towards learning. It struck me how confi dent the children were when I spoke to them. They were without exception more than happy to talk to me and very articulate when it came to telling me what they had been doing and explaining some of the concepts they had learnt. There was also a sense of confi dence about their knowledge and skills.

1�

When I asked about the impact, or effects, of a thematic curriculum, the teachers’ responses focused far more on the impact on children’s learning than on their own teaching. They did consider, however, that their teaching was more creative and purposeful.

The most common comment about impact on learning was that children were more motivated and interested. A Year 6 pupil told me that he was really interested in the World War II theme, so I asked how this helped with his learning. “It really helps you. Your personality really changes because you think, ‘Hey, this is exciting!’”

Teachers in both Key Stages 1 and 2 also commented on the improvement in independent learning. They had seen evidence of this both in the classroom, with children taking more responsibility for their own learning, and at home, with children carrying out independent research. A Year 3 teacher said she was getting so many bits and pieces of writing and drawing that children had done at home, that she offered the class an exercise book each to use for their independent work. One boy showed me the book about the Egyptians he’d developed at home. It was packed with information about gods and goddesses, he’d included labelled diagrams and maps and an account of his trip with his parents to the Egyptian exhibition at Dudley Museum. In the same class, another pupil showed me the miniature coffi n he’d made at home, complete with wrapped mummy. Staff also noted that standards, particularly in terms of ideas and language in children’s writing, had improved.

At Albert Pritchard, the reading results have risen from 70 to 90 per cent, although the head teacher pointed out that they are following the Early Literacy Strategy intervention programme and this also has had an impact on children’s reading.

1�

10080

60

40

20

02003 2004 2005

Reading

Writing

Speaking and listening

Fig.1: Percentage of children achieving Level 2+ at Albert Pritchard Infant School

100

80

60

40

20

02002 2003 2004 2005

Reading

Writing

English

National Average for English

Fig.2: Percentage of children achieving Level 4+ at Moorlands Primary School


“It really helps you. Your

personality really changes because you think, ‘Hey, this is exciting!’”

• Visits and experiences with a specifi c focus and purpose that don’t always have to happen at the end of a theme – as a reward, but sometimes as an initial experience to kickstart the theme and to stimulate the children’s interest. Also, the schools should make the most of what the local area has to offer and invite visitors into school. At Moorlands, the large school fi eld is an integral part of their curriculum. With parental support, they have created a secret garden, a number of other cultivated areas and are just starting to develop a vegetable patch, as part of the Dig for Victory theme. In this way the schools are thinking about offering children simple but effective experiences within school and involving parents and other local people who have something to offer.

• In both schools, the children develop study workbooks in which they keep examples of the work done during a theme. The children were obviously very proud of these books. The variety in terms of forms of presentation is an interesting element e.g. mini books, �D representations of pyramids, pop ups, photos, maps, graphs, leafl ets and labelled diagrams. There is variety in terms of formal presentation and writing. However, the purpose of, and audience for, the study workbooks was sometimes unclear. The schools need to clarify whether these books are showcases for children’s work or snapshots of how the theme developed. The children could have more of a say in the choice of work featured in the study workbooks and the form of presentation. Equally, it wasn’t clear whether the books were being produced for parents or visitors to the school, for other children to read or for the children themselves. The amount of adult support given in their production varied between the schools. At Albert Prichard the children were being trained in the skills of cutting and gluing. At Moorlands, much of the production was done by support staff, some of whom commented on the time they spent on this.

Both of the schools are reviewing and revising their curricula on an ongoing basis so these points can be incorporated into this process.

15

DrawbacksI also explored perceived drawbacks to a thematic curriculum:

• For teachers, time was the biggest issue – time spent planning and looking for resources.

• Subject links must be made truly meaningful and relevant, rather than trying to shoehorn everything into the theme.

• Worries about ensuring coverage of the National Curriculum.

• Issues about the cost of resourcing the curriculum, particularly fi nding funds for visits and visitors. These were expressed particularly by the heads and deputies. There are implications here for schools considering this route.

• The majority of teachers felt that there were no drawbacks for the children. The only concern raised was the possibility that a theme might not be of interest and therefore children would become bored. This underlines the need to choose themes carefully and to plan and deliver them in an exciting and creative way.

A signifi cant number of teachers felt that there were no drawbacks to a thematic curriculum.

Next stepsIn the light of this research, there are a number of points that the two schools can now consider:

• Building up banks of resources to broaden children’s experiences of key events and things.

• Creating a stimulating classroom environment. If experiences are an important part of a thematic curriculum, then classroom environment also comes under this umbrella. There are themed areas in the classrooms but some are considerably more effective than others. It would be worth the schools identifying and agreeing on the purpose, scale and level of fi nish of classroom environments.

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“Schools should make the most of

what the local area has to offer.”

17

Dip

ping

a T

oe

in th

e Wat

erGetting Started on a Thematic Curriculum in SchoolsElaine Benbow

Colleagues who are interested in creating a thematic curriculum for their school have several options in getting started. This article describes some of these approaches and their advantages and problems. Colleagues have used one, some, or a combination of the following approaches.

1. Combining QCA schemes of work into themes

�. Linking two or three subject areas as a starting point

�. Developing pilot projects

4. Using skills ladders around which to create content

5. Themed weeks

1. Combining QCA Schemes of Work into ThemesTeachers who have been using the QCA schemes of work and feel confident with them may want to use these as a starting point by looking at all the units for a year group and making links between them. Examples can be found on the QCA website.

As an illustration, a Year 3 teacher might link up a Science unit on teeth and eating and growing food with Design and Technology units on making sandwiches and devising packaging around the theme of healthy eating. Other units such as ICT introduction to databases could be incorporated to show the results of taste tests. Geography could be included through the unit on weather around the world, which would enable pupils to look at food production and why our food is produced in particular places. Literacy could then be linked through writing instructions, poetry and stories about food and invitation letters to a taste test. Numeracy links could be made through weights and measures in following recipes, making packaging and measuring rainfall and temperature. Art, Music, RE and History could also be easily linked to this theme.

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Starting with the schemes of work could be advantageous in that:

• there are resources already in school

• teachers are familiar with content and know where to find supporting information

• progression is built in through the schemes of work

• much of the planning will have been done and assessment procedures put in place.

A possible disadvantage is that the curriculum content continues to be dictated by outside agencies rather than by teachers who select content appropriate for their pupils. It is worth noting that the QCA units are advisory and could be adapted to be more applicable to individual schools and their local community.

2. Linking Subject AreasAnother way of starting may be to link together two subjects such as Art and History. For example, a teacher may take a theme such as The Victorians as a History focus and use the work of William Morris and examples of Indian art as a starting point for developing designs in Art lessons. These designs can then be taken into clay tiles, printmaking, collage and textiles.

The advantages of this approach are that:

• the timetable can be blocked to teach the lessons during the afternoons over a week or two as a mini project

• visits to galleries etc. can be arranged or artists may be brought in to develop pupils’ and teachers’ skills

• the work produced is more likely to be of a good quality as pupils are allowed time to explore ideas, develop skills and finish work over a concentrated period of time rather than a disjointed one-hour lesson per week

• the focus for assessment is narrower as only two subjects are focused on

• Art and History objectives can be covered in the same lesson.

If following this approach, care needs to be taken to ensure that there is a balance of curriculum time over a term.

Getting Started on a Thematic Curriculum in SchoolsElaine Benbow

We are working on the idea espoused by many educationalists from 1930s to the present day that “learning how to learn” and the development of key skills is equally or even more important than teaching content.

For example, in History, Year 1 pupils need to be able to order artefacts in terms of their age and explain their reasoning. This can be done with any period of history and with many objects, fi tting in with a theme of toys, our homes, people who help us, transport, myself.

This method could be useful in that:

• a curriculum that is pertinent to the pupils and the local area can be developed

• ownership by staff, pupils and the community around their own curriculum is enhanced

• there is a secure base on which to build progression through the school

• the skills ladders can be used as a starting point for planning and assessment

• coverage of the National Curriculum is assured

• the school timetable can be redeveloped to take curriculum themes into account.

This approach is the most radical starting point and may fl ounder if resources and support are not available or if colleagues do not feel that agencies such as Ofsted support their work. (There is no evidence that this is the case at present. QCA and Ofsted have set up groups to discuss curriculum reform.)

