Project Name: Newlands Enquiry School Project 08 School(s): Newlands Girls School

1. Enquiry Schools Case Study Slides Project Name: Newlands Enquiry School Project 08 School(s): Newlands Girls School Local Authority: Maidenhead Creative Partner(s) Janet Plummer(writer/poet) Jo Whitham(Photographer) Tam Aulakh (Teacher) Creative Agent: Jan Fredrickson Year Group(s) / Young People involved: Year 9/10 Start Date: June 2008 End Date: Jan 2009

2. How does young people’s creative learning develop as a result of working with a photographer and a poet, to produce images and pieces of writing for an audience (Aarti Home) of young people in a different cultural context?

3. The project involved: approx. 20 Year 9 pupils began the pilot project in Year 9; in September a smaller group took the main project forward into Year 10; Janett Plummer (poet), Jo Whitham (photographer), Tamajit Aulakh (teacher of English), Lynn Hill (Head of English), Mhairi Lavender (member of Leadership Team i/c NQT programme), Sandhya and Shalini Puchalapalli (Aarti Home)

4. Newlands is a girls’ comprehensive school located in Maidenhead. We have approximately 1100 students on roll between the ages of 11-18 years. Our enquiry question came from an observation and concern, that perhaps because Newlands is a single sex school, the focus for most of the students seem to be almost exclusively on achieving high grades by working diligently and conscientiously. As a result, creativity somehow seems to get lost amongst the criteria needed for an A grade and the anxieties that arise from that. The school is convinced that creative learning and high achievement are not mutually exclusive. We are hoping that our Creative Partnerships project will use creativity to turn passive pupils into collaborative learners who are actively creating, participating in and evaluating their learning.

5. Aarti Home, the Indian girls’ orphanage in Kadapa, Andhra Pradesh, has formed the counterpart for a cross-cultural exchange with our students, and seemed to be an intriguing and highly appropriate link to use. The orphanage came to our attention through a BBC documentary, India’s Missing Girls, made by Ashok Prasad, which highlights the difficult social and cultural issues and prejudices that some females in some parts of India are faced with because of their gender.

6. The girls at the orphanage form part of the ‘missing girls’ group. These are girls who have been abandoned by their families, some even at birth, simply due to the fact that they are female. Our project planned to focus on sharing creative writing between a small group of girls of similar ages in Aarti Home and in Newlands; sharing images through digital photography would also form part of this exchange project with the aim of deepening cultural understanding, increasing confidence and developing creative skills in young people in both countries.

7. School Plan - To provide opportunities for learners to have a say in their learning - To develop personalised learning - To develop CPD for staff - To improve the flexibility and range of the curriculum - To celebrate the schools approaches to culture, creativity and partnerships working Department Plan - read and engage with others work - exploit media including visual, digital and paper based media - Work with poets, writers, novelists etc - Study English as the language of global communication - analyse and evaluate

8. The creative writing drew on young people’s life experiences and raised self-awareness by exploring identity and environment. The girls themselves offered the ideas that were subsequently developed; their proactive role in selecting creative partners and in planning the outline of the proposed programme has been central to the project. The introductory work has been very rigorous, in that it has required the girls to write within a prescribed poetic form, while expressing very personal thoughts and feelings. Already each pupil’s work is unique to her – individual, but also exploring collective identity. It is this model that has been offered to Aarti Home pupils, inviting corresponding writing from them. The photographic work went far beyond providing a kind of “visual translation” of the writing, or a stimulus for it, or an illustration of it to increase understanding and promote discussion; it helped the young people to develop skills in photography and to see its potential for exploration, imaginative thinking, expression and analysis.

9. The juxtaposition of writing and images is central to the way this project looks and to what has been sent to the young people in Aarti Home, in the hope that they will be enabled to collaborate with each other and with creative partners and teachers, in order to develop their own skills and share their own stories, in words and images.

10. After each photography based task we projected the images and discussed them as a group. This was a valuable part of the process as it gave the girls the chance to learn from and inspire their peers – to allow them to discuss the reasons and thoughts behind their images and to gain valuable feedback from one another. It also gave them to opportunity to become familiar with photographic terminology.

11. Expressing Emotions through photography During this session the girls were given words such as ‘happiness’, ‘anger’, ‘excitement’ and asked to portray them using imagery.

12. A sense of home Between sessions the girls were allowed to take cameras home and during this time were asked to carry out an optional task to produce a series of photographs based on the theme ‘A Sense of Home’. Giving the girls the freedom to create in their own time and surroundings meant that they were able to come up with some really individual and personal pieces of work. They were able to express themselves and to learn about each other during discussion of the images.

