Looking Through Windows
Eastry Church of England Primary School rejoined the Enquiry Schools Programme in 2010 in order to further expand and develop their work. Their aim was to develop creative approaches to teaching and make learning sustainable throughout the school. The School’s Enquiry question was:
How can we develop learning styles to have a positive impact upon pupil attainment?
This enquiry question was explored and developed from initial meetings with the school staff, creative agent and creative partner. The main focus of the enquiry was to work with one class to engage learning and in particular improve writing skills. Other aims included improving boys’ achievement to levels similar to that of girls and to bring together learning styles that were specified on the Self-Evaluation Form. The long term objective was to encourage staff to confidently deliver an engaging and rewarding curriculum.
This project involved Year 4 pupils, staff and parents. The project was based around the Geography topic of: Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) Unit 22 ‘How can we improve the area we can see from our window?’ and utilised ‘The Window’, a picture book by Jeannie Baker, for inspiration. It covered all aspects of the curriculum - personal/emotional health and pupil development.
One of the key themes was exploring Emotional Literacy. The children created photo frames containing examples of expressions and emotion. Another key theme was ‘Where are we?’ with discussions and ongoing evaluations to allow the children to understand where they are and how they learn, and for staff to assess how to encourage development and improve attainment using exciting creative learning styles. The whole school community has been involved in the project through staff meetings, a visit to and around the village, a family religious service and an end of project presentation for parents.
Impact on pupil’s learning includes:
- Learning different methods of collating information and research, and how to develop ideas.
- Appreciating their local heritage and understanding their locality.
- Pride in their abilities to discover facts for themselves.
- Ownership of their work, increased sense of achievement and self-respect.
- Willingness to try new things and be more adventurous.
- Ability to see their own potential and take responsibility to achieve more.
- Improved relationship building, group working, listening and sharing skills.
Impact on teachers’ learning includes:
- Better developed ideas of how to plan and present work.
- Increased enjoyment of working as a team and being able to plan together.
- Ability to have fun as part of learning (for both adults and children) whilst remaining professional and on task.
- Learnt how to scale down planning, whilst still achieving lots of work in a session.
- Learnt new drama and emotional literacy skills.
- Increased confidence in embracing new learning styles.
Quotes from pupils:
‘I’m used to making things at home, but I still developed new skills in design and perspectives.’
‘Looking through the freeze frames was amazing - how things looked smaller when you held it close to you and bigger when you moved it away!’
‘We made a little feast; I had to learn to try new food, not be so fussy! That was great.’
‘I learnt to try new things, how to make a good meal.’