5. Themed WeeksAnother way of dipping a toe into the water is by having a whole school theme week that can be planned around signifi cant events or local resources. Schools also have subject-based weeks such as Arts Weeks around the theme of stories, Science Weeks about the weather, growing things, the local park.

This can be useful in that:

• everyone can plan and evaluate together

• a shared theme allows a multitude of ideas to be aired

• pupils can contribute their ideas

• the “buzz” generated by the week can kick-start other themes of interest

• fi nished work can be shared by the whole school and community via a special assembly or exhibition.

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3. Developing Pilot ProjectsA pilot project may be considered before embarking on the thematic curriculum for the whole school. A teacher who is particularly interested in starting this work could try it out fi rst or a Key Stage 1 and 2 class may be selected to gain a perspective over most of the school. This would also allow two or more teachers to support each other. The role of senior management is crucial. They can help by giving the participating teachers more time for planning and ensuring that there is time for ongoing progress reports to other staff. Support from local advisers, other school colleagues and Advanced Skills Teachers can be brought in.

There could also be a gradual phasing in of a thematic curriculum following on from the Foundation Stage into Year 1, then Year 2 etc, or the pilots could take only a half-term of trialling before the whole school becomes involved.

This approach is useful in a number of ways:

• it gets the work off to a positive start, especially if colleagues want to be involved

• other colleagues tend to trust the views of their fellow staff members, and may be reassured to know that a thematic curriculum works with their pupils

• it is useful to have supportive colleagues working together to sort out any diffi culties

• local school and area initiatives can be worked on as a group, perhaps with neighbouring schools

• resources and ideas can be shared

• there is a cohesive effect brought about by working on new ideas together.

However, this approach needs to be fully supported by the senior management team and time and resources must be planned for and provided.

4. Using Skills LaddersIn Wednesbury a focus group started by creating skills ladders. We went back to the National Curriculum and took each of the Foundation Subjects in turn. We went through the document noting the skills that each year group needed to develop and created the ladders to ensure progression. With History and Science we also noted the content required by the National Curriculum.

These ladders are then used as a scaffold around which the content is hung.

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Getting Started on a Thematic Curriculum in SchoolsElaine Benbow

“Learning how to learn and the

development of key skills is equally

or even more important than

teaching content.”

�1

The Gloucester City Curriculum: A Manifesto (from “Touching Gold”)

�0

The Gloucester City Curriculum: A Manifesto (from “Touching Gold”)Getting Started on a Thematic Curriculum in Schools

When Gloucester head teachers decided to opt for a new approach to teaching and learning in their schools, they organised a conference to discuss their ideas. One outcome of this conference was the manifesto for the Gloucester City Curriculum.

The Gloucester City Curriculum is a carefully planned thematic approach to teaching and learning, designed to stimulate creativity and to arouse children’s natural curiosity.

By placing direct experience at the centre of the curriculum, teachers are able to draw out and develop children’s powers of expression in a range of media. By doing so they provide the circumstances under which all children can achieve success.

Within the City Curriculum, schools and teachers work with each other, drawing on the resources of the city to create a coherent, challenging and exciting curriculum. Each school is able to be distinctive and unique, while working to agreed principles and objectives.

As teachers, what unites us is a focus on the child as learner and a belief that to educate the child effectively we need to do less, better.

As agreed by Gloucester EAZ head teachers in October 2003

“Touching Gold” is the title of a collection of articles by Gloucester teachers on introducing a thematic curriculum. Copies can be obtained from the Gloucester Excellence Cluster (see reference in “Useful Resources” on page 62).

Taking the PlungeAny of these approaches can be taken as a starting point. From our experience we know that all of these are useful ways to embark on working thematically. Each method has been explored by schools and used successfully, especially when:

• senior managers fully support the initiative

• the experience of Foundation Stage colleagues is used, as they are used to working in this way

• time is allowed for planning and feedback

• there is a supportive environment that fosters experimentation with new ideas

• appropriate resources are available to every teacher

• colleagues work creatively together, for example, in creating exciting learning environments

• pupils’ interests are central to planning

• the resources in the local environment are explored and used

• colleagues are confi dent in their ideas and can justify their methods to others including parents and Ofsted

• parents are informed and involved.

None of these approaches is a quick fi x. Many colleagues have been working on a thematic curriculum for several years and are still evolving their ideas. Taking pupils’, parents’ and others’ views into account, they are constantly reviewing and adapting their own practice to provide an exciting, challenging and engaging curriculum for all their pupils.

��

We wanted our schools to house an atmosphere of renewed excitement for teaching and learning. This in turn would raise self-esteem and standards in writing and improve behaviour. With strong links made between the curriculum areas studied, all children would be totally immersed in their theme and would therefore be writing and learning for a purpose. By seeing that subject areas connect together to make a coherent whole, our children’s knowledge and understanding of the subjects would be stronger.

As a staff we discussed the implications for the journey ahead at Kingsholm. We explored how a radical change and shift in learning would be introduced, managed, phased in and resourced. The deputy head took the role of curriculum manager, overseeing all the issues surrounding the planning stages of the City Curriculum.

Each subject leader took their subject and developed Key Questions that would become the main lines of enquiry into the theme. A series of activities was then developed to enable the children to explore, research and connect learning together in order to answer the Key Question. The children also created their own Key Questions alongside each new theme. This ensured quality of learning, based on progression of National Curriculum skills, coverage of the programmes of study, and challenge for all learners.

The impact so far has been remarkable in that children are more focused in their learning and understand the purpose of why they are learning. Standards have risen and are continuing to rise from an Aggregate Points Score at the end of Key Stage 2 of 186 in 2002 to 215 in 2005. In our most recent report, Ofsted found no child underachieving, and praised the initiative and its implementation.

However, the City Curriculum is not by any means finished. We have just completed two terms of our “new improved” City Curriculum, in which all themes have been evaluated, updated and redeveloped. This second phase has proven to be just as exciting as the first. Many themes have moved to different year groups and there has been the introduction of a two-year rolling programme to meet the present climate of mixed year groups in our Key Stage 2. It will continue to evolve, being shaped to accommodate national thinking and learning initiatives that are relevant to our children. At present substantial work is being done to embed Assessment for Learning into our curriculum and to create personalised learning targets.

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Alive, Alive Oh: Gloucester City Curriculum DevelopmentDavid Crunkhurn

“Each subject leader took their subject

and developed Key Questions that

would become the main lines of enquiry into the

theme.”

Alive, Alive Oh: Gloucester City Curriculum Development

David Crunkhurn

Kingsholm Church of England Primary School is an inner-city school, which serves a diversity of cultures and families within a community that suffers from some social and economic deprivation.

Prior to the development of the City Curriculum in 2003, QCA schemes of work were used as the basis for our teaching. However, with most of its content being outside our children’s experience, their ability to connect to and access the curriculum was hindered. This was having an impact on self-esteem, behaviour and ultimately on standards (particularly standards in writing amongst boys). In order for them to access learning, pupils needed to be able to connect with engaging experiences that would prepare them for life. We knew that there was a wealth of resources outside our doors, in our city and surrounding communities, that we were not tapping into. We wanted to provide learning that all children could access and own through a series of stimulating first-hand experiences freely available through local walks in our city.

A group of Gloucester City Primary, Junior and Infant head teachers got together to discuss the way forward. This led to an initiative which became known as the City Curriculum.

The next step was to decide upon the themes that would drive learning. It was agreed that Geography, History or Science would lead the themes, with other curriculum areas feeding in where appropriate. Any curriculum area that did not fit in with the theme would be taught discretely in a separate block of work. Figure 3 on page 24 shows how elements of various subjects can be incorporated into a theme.

“Pupils needed to be able to connect

with engaging experiences that would prepare them for life.”

GEOGRAPHYVisit to Wilderness

Centre

Comparison of locations

SCIENCELiving things, plants, habitats, structure of

fl owers.

Keeping healthy

MUSICSymphony of Nature – Vivaldi, Saint-Saens

ARTMark making

observational drawing – plants, leaves, natural patterns

RECreation stories

Caring for planet earth

DTCreating a habitat

ICTCombining text and

graphics

Using and preparing databases

LITERACYRecounts

Note taking

Story openings

Myths, Legends and Fables

Playscripts

ALIVE, ALIVE OH!

