Young people regenerate Highfield - creativity at the heart of the community

13 Nov 2008

Area Delivery Organisation: RIO - Forest of Dean, Bristol, Cornwall & Plymouth

Change brings new opportunities, and partnership work with Highfield Community Primary School began in late 2007 with a set of aspirations linked to the wider regeneration context. Work began with the assertion that there are three interdependent protecting factors that influence the lives of young people: school, family and community. With the view to becoming a Change School in 2008, Highfield embarked on a Creative Partnership programme that aims to put children are the heart of the regeneration process, curriculum developments and the new school build; and to put the new school at the heart of the community.

Initial creative project work began in February 2008 with artists Hana Backland, Caroline Cleave, Lorna Roberts and Andrew Hartley working with select groups of young people and parents during and after school time with the view to testing approaches and art forms. Supported by the project coordinator and school TA - Gemma Ward, two artists; Hana and Caroline were selected to move on the second phase of the programme.

With a desire to engender greater leadership and children’s voice, Hana and Caroline were engaged to deliver a set of outcome driven programmes with children, parents and staff. In addition to continuing the core creative delivery work, both Hana and Caroline were given a set of ‘lines of enquiry’. Where Caroline examined a set of creative curriculum developments with staff, Hana explored two other developmental questions with the school - How can creativity be used to further engage parents and the community? How can the children’s and parent’s voice be incorporated further into the design and build of the new school?

Following two months of creative activity and the ‘grilling’ of the school architect, Jez Laver from ADG by the Highfield ‘design pod’ the work culminated in a parent, student and staff residential to develop a leadership group to take forward the next stage of the change process. The residential was key in building a wider sense of social capital among the partners. Though often hard to quantity and difficult to describe, relationships and trust, both within partnerships and especially within the community development process are the cornerstones upon which anything can be built. However, managing the residential within the current limiting boundaries of regulation was not without challenges. Kim Dorian-Kemp, the head at Highfield said “Was it worth it? Damn right it was - and you know what, I would do it again. Sometimes it is good to leave the well-trodden path and make a new path for others to follow.”

The children’s work at Highfield was also recently recognised at the Young Motion Plymouth, were their animation work with Hana Backland won a ‘Frankie’ for the Best Environmental Film.

Both Plymview and Highfield have become Change Schools this year were in addition to ongoing curriculum development they will continue to focus on building creative bridges between families, the community and the new school, with the view to building a safer, stronger more sustainable Efford.