13. The purring of my cat, Like a roaring fire that won’t give up, The crackling of wrapping paper on Christmas day, These are a few of my favourite things. Warm bubbles baths on a cold winter’s morn, The singing of birds to awake us from our slumber, The smell of fresh flowers on the fireplace, These are a few of my favourite things. The smell of fresh bread, The sound of the sea, The touch of a fluffy cushion, These are a few of my favourite things. The laughter of children, The smiles on their faces, Playing happily together without a care, These are a few of my favourite things.

14. My Favourite things The smell of my mums cooking, Rising up the stairs, The jokes from my dad, Filling Laughter in the air, My Brother being silly, Making everyone smile everyday! Playing with my friends, Making dances and mucking around, School is sometimes cool, Learning things you would have never known, All my friends are just so great! Going to India, Meeting all my relatives, Is just so brilliant... I never want to come back, Everything is just so fun! Going on picnics, With all my cousins, Playing cricket out in the sun, Roaming around trying not to get lost, But most of all I love to LAUGH!!!

15. Linking text and image Once the girls were familiar with The idea of self expression through Creative writing and photography We moved on to look at linking the Two. As part of the session the girls were asked to chose images that they had produced from previous sessions And to express the emotions And feelings portrayed in the images Using poetry.

17. Crisp winter mornings allow your sadness to breathe you exhale loud sighs grief swirls next to loneliness heavy burdens shared with friends.

18. In this session the girls discussed narrative and spent some time looking at how the juxtaposition of images can create or alter the meaning of the original image . They then looked at how images can be used to create stories and finally were asked to create a piece of narrative photography based on any issue of their choice.

19. “This is not something [the young people] are generally exposed to here, either in school or through the larger media, so perhaps by seeing your children in action they can begin to learn by example”. P V Sandhya President Vijay Foundation Trust Kadapa

20. How did you feel at the beginning of the project? Nervous, What if I didn’t like it? Excited- about working with poet and photographer, about leaning new skills, contacting other girls, Looking forward to writing Annoyed- I thought it was just writing not photography Worried about writing poems- although I enjoy it a lot now I have enjoyed everything Worried Confused Interested I liked how it was school but not like lessons, you can be more open and be yourself Moved by the information in the film Excited about contacting girls as we never do anything like that in school I thought I could improve my writing in English as it is not as strong as my other subjects

21. “I was not expecting to feel so emotional about the feeling lonely poems” “The emotional poems were good to let everything out” “Being open and sharing feelings with each other” “Photography was unexpected as I did not think it was to do with creative writing but it makes it fun” “A lot of unexpected but good stuff was brought out of the emotional poems” “I liked how it was school but not like lessons, you can be more open and be yourself” “I feel I can express my feelings more now” “I feel I have come out of my comfort zone and opened up a lot more” “I find it hard to think about how I actually feel and put it into words” “I wouldn’t like people to look at my poems in my journals I do not feel confident about them, I would love to show people my canvas as I feel it is special and different, I loved doing it and I want people to share the work we have done”

22. “We learnt that sometimes it is important to leave it to the reader to get what they want from your writing” Young Person “Our teacher connected with us more” Young Person Young people were asked how they’d feel if they knew this work was being assessed – they said that if they had been told beforehand they didn’t feel that the work the did would be as good. However they felt that the work they had done was some of their best and that they would be happy submitting it afterwards.

23. Mood Boards...

25. “I’ve changed my A level choices now; I loved the practical element of photography and the freedom it gave me to use my imagination”. Young person “I liked the freedom to use my own ideas, but the photographer gave us guidance which really helped to shape up our work.” Young person

26. “I feel much more confident about poetry coursework now; I can try out lots of different ways of approaching it.”

27. “We tried out new techniques in writing, which I’ve already used in other English work.” Young person

28. Young people found the writing tasks challenging, even daunting, but the physical space, the language and approach used by both creative partners helped them feel comfortable; all of them thought that this had a bearing on the quality of their work. Interestingly, they remain convinced that had the writing been part of a formal assessment in the usual way, they would not have been nearly as pleased with it. They assume a direct correlation between an easy, spacious, relaxed learning environment and high achievement.

29. As part of the project an INSET training session was offered to teachers where young people were the experts; passing on their knowledge and teaching their teachers creative writing and photography skills. A teacher involved said “Having young people as trainers and ambassadors for creative learning was really important development”. Teachers have since been asking for resources from the session in order to use in their own lessons.