Fig 3: An example of how a theme combines elements of different subjects

Since starting to teach at Kingsholm I have a renewed enjoyment for my job and the excitement it brings daily. The school is providing a happy and exciting learning environment for everyone.

�5

The City Curriculum: A Thematic Approach

Helen Davis

Harewood Junior School was one of the founders of the Gloucester City Curriculum. The following slides provide answers to some of the questions most frequently asked by visitors to the school.

�4

The City Curriculum: A Thematic ApproachAlive, Alive Oh: Gloucester City Curriculum Development

�7

To Theme or Not to Theme?Managing Curriculum Change at Tameside Primary School

Chris Warwood

Until 2005, Tameside Primary School had been following the QCA schemes of work as the agreed curriculum guidance. However, teachers were beginning to look for alternatives as they felt that the curriculum was becoming repetitive and was less relevant for their pupils. Children were often experiencing diffi culty in making connections and applying learnt skills across the curriculum. As a school we were looking to further motivate and engage pupils in their learning and to be more creative with curriculum content.

Following discussion with another local school which had already begun to implement the thematic approach, the staff agreed to adopt a similar curriculum design. Initially we ran a pilot project with Years 2 and 6 during the summer term 2005. Positive feedback from these year groups led to the decision to adopt the approach across the school from September 2005.

As a fi rst step curriculum leaders analysed their particular subject area and developed a skills ladder document to ensure full coverage of the National Curriculum.

Towards the end of the autumn term 2005 and spring term 2006 the staff completed a simple review form. First they were asked to indicate the benefi ts of the thematic approach. A collation of answers covering the two terms indicated that:

• teachers found that they were able to use their time more fl exibly and that it was possible to cover more than one subject at a time

• there was fl exibility of working with subjects which gave opportunities to study in more detail

• there could be fl exibility with the timetable

• pupils were beginning to use key skills in different subjects

• there was a more holistic approach which enabled teachers to address different learning styles

• teachers gained a fresh view of the curriculum by selecting content appropriate for their pupils.

�6

To Theme or Not to Theme? Managing Curriculum Change at Tameside Primary SchoolThe City Curriculum: A Thematic Approach

“Children were often experiencing

difficulty in making connections and applying learnt

skills.”

�9

Steps on a Learning Journey:The Thematic Curriculum at Albert Pritchard Infant School

Jane Burns

Our story opens with a wish, a desire, a need to create a curriculum that would engage, and be relevant to, our children – many of whom enter Nursery with poor communication, language and social skills. We knew that we needed to raise standards and we saw curriculum development as an opportunity to address these issues. We wanted to take the good practice from thematic teaching in the Foundation Stage through to the rest of the school. We also wanted to develop children’s creativity and ensure that pupils’ learning was connected.

Our fi rst step was to hold a professional development day with all staff to plan half-termly themes. This involved using National Curriculum programmes of study, the Foundation Stage guidance and adaptations of some QCA schemes of work to map out our curriculum. The deputy head teacher, as thematic co-ordinator, then created a thematic curriculum pack that consisted of medium-term plans for each theme. We also developed skills progression sheets for the foundation subjects, linked to our half-termly themes. In order to engage children in their learning, visits and experiences were built into the themes. Visits to the Sea Life Centre and the local art gallery, school-based events such as being pirates for a week and recreating the seaside in the playground, visits by theatre groups and artists, all enriched the themes and the learning. As our thematic curriculum developed and took shape, we introduced study workbooks which not only showcased the children’s work but also developed the skills needed to make them, such as cutting and sticking.

�8

Steps on a Learning Journey: The Thematic Curriculum at Albert Pritchard Infant SchoolTo Theme or Not to Theme? Managing Curriculum Change at Tameside Primary School

“Visits to the Sea Life Centre,

being pirates for a week, visits by theatre groups . . . all enriched the themes and the

learning.”

Second, staff were asked what did not work well and what the problems were. They said:

• teachers needed more experience in producing study workbooks

• not all subjects or elements of subjects could be linked

• there was a need to build resources linked to the new themes

• they wanted to make sure that themes were not taught more than once.

Finally, they were asked about action points – what they would like help with. They suggested the following areas for further development:

• study workbook production

• ICT.

The summer term 2006 saw a programme of planning meetings to enable staff to share their successes and to plan a whole year ahead. The advent of mixed age classes in Years 1 and 2 needed careful consideration to ensure that themes were not repeated.

The ultimate test of a thematic curriculum in the minds of many teachers is whether it passes muster with Ofsted. Many teachers we talk to who are thinking about working thematically nod enthusiastically and then say, “Ah, but what do Ofsted think?” (as if they think with one brain).

Well, at the end of 2006 we found out. What they said gave us plenty of food for thought:

Teachers use themes to increase interest in topics and lessons. This approach has improved achievement because pupils see more relevance to the material they are learning and enjoy it more. However, the curriculum plans do not always draw the distinction between what skills are to be taught and the activities used to teach them. This leads to some pupils being unclear about why they are doing a particular task.

(Tameside Primary School Ofsted inspection report, December �006)

Our work on assessment for learning and our curriculum review were leading us to exactly this conclusion. Our work now is focused on distinguishing between what pupils will be doing and what they will be learning from what they do. Already we are seeing the benefi ts of this. So we move forward, step by step.

�1�0

Having established the foundations for our thematic curriculum, we knew that we needed to monitor and evaluate its development and success. We use learning walks and lesson observations to get a picture of what is happening in classrooms. The study workbooks are scrutinised each half term, particularly to assess children’s progress in National Curriculum foundation subjects. We also use questionnaires and involve pupils in discussions to determine their involvement and engagement in the themes and the impact on their learning. Planning is monitored for National Curriculum coverage and skills progression. The thematic co-ordinator feeds back on areas of strength, weakness and development to individual staff, the head teacher and governors on a regular basis. We have supported and encouraged staff in establishing the thematic curriculum by holding regular meetings to explore and develop themes, collect resources, identify learning objectives and plan teaching sequences. The head teacher and thematic co-ordinator are regularly involved in demonstration lessons and team teaching sessions. So, on an ongoing basis, we review what we are doing and the impact it is having on both teaching and learning.

Steps on a Learning Journey: The Thematic Curriculum at Albert Pritchard Infant SchoolJane Burns

“On an ongoing basis we review

what we are doing and the impact it is

having on both teaching and

learning.”

Is our story coming to a conclusion? The answer is an emphatic “no”. Having the opportunity to disseminate and refl ect on our practice has focused our minds on the why and the how of a thematic curriculum. It has also made us think about our next steps. We need to ensure that we are not just content-driven but are focusing on the key skills that children need. The classroom environments and role play areas need to promote and support a thematic curriculum. Given the central role of the study workbooks, we have to establish a clear purpose, audience and success criteria for them. We have come a long way in our story - but we have a long way to go until we can say, dear reader, that we have reached the end.

wrong version. These stories have evolved over many hundreds of years and the cartoon versions are another stage in the evolution.

These stories were developed as moral tales, to teach a lesson, so they contain some unpleasant detail. Red Riding Hood can be traced back to oral versions from various European countries prior to the seventeenth century. The first written version was by Charles Perrault in 1697. In that version Red Riding Hood was eaten by the wolf and there the story ends. Perrault sums up the moral in the story as follows.

From this story one learns that children, especially young lasses, pretty, courteous and well-bred, do very wrong to listen to strangers. And it is not an unheard thing if the Wolf is thereby provided with his dinner. I say Wolf, for all wolves are not of the same sort; there is one kind with an amenable disposition – neither noisy, nor hateful, nor angry, but tame, obliging and gentle, following the young maids in the streets, even into their homes. Alas! Who does not know that these gentle wolves are of all such creatures the most dangerous!

English traditional tales were sanitised by the Victorians and today’s children are more familiar with Granny being shut in a cupboard and then rescued by the woodcutter. With older children it is worth exploring the history of traditional tales. Be aware however that on some websites that do this, there are also analyses that you might wish to avoid, particularly if the Freudians have got their teeth into them – if that isn’t an entirely inappropriate image!

