Project Name: Art for Life School(s): Maidenhall Local Authority: Luton Creative Partner(s): Kiran Patel Creative A

1. Project Name: Art for Life • School(s): Maidenhall • Local Authority: Luton • Creative Partner(s): Kiran Patel • Creative Agent:Abigail Quine • Year Group(s) / Young People involved: Year 1 • Start Date: 20/01/10 End Date: 31/03/10 Enquiry Schools Case Study

2. The enquiry questions was: How can we work with an artist to explore the links between family and school and enrich pupils' life experience? Behind the enquiry question was the desire to explore the separation between home and school and between the students’ home culture and the wider culture that exists beyond the boundaries of their neighbourhood. Art was chosen as an area for exploration because the school wanted to to move its focus beyond just literacy and numeracy and look at how standards could be raised through other subjects. It was also hoped that the project would raise the profile of art in the community and be something that makes a link between communities.

3. The enquiry questions was: How can we work with an artist to explore the links between family and school and enrich pupils' life experience? The Enquiry question related to the following development areas of the School Improvement Plan: ‘To raise standards by embedding thematic approach to the curriculum’. The theme for year 1 term 2 was Homes and the project directly tied into and explored this theme. ‘To raise standards through DT and Art in the Creative Curriculum’. The project focused on developing teaching and learning within Art. Although not directly targeting the priority of ' raising standards in literacy by improving boys writing' it was anticipated that the project would impact this through developing expressive language and increasing vocabulary.

4. The project mainly rook place in the spring term and involved the whole of year 1. The CP spent a whole day in school for each week of the spring term and worked with groups of up to 15 children in 2 morning sessions and then a whole class for an afternoon session. The CP worked alongside the class teachers and lead teacher during all the sessions. Lunchtimes were used for planning and reflection with the whole year 1 staff team. This pattern continued for 10 sessions. Each session included a different medium and skill, and the students worked on both individual pieces and contributed to larger group pieces. The skills introduced and explored included drawing, printing, painting, using clay and wire. The project also introduced the concept of 'abstract' art which the year 1 staff felt that both they and the children didn't fully understand. A group of parents who already attended a mothers sewing group were also directly involved in the project and came to work alongside the children in the afternoon sessions to share their own creative skills and experiences from their home cultures. All parents were also be invited to attend 'the exhibition' of work on parents evening.

5. As one of the curriculum areas focus on homes, the concept of creating wallpaper was introduced. The children discussed the wallpaper that they had at home and then the ideas behind tessellation were introduced through visual prints of Islamic art and the use of geometric shapes within it. The children were then asked to create their own patterns using geometric blocks that they printed from onto newspaper with asian text to combine the idea that within their homes they may speak their mother tongue.

6. Text:The children were shown photographs of the local area and asked if they could recognise any of the locations. They were then asked to take sections of the photograph and replicate them onto long pieces of brown paper using twigs to paint with in black and white acrylic paints. They were then asked to discuss the aspects of their local area that they liked and disliked.

7. The children went outside to make wall rubbings of the brick work. They then followed directions to create an origami house. They then drew the shapes and the forms that they could recollect from the front of their homes. They were then all given a map of the local area where they were asked to locate their home address. They then placed their origami home on the name of the road. Finally they marked out their route from home to school.

8. The children were introduced to the work of Anthony Gormley and the way in which he creates sculptures of figures and then places them in various locations. They were then given a ball of clay and asked to play with it to familiarise them with the texture and malleability. They were then asked to pull out the figure of a family member. Once the figures were completed they were then taken outside to various locations within the school grounds and the figures were grouped together and photographed.

9. The children were shown images of Quentin Blake and were asked to draw a self portrait after being shown a demonstration. They were then asked to write their names on the back of their picture. All the drawings were transferred onto card using carbon paper. The children also created images of themselves surrounded by their favourite objects. As seen below some children were able to scale up their drawings.

10. A demonstration was carried out where the children were shown how to write their initials onto tracing paper. This paper was then placed back to front onto mounds of clay. The children then pierced through the paper to create a dotted formation of their initials. This was carried out so that the children could print their clay mounds onto paper and understand the concept of mirrored images.

11. The children were introduced to the concept of shadow art. They were all asked to draw themselves as shadows along with a place that they had visited. These drawings were transferred onto acetate paper using acetate pens. They were then projected onto the white board using the ohp.

12. The children continued the idea of shadow art. They were asked to create an alien form and where they would take the alien if it was to come to Luton. They created the alien and the scene that accompanied it in shadows. They cut the images from black paper and then stuck them onto sheets of coloured tissue paper, which were then displayed against the light of the window.

