REIMAGINING SCHOOL AND LEARNING

We need to rethink and reimagine the purpose of education! Currently, our education system is focused on preparing people for jobs despite the fact that the jobs of tomorrow don’t exist yet and are difficult to predict! We don’t need to train young people for anything a robot controlled by a computer can do faster, better and more safely! As we move into the future, teachers and schools will need to create the conditions where children can grow and develop the skillset and mindset to be the designers, coaches, inventors, teachers, storytellers, carers, artisans, artists, dancers, musicians and performers of the future!

PROMISES, PROMISES!

We need a powerful curriculum offer where every child and young person experiences storytelling, art and design, dance, drama and music! We need teachers and schools that help grow, develop and nurture the designers, coaches, inventors, teachers, storytellers, carers, artisans, artists, dancers, musicians and performers of the future! Strange how in this learning landscape where creativity, imagination and ideas matter, we are still more interested in literacy and numeracy than the arts, which have at their heart the skills and attributes required to thrive and succeed at school, at work and in life. Surely the two should go hand in hand! We need to start by making a series of promises to every child and every young person... a series of promises that ensure they all have access to a rich diet of culture and the arts... whatever it takes! 

ROMEO AND JULIET

Saw Matthew Bourne’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’ at the Bradford Alhambra last night! Matthew Bourne’s unique storytelling put the young lovers in a futuristic asylum, and the sad tale was brought spectacularly to life by some wonderful young dancers from across Yorkshire, the New Adventures company, and new orchestrations of the Prokofiev score by Terry Davies, played live by the New Adventures Orchestra. An amazing evening and it is touring the UK. If you get a chance make sure that you go to see it!

OECD Learning for 2030

OECD FUTURE OF EDUCATION AND SKILLS 2030

SCHOOLS WITHOUT WALLS!

“A good education must develop children’s curiosity, creativity and kindness. The measure of educational success cannot simply be students’ exam results, but also the qualities of the people who come to collect their transcripts on results day; good citizens who are equipped to lead meaningful and fulfilling lives. No school teacher or leader, however brilliant and passionate, can do this important work alone. They need the help of businesses, professional bodies, arts and cultural organisations, charities and voluntary organisations, colleges and universities, all of whom can give young people the sense of agency and creative possibility that come from realising just how many ways they can find meaning and create value in the world.”

RSA ‘Schools without walls’ Laura Partridge and Naomi Bath

CULTURE AND THE ARTS MATTER: 10 REASONS!

OFSTED SAYS GOVERNORS MATTER!

The New OFSTED Framework is very clear that as school governors, we have a responsibility to look after our young people’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. We want to develop their wellbeing and ensure they grow into the happy, heathy, successful creative thinkers and problem solvers of tomorrow.

The New Framework isn't as clear as I would like but it does point out that including storytelling, art and design, dance, drama and music in the curriculum is both a statutory requirement and hugely important in improving outcomes and enriching the lives of our children and young people.

These subjects also provide young people with the opportunity to develop the skills that matter in life, school and the world of work... responsibility, confidence, resilience, communication, teamwork, problem solving, critical thinking, digital skills and creativity. Culture and the arts helps to build the knowledge, skills, understanding and experiences that children and young people need to thrive and succeed in an increasingly complex and challenging world.

ARTS IN SCHOOLS!

"Because of the Department for Education’s school accountability systems, many schools are reducing the numbers of hours, teachers, subjects and choices on offer. This risks strangling the talent pipeline to the creative industries and robbing children of the social mobility and opportunities that the arts offer. There is a real risk that the benefits of studying the arts will become the preserve of only those who can pay for it."

Bacc for the Future, the Cultural Learning Alliance and What Next have produced a helpful Arts in Schools toolkit which everyone who is passionate about creativity, culture and the arts should read.