Red Riding Hood has great potential for both fiction and non-fiction writing. Children can explore the characters in the story by writing character descriptions, missing person’s posters, additional dialogue, communications between the characters. Alternatively, the wolf could write a letter applying for a job at the local old people’s home. The story can be retold from another character’s point of view such as that of the wolf. The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig, The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs and The Wolf’s Story are all examples of this treatment. The children can also write setting descriptions, using the senses in order to create atmosphere. The setting of the story can be changed to produce an alternative version. This can involve changing the place, so perhaps writing an urban version, or the time, setting the story at some point in the future. Snow White in New York is a useful example of a traditional tale set in a different time and place.

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Getting Creative with Literacy

Gill Matthews

What is your first thought when you hear the words “Once upon a time…”? Princesses, castles, frogs? The genre of traditional tales is a rich seam that can be used as the basis for creative and exciting themes.

These stories have a strong oral tradition; most of them weren’t actually written down until the seventeenth century. They are also cross cultural, for example, versions of Cinderella can be found in Africa, China and India, as well as Europe. Traditional tales have recurring themes, such as good triumphing over evil, the underdog overcoming adversity. The structure of the stories can be used to introduce the concept of the “rule of three” as many of them are based around three key events. Think about the number of times the wolf tries to blow down the pigs’ houses, the antics of Goldilocks, how often Jack goes up the beanstalk. The characters in traditional tales are often stereotypes but this does mean that children are familiar with them and how they are likely to behave. Again, we can refer to the “rule of three”, exploring how many traditional tales contain three central characters. The stories are often set in woods or forests and the characters usually live in castles or cottages. There are also some objects that are typical of traditional tales, such as food, spinning wheels and shoes. Asking children to list typical themes, characters, settings and objects is a useful way of activating their prior knowledge.

For the purposes of this article I’m going to concentrate on Little Red Riding Hood but the techniques and activities can be applied to any traditional tale. As we know, the villain of the piece is the wolf. He sweet-talks the innocent Red Riding Hood into revealing her destination, hotfoots it to Granny’s house, gets rid of the elderly lady and then disguises himself in order to trick the child.

So, we can start with telling and retelling the story. The children could use masks, puppets and role play. Creating a story map will support some children in the retelling. Paul Johnson’s book Traditional Tales contains an idea for a story map with a difference – pop ups. When you ask children to retell a traditional tale, some will refer to Disney and other animated versions. I think we need to accept this. There is no right or

��

Diff

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t Stro

kes

for

Diff

eren

t Fol

ks

Getting Creative with LiteracyGill Matthews

Useful booksBeware of the Storybook Wolves by Lauren Child. Hodder Children’s Books (2000)

Revolting Rhymes by Roald Dahl. Puffi n Books (2001)

The Wolf’s Story by Toby Forward. Walker Books (2005)

Snow White in New York by Fiona French. Oxford University Press (1989)

Wolves by Emily Gravett. Macmillan (2005)

Fairytale News by Colin and Jacqui Hawkins. Walker Books (2004)

Traditional Tales by Paul Johnson. A & C Black (2002)

The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka. Puffi n Books (1990)

The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig by Eugene Trivizas. Prentice Hall (1983)

Wolves is an interesting book to explore with children as the pictures tell a story but the text is in fact a non-chronological report.

Obviously this list of ways of using Red Riding Hood is not exhaustive but there is too much to cover within one theme. So, view it as a menu that you can choose from. One way of picking out the elements that you are going to cover is by thinking about a vehicle for delivering the theme. For example, the fi nal outcome might be a newspaper, in which case most of the writing the children do will be non-fi ction. Fairytale News contains a newspaper that could be used as a model. Another outcome could be the wolf’s appearance in court, accused of causing bodily harm to Granny. Children could explore the wolf’s version of events by writing the story from his point of view and then develop this into a more formal persuasive text. Alternatively, a performance of Red Riding Hood could be the outcome. As well as writing the play, this also gives children the chance to produce a theatre programme and to write adverts for the performance.

Finally, I’d like to briefl y explore some links that could be made to other subjects within the context of this theme. In Geography there are opportunities for creating and reading maps by developing story maps that show Red Riding Hood’s route to Granny’s cottage. Linked to this is the use of co-ordinates in Maths. In Design and Technology, the children can design a wolf trap, make sandwiches for Red Riding Hood’s basket or make masks to support the retelling of the story. ICT can be used when designing programmes for the performance. In PSHE the issues of being safe and exploring whether Red Riding Hood should have spoken to the wolf can be addressed.

So, over to you … try developing these ideas to create a traditional tales theme. All you need now is a snappy title. Once upon a time? Who’s afraid of the big bad wolf? Well, I’ll leave that in your hands. Text type Format

Recount Diary entry, letter, newspaper article

Instructions Directions to Granny’s cottage, recipes for the content of Red Riding Hood’s basket

Non-chronological Wolves, forests, traditional tale characters report

Explanation Wolf trap

Persuasion Newspaper article - wolf is innocent

Discussion Debate – is the wolf guilty or innocent?�5

Identifying the main events in the story, by breaking it down into steps, can produce a generic structure that can be used as the basis for more sophisticated retellings. For example:

1. Main character is sent on an errand.

2. Main character meets the bad character.

3. Bad character heads off to main character’s destination.

4. Bad character “does away” with OAP.

5. Bad character adopts disguise.

6. Main character arrives.

7. Bad character tries to “do away” with main character.

8. Hero saves the day.

This structure could be used as the basis for writing in another genre – a science fi ction version, or a spoof in which Red Riding Hood is the bad character.

Children could also write stories that bring characters from a number of traditional tales together. Fairytale News and Beware of the Storybook Wolves are both examples of intertextual stories.

The original story, or the children’s versions, can be turned into a playscript. Finally, the children could write poetry versions of the story, along the lines of Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf in Revolting Rhymes by Roald Dahl. Turning the story into a specifi c poetic form, such as a haiku, offers a more challenging writing activity for older children.

On the non-fi ction front, it’s possible to write any of the six main non-fi ction text types within the context of Red Riding Hood.

�4

Getting Creative with LiteracyGill Matthews

“Another outcome could be the

wolf’s appearance in court, accused of causing bodily harm to Granny.”

Learning Counts: Numeracy as Part of a Thematic Curriculum

Jane Newnes

On the stage in the hall at Harewood Junior School is a shop. In different ways and at different times it is used by children from across the school. Year 3 pupils use the shop to develop their mathematical skills in weighing and measuring as part of their food theme. Year 6 pupils use another part of the shop to run their healthy eating tuck shop. At different times in the school year, with a bit of work, it can be a Tudor shop or a Victorian shop, a bank or a bakery. But whatever changes we make, one thing remains constant: it is a terrific resource for teaching Mathematics.

As a school, we took the decision four years ago to place more emphasis on working thematically. At that stage I was working as both class teacher and Maths Co-ordinator. To make sure that Maths did not lose out in this switch to thematic working, the school took the bold step of giving my class teaching duties to someone else and freeing me to work as Maths leader across the school.

In my new role I set about doing three things:

• working out which Maths objectives needed to be taught separately

• deciding which objectives lent themselves to thematic work (time, money, measurement, data handling, shape and space)

• working with each year group to plan Maths into their lessons and their themes.

By looking back through children’s work and talking to class teachers, I identified specific areas of weakness in Maths within each year group and looked for opportunities to address these by learning in a practical, problem-solving way.

In Year 3, we found that children were lacking confidence in their knowledge of shape, space and measures. We came up with the idea of creating a shop complete with weighing apparatus, imitation money and a collection of empty cartons. The children helped to develop the shop by pricing the cartons. In order to do this they estimated the cost of the products and then visited the local supermarket to check the prices. They compared the cost of the goods in a supermarket with those in a corner shop. Through shopping and working in the shop, they are building up their skills in dealing with money, and weighing and measuring items being sold. The children also explore shape through investigating and designing packaging. Once a carton is made, it is added to the shop.