13. The children were asked to choose a partner and sit opposite them and draw a portrait of them. They were encouraged to look at their partner and consider their features. They then painted them using a paint that will enable the portraits to be transferred onto fabric. It was found that they were able to complete portraits in pencil effectively but found holding a paintbrush slightly more difficult.

14. The children were introduced to the concept of journeys and the objects that we take with us when we pack a suitcase. They were shown items from a suitcase and asked to recollect them once the suitcase was closed. They were then asked to draw several items which they would choose to take with them if they were to take a journey. They then selected one item to make out of clay. The children were very able and showed initiative when creating their objects.

15. The children were asked to imagine their neighborhoods and what they saw on their journey to school. They were asked to draw what they saw onto A4 sheets and also asked to add onto the pictures anything that they would like to see or have around them that they don’t have in their neighborhoods. They were all then asked to transfer their drawings onto a piece of calico as a group. They all drew using biros, felt pens and oil pastels. Images were scaled up and came alive on the calico.

16. Parents who have been helping brought in photographs of memories. These were photocopied along with pictures that showed the school and the pupils and these were given out to the children. They were then shown the process of ‘laminating memories’ with tissue paper.

17. The children were asked to think about a wish that they would like to have come true. They then created ‘wish balloons by layering tissue paper onto balloons using water and pva. They were then asked to write and illustrate their wishes to insert into the balloons.

18. In a discussion, the children talked about homes and neighbourhoods. They were then asked to create a home and its surrounding area using boxes, tissue paper, foil and paint. The idea was to then put all the homes together to create a neighbourhood created by the children.

19. The children were shown flags from around the worlds and asked to initially sketch ideas for their own flags. They then transferred their flag designs of their favourite things onto tissue paper flags using felt pens.

20. A demonstration using clay was carried out to show how to create a set of class tiles from each individual in the class. Cookie cutters were used to create shapes for the clay and then various objects were used to embed onto the clay so that the children could leave an imprint and create patterns. These were then painted.

21. The pupils thoroughly enjoyed the project, developed skills such as concentration and selecting/using different resources and became much more confident in trying new things out. They were very engaged and excited about the project long after it ended and were proud of their work and new skills. They developed a better understanding of the scope of art and a passion for it. "They've really enjoyed it and realised that art can be fun not just messy activity but something you think about and then do" "It hasn't just impacted art... the difference in them having a go now, they're not so hesitant... it's gone beyond art"

22. The teachers felt they had developed the confidence to try things out and a feeling of "oh yes, we can do this". The practitioner agreed: "They can use the same techniques on their own, they've got the confidence and the idea ". They noticed the change in themselves and their pupils: "Before we were hesitant ourselves" and "some of the children, if they hadn't been involved in this, wouldn't be this confident in art... we wouldn't have given them those opportunities to develop like that". They were able to see children in a new light: "You think a child cannot sit still, you give them clay and boy can they sit still- I was amazed"

23. The practitioner had her first experience of working with parents: "I was apprehensive, but it worked really well, especially on a weekly basis, I would do it again'. She also learnt how beneficial it is when a project works as a genuine collaboration, instead of in isolation: "it's so smooth, you see 'this is what creative partnerships is about'...it's a bit of an awakening".

24. An unexpected outcome was the level of impact on the SLT and the project has been a contributing factor towards “getting back into classes”, as opposed to sets, next year. The lead teacher said: The creativity wheel has now become something I look at before I plan a lesson”. She realised how important it is to make the project part of a bigger vision about creative learning. The practitioner felt the school had understood it was all about the process: “They weren't after a glossy finished product; the whole point of it is that the children benefit in the lessons and the teachers are able to imbed it and I think the school has grasped that concept completely”.

25. It was hard to identify what they would do differently as it had ‘worked really well’, but suggestions for extending and embedding the learning in future included: - involve parents from the beginning -have 2 or 3 sharing days throughout, not just one at the end. -teachers take more of a lead e.g. “mid-way through the project, there is a role-reversal. The first part the practitioner delivers, the second part, the teacher delivers- with collaborative planning.

26. The enquiry question was answered both by working alongside parents in the classroom and by exciting pupils about art- an excitement they shared at home. They enjoyed parents coming in and spoke animatedly about what they had done with them at home: “We got some clay from shop and I made loads of things with my mum”. The practitioner felt “the parents enjoyed the process and they were learning as well, helping the children” while teachers commented: “...that was brilliant... they're really into it themselves... learning together”.

27. Maidenhall will be carrying on as an Enquiry School next year and hopes to build on and deepen the learning and partnerships from this year’s highly successful project.

28. www.carnivalarts.org.uk With thanks to Creative Junction (www.creativejunction.org.uk) for the slide template.