30. “I was able to see people getting to a point of creative achievement in different ways” Teacher partner “Seeing the teacher in a different role was very revealing – the young people loved it!” teacher partner

31. “I think the teacher has learnt more about us; she relates to us differently now and I think she will try new ways of teaching after this project.” Young person

32. “I found the teacher training session very difficult, but I think it was a really good thing for us – and them – to do. It was interesting to see how they related to us as “teachers”. Young person

33. The teacher feels that she has taken significant risks with this project and that her own practice and professional confidence have progressed markedly. Her organisation of a project involving two creative practitioners was demanding, but she took the initiative in arranging joint planning sessions, making suggestions and found that action as taken as a result. Other members of the department have responded very positively to her work and decisions have been made in the school to continue the work and broaden its impact. “I have learnt how important it is to be receptive to new ideas and opportunities, even if you don’t know what the outcome will be.”

34. “I think the creative partners both found out more about how other people think” Young person

35. “Working with Young People and teaching others my practice helped me to analyse the way that I work and learn . Usually my practice is something I just do, as a natural instinct, for example when I take a photograph I just take it (or so I thought!) – but when it came to teaching others I had to really break down my process and dissect my learning in order to pass it on. I realised how much thought and planning subconsciously goes on before I press the shutter. Now when I work I think to myself ‘how would I explain how/why I did this to the girls?’ or ‘if we were analysing this image what would we be saying’. Photographer partner

36. “The partnership work has affected my own practice significantly; I used to come to a session with a “menu” and then choose a task to do at the last minute. I appreciate the need to plan carefully in partnership work. I also used to confine myself to verbal resources as stimulus; now I will use more visual material too.” writer partner

37. “I’ve got a lot more faith in myself now. I do know what I’m talking about and this has given me proof.” Photographer partner

38. “The session where we wrote short poems using Tanka form was very emotional. It made me think deeply about the root of issues that can, or do colour and affect your life. It made me think back to what it felt like to be 15. Words that sprung to mind were fun, free, zany but underlying all of the feelings was a sense of vulnerability and lack of control in relation to things you can't change in your life. The honesty astounded me. Beautiful, honest pieces of work were crafted in the session which helped the girls to bond closer together.” writer partner

39. A very successful session was delivered during the school’s open evening which had a real impact on teachers and pupils and significantly raised the profile of the project. Teachers, prospective students and their parents, who were shown round the school by 6th form pupils, were able to experience a session taking place and talk to the girls, teacher and creative partners involved. A teacher said “It was interesting to see the young people take on a different role because the session was public”.

40. As a result of the project two of the eight girls involved have decided to take up photography at A-level and following the teachers training session and school open day session the department head of Newlands has said that he would now be willing to put more money into the project.

41. In the Spring term the department will support the participating pupils in leading Speaking and Listening sessions in class time, allowing for assessment and writing possibilities wherever possible.

42. There are displays of the work at the school and these will be developed on the website, in newsletters and assemblies to raise awareness, ensure sustainability and provide opportunities for others to be involved, including parents and families. The QCA Global Dimension elements addressed are: identity and cultural diversity; creativity and critical thinking; values and perceptions. The main Creative Partnerships themes addressed are student voice/young people as leaders and the global dimension.

43. Creative practitioners providing models and examples is essential to young people’s understanding, as is thorough preparation and collaborative planning.

44. For all partners, the emotional sharing has been crucial to the learning, to consideration of each other and moved everyone on in their understanding and ability to communicate.

45. “At the open evening, it really made people think about what this project had to do with English.” Young person

46. “The group started out as a large group but reduced to a smaller number. Although this altered the original plan (I had originally envisaged working with a smaller group) the reduced numbers meant the group had a more intimate atmosphere. The pupils  developed  a closer bond and were able to be more open and honest in their discussions and the poems they wrote. Creative partners were also more able to give students more individual attention centred around pupil’s  abilities and personalities.” Writer Partner

47. Working in partnership with a school in another country proved challenging – particularly with getting the balance right and ensuring project wasn’t tokenistic. The time delay of postage and waiting on the response of Aarti home meant that the project had to evolve differently from original plans. However on reflection, everyone involved agreed that the project needed to start slowly and build up momentum for it to work.

48. www.photovoice.org – useful advice and resources for participatory photography, particularly documentary. • www.narrativephotography.com - photographer Lawrence Ripsher uses photography to explore narrative. • www.photo.net/photography - useful site for forums and advice • www.livingtogether-competition.britishcouncil.org/competition/prizes - competition used to inspire ‘sense of home brief’ deadline March 15th 09.

49. “The project needs a bit more balance now, particularly in the partnership with Aarti Home, but we needed the time to get us to this point. We couldn’t have known how long it would take. There has been a lot to learn.” teacher

50. Since the project has ended Aarti home have been in touch to say that they now have a volunteer on board who is excited about continuing the work and linking up with Newlands using Skype and other web technology. We are hopeful that the links built up during the initial enquiry project will continue to evolve, develop and grow.