�7�6

In Year 6, children’s data handling skills were identified as a particular weakness. The children have improved these skills by setting up and running our healthy eating tuck shop. They identified items that they would sell in the tuck shop, and were then given £100 from school funds. I took them to the local cash and carry, where they worked out how much they could afford to buy. We agreed that VAT needed to be added to the cost price of the goods (good opportunity for some more Maths!) and the total cost was calculated. The head teacher was particularly keen that the shop should make a profit to justify the investment. The perk was that any profit would be used to buy Maths resources for the school. So, the next task was to identify the selling price of the goods in order to make a five pence profit on each item sold. The shop is now being run as a business by the children, who calculate their profits, know the value of the stock held and how much they need (and can afford!) to buy. Recently, the children made cakes to sell in the shop. This involved costing out the ingredients and the time spent in making the cakes. They worked out a final selling price that would mean they would make a profit.

We still run discrete Numeracy lessons, which mostly focus on number. Other skills are taught through the current themes, with pupils developing these skills through practical, meaningful activities. Number skills are often revisited, used and applied in these activities.

Another important innovation has been the development of Maths games. These present pupils with problems to solve, and are based on those concepts which they are finding difficult or which need regular reinforcement. The games are put up on the classroom wall at the beginning of the week, and children have the rest of the week to solve them. They can work individually, in pairs or in groups – whatever suits them best. They’ve proved an ideal way of occupying pupils profitably at odd moments during the day. The challenge now is satisfying demand!

As Maths Co-ordinator my job is not just to feed pupils and teachers with interesting ideas for learning Maths. I also have a key responsibility for tracking coverage and progress in Maths, and making sure that the changes we have introduced are having an impact.

Evidence tells us that children’s mathematical skills are improving. Children tell us that this is because these skills are being developed and applied through enjoyable activities and “hands on” experiences. As a result, they are able to make sense of what they are learning. Through a thematic curriculum they are developing skills that will equip them for life, not just for SATs.

Teachers interested in finding out more about Maths at Harewood Junior School, including the Maths games mentioned in the article, should contact Jane (see contact details on page 64).

Learning Counts: Numeracy as Part of a Thematic CurriculumJane Newnes

“Maths games are based on those

concepts which children are finding difficult or which

need regular reinforcement.”

�9

Taking an Arts-Based Approach to the Thematic CurriculumHaydn Moss

ContextMoorlands Primary School is situated in the middle of a residential area approximately halfway between the towns of Wednesbury and West Bromwich. Most of our pupils live in the immediate area, which is predominantly council housing.

Over seventy-five per cent of our pupils come from families that are classified “Struggling Families” and over thirty-five per cent are registered for special needs. The school provides a variety of “Out-of-Hours” clubs which cover sports and arts experiences that support our very creative and thematic approach to the curriculum. As most of our children come from backgrounds where families are unable to provide a rich cultural diet especially in the arts, our pupils benefit greatly from any type of artistic activity that extends and develops their experience and knowledge.

PhilosophyMoorlands Primary School has a proud history of developing exciting, imaginative and creative partnerships with professional artists. We place a great deal of emphasis on providing a variety of rich arts experiences for the children because we strongly believe that this will develop a range of key skills including working with others, communication, self esteem and creativity. Through this we are giving the children a solid foundation to develop lifelong learning. Since 2002 we have achieved two Artsmark gold awards.

Provision In line with our philosophy we hold three inclusive Arts Weeks each year. In the autumn term the week is based around a literacy theme. In spring the theme is different cultures and in summer it is based on the Wednesbury Schools’ Arts Festival theme. In order to do this an Arts Committee made up of teaching staff meets to plan the weeks. Children’s ideas are always collected and considered through interviews, questionnaires and the School Council.�8

Our key principles

Each Arts Week is based on a theme in order to provide a context for children’s learning.

In line with the thematic curriculum we organise the week to allow all lessons to be taught through the theme. We are keen to use artists from different cultures to work with us. We have had weeks based on the Orient Express, African culture, and South Asian arts. The title for each week explains the content and also acts as a hook for children to become involved. For example a week working on the Wednesbury Schools Arts Festival theme was called “Razzamatazz Jazz”. Our aim is to incorporate as many aspects of the arts into the theme as possible. For our South Asian Arts Week drummers, dancers and a visual artist visited the school.

We also include a strong ICT strand in Arts Weeks and recently had a week devoted to the arts and ICT in which we used the work of Andy Warhol as a starting point in Key Stage 2. In another class we created podcasts and radio interviews.

Each week involves the use of visiting artists, specialist teachers and other visitors from the local community such as local high schools, community groups, the museum and library services. Teachers have found that working alongside these visitors offers an opportunity for them to develop their own artistic and pedagogical skills and share good practice amongst the staff.

Arts Weeks involve all the children in school as well as all staff, parents, other local primary schools and governors. One of our aims is to encourage children of different age groups to work together. For example pupils from Reception work with pupils in Year 3.

FundingMost of our Arts Weeks have been run with funding from external agencies, specialist trusts and arts organisations. We also use the magazine Practical Funding to find sources of money. For details of how to order this magazine, see page 63.

Taking an Arts-Based Approach to the Thematic CurriculumHaydn Moss

“Each Arts Week is based on a theme to

provide a context for children’s

learning.”

4140

The Best Idea They Ever Had: Humanities in the Thematic Curriculum

Beccy Webber

“What about the rain?” says Caylum, looking anxiously at the kitchen roll tube and yogurt pot on the table. “We need to use something waterproof for the outside of the lighthouse, cuz of the storms.”

“Mmm, the tin foil is waterproof, isn’t it?” asks Chloe, looking at me for confirmation.

“Well,” I say, trying not to smile. “I don’t know. I suppose we could try to find out. An investigation maybe . . . ?” And they think that’s the best idea they ever had and when I look around, everyone is smiling.

At Kingsholm Church of England Primary School we teach a themed curriculum with the needs of our children at the centre of our work. We felt that the QCA schemes of work made assumptions about prior experience and language development that did not apply to our inner-city pupils. Our curriculum was overcrowded and inflexible, and although the component parts were good, it made no sense as a whole. Our aim was to create the opportunities in which children are interested enough to lead their own learning and there is time to satisfy that curiosity.

So, where to start? Well, the National Curriculum seemed a good place. Theme titles were chosen, inspired by the local area and the interests of children. Each theme was led by either Science, Geography or History. The programmes of study were chopped up and each objective was allocated to a theme where it could logically be taught. This gave us theme sheets which became the starting point for the planning of each theme. From these we plan for the term, setting out the learning so that relevant links are maximised. Crucially, teachers’ ideas for activities are secondary to any the children offer. It is immaterial whether my pupils “collect evidence and make observations” about crabs, fish or beetles – just so long as they are “collecting evidence and making observations”. With the objectives to be taught central to each lesson, we have total freedom over context and can be led by the learners.

The Lighthouse Keeper’s Lunch (Armitage, R and D, 1994, Scholastic) is the basis of one of our most successful themes in Key Stage 1. This tale of cheeky seagulls is full of humour and rich in language. Lighthouses and their purpose have always captured the imagination of children and my inner-city flock are no different: I spend the autumn term half-buried under an ever-increasing pile of model lighthouses! Our Design and Technology is taught, alongside the electricity objectives for Science, through the building of working lighthouses. We create healthy lunches for Mr Grinling, the star of the story, and in ICT we create a map of the story and send the Roamer off on a journey across the bay.

Learning in our City Curriculum is skills-led. It is also experience-led. In the first week of The Lighthouse Keeper’s Lunch theme we pack up our buckets and spades and head for the beach. In Geography the children need to compare and contrast different localities and express their own views about places. Take 60 inner-city children to the beach and try to stop them expressing their own views about the place! This is a move away from the idea of trips as a treat at the end of term; this trip is intended to give a context for the learning. The opportunities for planned kinaesthetic learning support the language development of all the children, but especially those with English as an additional language. We also visit the Seaquarium. This is a great opportunity for the children to interact with an expert and for them to see me as a fellow learner. It is important for children to know that being educated is not all about knowing everything but is more about having the skills to find out. This emphasis on skills has increased the independence and resilience of our learners.

At Kingsholm our standards are steadily rising. The flexible timetable and linking of subjects allows children more time to produce an in-depth piece of quality work. Moreover, the excitement created by the theme is motivational. We provide engaging contexts for our children through which they can explore and develop a love for learning.

The Best Idea They Ever Had: Humanities in the Thematic CurriculumBeccy Webber

“Well”, I say, “I don’t know.

I suppose we could try to find out. An investigation

maybe . . . ?”

4�4�

Developing an Exciting Learning EnvironmentElaine Benbow

An inspirational learning environment is a vital resource to aid teaching and learning. An attractive and well thought out environment will enable teachers to:

• celebrate pupils’ work

• give positive messages about valuing the classroom and the work pupils produce

• remind pupils about things they have learnt and targets for them to meet

• share their work with parents, pupils, colleagues, governors and other visitors

• help to provide a safe, comfortable and interesting environment for learning

• promote interactive learning and practical work.

Showcasing pupils’ work

Teaching a thematic curriculum will be enhanced with careful use of both the indoor and outdoor environment. In the Foundation Stage teachers are encouraged to develop and use the outdoor environment frequently to stimulate learning. The outdoor environment can also be used effectively with older pupils. At Moorlands Primary School parts of the school grounds are gradually being developed to include specifi c areas that pupils can access to support learning in different themes. For example, during summer schools teachers, parents and pupils have created a secret garden, a totem pole (see photo), a storytelling area, a vegetable garden and a beach area to support thematic work.

Inside the classroom and around the school, where both pupils and teachers spend most of their time, care needs to be taken to ensure that the environment is both safe and interesting. Again some initiatives from the Foundation Stage can be used in other areas of the school. The use of role play areas can be used to great effect. Jane Newnes described in her article on pages 36-7 how she created a school bank and a shop at Harewood Junior School to give pupils practical experience of handling money. At Moorlands Primary School an air raid shelter, a chainmaker’s shop and a Hobbit Hole have all been created in a Year 6 classroom to fi t in with specifi c themes.

At Tameside Primary School a Victorian Corner was developed in the Year 5 classroom (see photo) to support role play and hot-seating around the theme.

The Victorian Corner at Tameside Primary School

Deputy head teacher, Haydn Moss, and Robot Cossey, an artist, with the totem pole and the storytelling area at Moorlands Primary School

Developing an Exciting Learning EnvironmentElaine Benbow

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Some general principles apply to creating an exciting classroom environment:

• Create environments to fi t a theme. Use a corner of the classroom or even use the whole room. For example David Crunkhurn turned his classroom into a Victorian schoolroom by covering the walls and adding props.

• Create role play areas. In all key stages they can be used to teach specifi c concepts or enhance learning experiences. Include appropriate clothing and props for pupils to use.

• Where possible hang objects, children’s work, timelines about the theme (beware of sensors for burglar alarms!).

• Consider the use of colour in your room. Use a colour scheme that fi ts with the theme.

• Think out of the box – don’t be constrained by a display board. Carry on the display over the wall, cupboards and ceiling. Use drapes and fabric (spray fi rst with fl ame retardant) and boxes to create different heights.

• Use a ready-made structure to create areas. For example at Moorlands Primary School teachers use plastic gazebos as frames to create Greek temples, shops, pyramids.

• Create a literacy-rich environment by adding all kinds of text, books and labels displayed in different ways – on luggage tags, scrolls, newspaper headlines – to suit the theme.

• Ask children for their ideas. They may be able to bring in objects for display.

• Change something small in the classroom each day for the children to discover, to encourage them to be visually aware of their surroundings.

Elaine Benbow

Examples of study workbooks from Moorlands Primary School, Sandwell and Black Firs Primary and Wybunbury Delves CE Primary, Cheshire.Thanks for permission from headteachers Ben Smith, Martin Casserley and Carolyn Casserley to use these examples.

Using Study Workbooks

Science - research and results of tests and experiments

Using Study WorkbooksDeveloping an Exciting Learning Environment

DT - making covers and using techniques such as weaving, levers, flaps, wheels

Consider:• how the shape and size of

the book refl ects the theme

• which colours should be used to enhance the work or link to the theme

• how pages can be decorated before work is added

• which materials and techniques can be used - collage, printmaking, different papers, tea bags to age paper, tearing and ripping, paint, paper folding, sponging, pop ups, slides, levers, fl aps, wheels. Have fun!

“Teachers use plastic gazebos to create Greek temples, shops,

pyramids.”

• Links with history - research, debates, play scripts

• Art links - making covers and decorating pages with different media

Using Study WorkbooksElaine Benbow

46 47

• Consider ways of using the cover to show what the book is about

• Think about including flaps, fold out pages and pop ups

4948

QCA’s Cunning Plan:The “Big Picture” of the Curriculum

Mick Waters is working hard at the moment to refocus and reposition the agency, and to encourage schools to work with him in redefining the curriculum: what it is, what it is for, and how it should work.

His work in progress is the development of a “Big Picture” (see page 51) which is designed to answer three basic questions:

1. What are we trying to achieve?

• Successful learners (who are resilient, adaptable, resourceful).

• Confident individuals (who are safe, healthy).

• Responsible citizens (who make a positive contribution).

�. How will we know whether we have succeeded?

• Our assessment procedures will be fit for purpose and will provide learners, teachers and the wider community with reliable indications of outcomes and progress.

• Education standards will be higher at all stages and at all levels.

• More pupils will be better prepared for further education, work, life.

• More pupils will make constructive, informed choices.

• The climate for learning will be more constructive and supportive.

• Civic participation will be greater.

�. How should we organise learning to give it our best shot?

• Think of the curriculum in its widest sense: as the entire planned learning experience (lessons, events, routines, location, environment).

• Look where possible (and where appropriate) to develop learning in context.

• Use a broad range of approaches to learning, based on knowledge of the learner.

• Consider formative assessment (learner feedback) as an integral part of learning and teaching.

Kevin Jeffery

QCA’s viewpoint at the conference was something of a revelation for many delegates. I think people expected a very cautious, politically correct approach, but Alison Willmott and Sue Charmian – charged with the fervour of Mick Waters, Director of Curriculum at QCA – were eager to associate themselves with fundamental change.

Alison was keen to encourage teachers to use Excellence and Enjoyment as the green light to develop thinking, and to treat QCA schemes of work as stepping off points, not tablets of stone. It was interesting to hear her perspective on the reliance many schools have placed on the QCA schemes of work, and how – to Alison’s consternation – intended aids to schools had been turned into holy writ, to the extent that many teachers are now unaware that the schemes of work were preceded by National Curriculum programmes of study.

Sue Charmian used her own experience as a new head to illustrate convincingly and amusingly how complicated we can make the learning experience for pupils. She had decided to follow pupils for a couple of days to gain a “worm’s eye” view of learning as offered by her school. What she found was a bewildering and conflicting set of experiences which appeared to make it difficult if not impossible for pupils to develop a coherent view of what learning was about.

QCA’s Cunning Plan: The “Big Picture” of the CurriculumKevin Jeffery

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This is really helpful and entirely consistent with the idea of a creative, thematically-based curriculum which emerged from the conference.

The concept of learning in context is central to the development of a thematically-based curriculum. Our research indicates that children are motivated and achieve well when their learning is contextualised within a well-constructed theme.

The broader defi nition of the curriculum as the entire, planned learning experience is also helpful. There is an emphasis here on holistic and coherent learning. There is also a recognition of the value of events – heightened experience – in stimulating learning. Our most effective examples of thematic planning identify specifi c events – ‘golden days’ – which provide intense learning experiences for pupils. These provide opportunities for the outside world to come into the school, or for the school to go out into the community. Either way, there is a signifi cant job to be done here in developing teachers’ ability to create intense learning experiences for pupils as an integral part of the curriculum.

Units of work should recognise the broad range of approaches to learning which learners need to enable the largest possible number to succeed. Our research has suggested that an experiential approach suits a wide range of learners: the more, as well as the less, able.

The QCA’s “Big Picture” (see fi g. 4) will help us to achieve this. What is particularly helpful is that, in using it, creative teachers will be working with (rather than against) the grain of offi cial curriculum thinking. The tide has turned!

Fig. 4 © Qualifications and Curriculum Authority

QCA’s Cunning Plan: The “Big Picture” of the CurriculumKevin Jeffery

“‘Golden days’ provide

intensive learning experiences for pupils.”

5�5�

At Hook Primary School in East Yorkshire, the head teacher has taken a different approach. Feeling that the children were not being challenged and motivated by the curriculum, she decided to run her school without a timetable and make learning more exciting. Hook has its own thematic schemes of work rigorously planned by teachers, based on the National Curriculum. Playtime is flexible with teachers and children deciding when are the best times to take a break.

Both schools have been praised as “outstanding“ by Ofsted in recent inspections and standards in both schools have also been raised since adopting their new ways of working. At Hook, inspectors noted that:

The school provides an outstanding curriculum that very effectively meets the needs of all its pupils. It is exceptionally well planned, creative and interesting. A topic approach has been adopted that ensures clear progression in key skills in all subjects. Excellent links that capture pupils’ interests are made between subjects.

(Hook Primary School Ofsted inspection report, April �006)

Another project that focuses on using small steps to bring about thematic teaching is the Customise Your Curriculum programme. QCA has worked with primary schools to produce on-line materials for Key Stages 1 and 2, which help teachers to make connections between subjects, to make learning more “joined up“ and enable pupils to transfer their learning from one subject to another.

The site shows how teachers are:

• adapting units from QCA/DfES schemes of work

• combining units from different subjects

• embedding English and Maths across the curriculum.

Each section provides principles and ideas on the benefits of customising the curriculum in different ways, and shows examples developed and trialled by teachers.

Alison Willmott

QCA is committed to working with schools to develop a modern world-class curriculum that inspires and challenges all learners and prepares them for life in the twenty-first century. Young people are our most precious natural resource. What could be more important than the curriculum placed before them? The curriculum should be a source of pride, something that we work on together to make it the very best it can be.

QCA has been working with schools around the country to look at how they unleash the energy and imagination of all those involved, to get everyone thinking about how the curriculum can best prepare young people for life. Some of the ways they bring their curriculum to life and achieve success are being captured as innovation stories on the QCA website.

At Bealings Primary School in Suffolk, for example, the entire National Curriculum is taught through extended role play exercises, based on the concept of the “mantle of the expert” expounded by Dorothy Heathcote. This approach was introduced by the head teacher after an Ofsted inspection encouraged the school to adopt more realistic approaches to developing children’s skills. The teachers have found that when the children believe they are experts the whole dynamic of learning changes.

Customise Your Curriculum

Customise Your CurriculumAlison Willmott

“Teachers found that when children

believe they are experts the whole

dynamic of learning changes.”

5554

In the afternoon I did balances in PE and then learnt about special places in RE and then I went home.

The next day I did literacy again, but not about the thing I did yesterday, so it was a bit confusing and then I did takeaways again which was good. Then I went outside and avoided the footballs, and then I came in and did about some music they did in America when the Germans were fi ghting the English and it was called jazz.

At lunchtime I went outside and started a fi ght about football!

She recommended the experience as a salutary lesson to all head teachers and thought that if she felt confused about how the lessons fi tted together, what must it be like for the average seven-year-old?

Every school is different, and every school can build its own curriculum that meets the needs and interests of its children, a curriculum that inspires and challenges, a curriculum that prepares children for life now and in the future.

Customise Your Curriculum can be found at www.qca.org.uk/schemes

Innovation stories can be found at www.qca.org.uk/innovation

One example, Sing the Blues, describes how the teacher focused on blues music to bring aspects of English and Music together and foster an understanding of both poetic language and effective songwriting.

In Gift Boxes the teacher shows how he draws on the strong link between constructing a gift box in Design and Technology and using, applying and consolidating the children’s knowledge of 3D shapes and their properties.

In each example the teachers describe how a small shift in planning, bringing units of work together that they had previously taught separately, enhanced motivation and learning in both subjects for their pupils.

One of the head teachers who worked on this project to develop and trial the materials in her school spoke at the Sandwell conference. She explained why she moved towards working in this way after spending two frustrating days experiencing a compartmentalised curriculum as a seven-year-old! She said:

The background was that as a new head, I put everything in place exactly as prescribed everywhere i.e. exact time allocations, rigid “what an excellent lesson should contain” lists etc. Results improved, the school improved but only to a point. Then everything just plateaued.

So I was bemoaning this to my Local Authority link offi cer one day and he suggested that I should look at what an average seven-year-old did in a day and then decide what I thought. So rather than look at it, I decided to be one!

On the fi rst day, we had literacy and we did some reading and some full stops and capital letters but we didn’t fi nish because we didn’t have time and then we did Maths, and in Maths we learnt about takeaway which is my favourite sort of sum, and then we went outside for playtime and I tried to avoid the footballs!

After playtime, I learnt about the Ancient Greeks which was quite interesting and then I had my lunch and avoided the footballs again!

Customise Your CurriculumAlison Willmott

“Every school is different, and

every school can build its own curriculum to meet the needs and interests of its children.”

57

Kevin Jeffery

So we have an emerging blueprint for change. How do we implement it in order to give it a sporting chance of success?

Michael Fullan is one of the most important of contemporary thinkers about educational change: what does he think we have learnt about the process of change to help us to implement it successfully?

In Fullan’s view, we may have the best of intentions, but often fail to implement change effectively because we don’t understand how to translate aims into action. He identifies eight forces for successful change:

• Moral purpose – convincing people of the reasons for change

• Capacity-building – providing people with the means to change

• Change knowledge – an understanding of the nature of change: the prerequisites, the challenges, the patterns

• Cultures for learning – effective networks within and between schools

• Cultures of evaluation – assessment of/for learning, disciplined enquiry, informed use of data

• Leadership for change – ensuring that institutions have sufficient leadership capacity to move forward

• A sense of coherence – avoiding overload, and ensuring that the individual bits of the innovation jigsaw fit

• A context for learning – the kind of internal and external consistency in policy which creates optimum conditions for change

If Wednesbury Learning Community, or any other network of schools, is to have a chance of success in implementing curriculum change, it follows that we should take heed of both Mick Waters’ recipe for an effective curriculum and Michael Fullan’s views on managing change.

Eight Forces for Leading Change: Using Michael Fullan’s Work as a Blueprint

56

The table on pages 58-9 demonstrates how Fullan’s eight forces for change might support a school in its move to thematic teaching. It provides a helpful checklist for school leaders on the elements that need to be in place to enable you to make a success of your plans for change. For those schools already some way down the line, and possibly hitting snags, it also provides a useful check on what might have been missed, and may need reinforcing.

• Did we make sure that staff understood why we were making this change – that there were good reasons, and it was not simply a passing bandwagon?

• Did we make sure that staff charged with the job of introducing the initiative had sufficient time to:

a. plan and prepare

b. reflect on what they had done

c. demonstrate to other colleagues who were due to start next?

• Did we take into consideration that changing people’s practice takes time, and that some resistance to change is normal?

• Did we appreciate that there would not be an immediate impact on standards, and that in the short to medium term we would need to look at other indicators of progress?

• Did we give the initiative a good enough chance of success, by:

a. enabling a small and enthusiastic group to trial it first and report back

b. putting an experienced, senior figure in charge of whole school implementation

c. clearing the decks, to make sure that other competing initiatives didn’t get in the way

d. giving it time to work?

These are the things that Fullan alerts us to, and it’s reassuring to know that, in different ways, other people have been there before and left their footprints for us to follow.

Ultimately, though, all change takes courage and stamina. Nothing we do that is worth doing will be entirely trouble-free. The encouraging thing is that there is an increasing body of evidence to suggest that a thematic curriculum can be both exciting and rewarding, for both pupils and teachers.

By joining this movement, you can add to this body of evidence.

Eight Forces for Leading Change: Using Michael Fullan’s Work as a BlueprintKevin Jeffery

“In Fullan’s view, we may have the best of intentions,

but often fail to implement change

effectively because we don’t understand how to translate aims

into action.”

5. Cultures of evaluation Change is more likely to succeed if Ensure that implementation is supported by: supported through: • assessment for learning • assessment for learning • a culture of disciplined enquiry • action research • self- and peer-evaluation • evaluation with pupils • data-based analysis. • analysis of outcomes.

6. Leadership for change Leadership of change should include: Ensure that change agents are • a committed leadership team supported by: • a culture of teamwork • senior leaders in school • identifi ed change agents. • clear plans for implementation • each other.

7. Sense of coherence Leadership should provide: Each school should have: • a clear vision/overview • a clear project plan to guide • the expectation of success development and identify outcomes • a clear focus on outcomes • a sense of discipline in removing all • a rigorous management of initiatives. barriers to progress, including confl icting initiatives.

8. Context for learning Change is easier to bring about within Project work links with: a supportive culture, in which school • school agenda development is aligned with district • LA agenda and national initiatives. • National agenda.

59

Drivers of change Explanation Proposals for implementation

1. Moral Purpose Staff and students need to know Develop a rationale to share with and understand why they are being schools, explaining how the project will asked to work this way. support learning.

2. Capacity-building They need to have the means to Recruit 2 teachers from each of 5 implement change – not just participating schools. immediately, but longer term: Recruit facilitator to work with the • time – for planning, refl ection, project group. discussion Bring teachers together to generate • guidance – access to practical models ideas and develop group identity. • training – to increase skill levels Use consultants to work with teachers • resources – to release staff and on specifi c skills. support learning. Provide funds to release project team.

3. Change knowledge Managers of change need to Agree contract with school leaders to understand that: support project. • impact on standards takes time – Prepare participating teachers for their early on, they need to look for other role as change agents in school. signs of improvement Agree expectations and targets with • resistance to change is normal participants. • ownership (and therefore motivation Agree means of supporting change and commitment) tend to be a agents in their implementation in consequence, not a pre-condition, schools. of change

4. Cultures of learning Effective change is more likely to Develop shared understanding through occur if learners and teachers: active work with teacher participants. • share beliefs about learning Provide opportunities to learn through • learn from and with each other development and implementation • learn by doing. of ideas.

58

Fig. 5: Applying the blueprint for change

Eight Forces for Leading Change: Using Michael Fullan’s Work as a BlueprintKevin Jeffery

61

Mina Gera

Those of us involved in education often talk about innovation and raising standards and we constantly look at ways we can support both these aims. As a literacy publisher at Harcourt, I try to spend as much time as possible in primary schools, talking to teachers and head teachers and observing lessons. Through these experiences, what I have been most encouraged by is the fact that some of the most innovative teaching and learning is taking place in schools that adopt a thematic curriculum. These schools encourage children to make links between subjects; they understand that children learn best when they can see connections between their various strands of learning. They inherently know that a fragmented curriculum does not bring out the best in our young learners. They appreciate that children not only need to acquire knowledge but also skills, so they can become better thinkers and learners.

Attending the 2006 conference, I was really encouraged by the number of schools who were beginning to adopt this approach and were achieving some fantastic results. What struck me most was how this approach had ignited a spark in the imaginations of both teachers and learners. Teachers spoke of the freedom and confidence they felt, a renewed energy and enthusiasm for teaching. Children spoke articulately about the rich experiences that stimulated their speaking, listening, reading and writing. They talked about how they enjoyed their lessons and reflected on their learning. This really was about achieving excellence through enjoyment.

A Word From Our Sponsor: A Publisher’s Perspective

Harcourt works to encourage innovation and support schools, working in partnership with them to implement best practice. Last year, we worked with schools to publish Rigby Dimensions, a Key Stage 2 literacy programme that supports thematic teaching. Dimensions makes links to the wider curriculum, encouraging learners to develop literacy skills and apply them to other subject areas. For schools wanting to teach literacy in a more creative way and in a meaningful context, Dimensions is a good starting point. Schools using the programme as part of their curriculum have seen increased motivation in children and an improvement in writing standards. One child put it perfectly: “I don’t like Literacy that much, but when you mix History with Literacy it makes it really fun and I want to learn more.”

When Harcourt were given the opportunity to be involved in this publication, Waving, not Drowning, we embraced it and recognised how important it is for schools to share their innovations and experiences of developing a more creative and exciting curriculum. It will allow schools to do just that and stimulate interest and debate around developing an enriched curriculum. The renewed Primary Framework 2006 states that “the essence of creativity is in making new connections and cross curricular learning encourages this process. Life long learning is likely to be enhanced by the understanding that knowing how to learn is important as well as learning content. As well as enhanced learning, cross curricular links can add further interest and enjoyment to the curriculum by enabling teachers and children to access the curriculum in innovative ways.” Schools that have not yet embarked on this journey are now encouraged to do so; this can only be a positive step for the future of education and our young learners.

60

A Word From Our Sponsor: A Publisher’s PerspectiveMina Gera

“What struck me most was how

this approach had ignited a spark in the imaginations of both teachers and learners.”

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Texts referred to in this publication• 8 Forces for Leaders of Change by Michael Fullan, Claudia Cuttress and

Ann Kilcher. The full article can be downloaded from www.michaelfullan.ca/Articles_06/8ForcesforLeaders.pdf

• Touching Gold (�004) by Gloucester EAZ head teachers. This publication includes a number of articles by teachers on the development of the Gloucester City Curriculum. Copies are currently available through Richard Martin, Co-ordinator, Gloucester Excellence Cluster, � Pullman Court, Great Western Road, Gloucester GL1 �ND, tel. 0145� �1��01, email [email protected]

• Rigby Dimensions (�005) Harcourt Education. For a guide to the programme in action, go to www.navigatordimensions.com

• Not Waving but Drowning in Poems (1957) by Stevie Smith, Deutsch

• Various books on the theme of “Traditional Tales”: see Gill Matthews’ article on pages ��-�5 for details of books.

Curriculum documents• Excellence and Enjoyment (�00�) DfES

• Every Child Matters (�005) DfES

• The Big Picture of the Curriculum (�006) – available direct from QCA website

• Primary National Strategy Renewed Frameworks (�006) DfES

• All our Futures (1999) NACCCE (National Advisory Committee on Creative and Cultural Education) DfES

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Websites• www.qca.org.uk/futuresinaction and www.qca.org.uk/creativity

The QCA site has a number of case studies, focusing on schools that have customised or radically transformed their curriculum. You can also access QCA’s on-line resource Creativity: find it, promote it or order the video pack of the same name (�005). The Big Picture is also available here.

• www.ofsted.gov.uk The Ofsted site provides access to Ofsted publications, e.g. Expecting the Unexpected (August �00�), which looks at creativity in schools following the publication of All our Futures. The site will also allow you to read the most recent inspection reports of some of the schools featured in this booklet, to see the kind of things which inspectors said about their curriculum and how it facilitated good learning.

• www.thestarproject.net The Star Project is an arts-based organisation in Sandwell, managed by Elaine Benbow, which provides support for schools in developing arts and creativity within the curriculum. The site provides access to a range of support for a thematic curriculum including the skills ladders, and to ALICE, an interactive programme to support the arts.

• www.creativelearningjourney.org.uk Bexley schools launched this site in �006, and it contains a wealth of information and examples of creative learning in schools.

• www.gillmatthews.co.uk Gill is researching the impact of a thematic curriculum in a number of schools and leading professional development for schools in developing literacy within a thematic curriculum.

• www.michaelfullan.ca Michael Fullan’s work on leading and managing educational change is internationally known. The website provides access to a number of articles, including the article on 8 Forces for Leading Change referred to here.

• www.practicalfunding.com This organisation publishes a monthly newsletter Practical Funding for Schools as a guide to funding sources.

Harcourt Publishing bears no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for internet websites referred to in this publication, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.

Useful Resources

Useful ResourcesUseful Resources

ContributorsThe following have all contributed articles to this publication. They can be contacted via their e-mail addresses for further information about their work.

Elaine Benbow, Advanced skills teacher in Art for Sandwell Local Authority and manager of the Star [email protected]

Jane Burns, Head teacher, Albert Pritchard Infant School, [email protected]

David Crunkhurn, Class teacher, Kingsholm CE Primary School, [email protected]

Helen Davis, Deputy head teacher, Harewood Junior School, [email protected]

Mina Gera, Literacy Publisher, Harcourt [email protected]

Kevin Jeffery, Director, Wednesbury Learning [email protected]

Gill Matthews, Independent Literacy Consultant and author of a number of literacy [email protected]

Haydn Moss, Deputy head teacher, Moorlands Primary School, [email protected]

Jane Newnes, Numeracy co-ordinator, Harewood Junior School, [email protected]

Chris Warwood, Deputy head teacher (retired), Tameside Primary School, [email protected]

Mick Waters, Head of Curriculum, [email protected]

Beccy Webber, Class teacher and manager of Key Stage 1, Kingsholm CE Primary School, [email protected]

Alison Willmott, Curriculum Adviser, QCA [email protected]

Contributors

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Waving not drowning

Documents

Transcript of Waving not drowning