Integration’s what you need - using pupil voice to embed an integrated curriculum
How can learner voice help embed an integrated curriculum? An innovative curriculum design and pupil voice programme involving 288 primary school children, developing participation and enjoyment for children and listening skills and confidence for teachers.
"I have learned to listen to the children, not only through active listening but by observing and offering choices"
- Teacher
Cravenwood Community Primary School has implemented an integrated curriculum since 2005. Starting with cross-curricular work and progressing onto creating a new, flexible, personalised approach to learning, through an integrated curriculum that teaches key skills.
All staff participated in a self-evaluation analysis as part of their involvement in the Centre for Urban Education’s Creative Partnerships Change School programme in October 2008. From this, it became clear that although the staff had been trialling the new curriculum for a while, there were some areas where they felt less confident. These included pupils’ involvement in planning and personalised learning. This programme was co-designed to explore this area of their School Improvement Plan, their involvement with Quality Teacher First and to link with the Every Child Matters agenda.
Following whole school work together with creative practitioners including exciting visits out to explore ‘People and Cultures’ including a local textile mill, industrial heritage site and a faith centre - PASS survey results show impact in children and young people’s enjoyment and participation in learning and Quality Teacher First indicates a raise in teachers confidence, creativity and appreciation of pupil voice.
The programme comprised 100 sessions and included Art & Design, Design & Technology, Drama, English, Geography, History and Information Communication Technology (ICT). It took place in two stages over 6 months in one phase of a three-year Change School programme.
The first stage involved all staff working together with pupils and practitioners through Inset and shared planning processes towards delivering a more creative teaching and learning. Together, the ‘whole school theme’ of ‘People and Cultures’ was decided upon for the second stage of the project and each class chose an aspect of this to work on.
The second stage involved each class working on their own selected theme (and shared themes also which encouraged co-planning) together with their ‘appointed’ five creative practitioners (who were identified, interviewed and selected by a process of pupil, staff and school council members involvement). Creative practitioners selected by the pupils and teachers included two 3D artists, a documentary maker, a literacy / drama production company and a Foundation Stage process artist. The dynamic programme included visits to a textile mill (Helmshore); and industrial heritage site (Style Mill) and a faith centre (Buddhists) in and around Manchester. Pupils developed skills in creative writing, animation, speaking and listening and drama amongst others.
The work was shared at a Celebration Day for parents and governors so that the process was visible to a wider group.
Project objectives
To explore how and in what ways Learner Voice can help embed an integrated curriculum, working towards the five outcomes of the Every Child Matters framework?
Teachers wanted to explore techniques to enable pupils involvement in planning and personalised learning and to fully embed their integrated curriculum. Staff identified themselves as very positive about the integrated curriculum but having uncertainty and under confidence about delivering it.
This Change School planning process involved time with staff and pupils and a creative agent to look at planning and collaboration throughout the project.
This programme was also developed to link with the School Improvement Plan (SIP) to develop staff and pupils skills through the use of the integrated curriculum and Quality First teaching, cited as a target in all staff’s development plan.
Who was involved?
At Cravenwood Community Primary School: 288 children aged between 3 and 11 years (comprising 30 Early Years; 60 Reception; 42 Year 2; 39 Year 3; 44 Year 4 ; 32 Year 5 and 41 Year 6 pupils) working with 5 school teachers.
35 teaching staff and assistants were involved in a Continuous Professional Development (CPD) element of the programme.
2 facilitators and 5 creative practitioners.
School council members from Years 5 and 6 were involved in the creative practitioner interview process and the children and staff, were consulted and inputted into what type of artists they thought would be useful.
Parents and Governors (involved in sharings about the processes and the projects).**
Impact
The impact of this programme includes:
For the children and young people: PASS survey results show increased numbers of children enjoying the curriculum more and have more self-regard for their own learning. This is a result against the ‘Enjoy and Achieve’ outcome of the 5 key strands in the Every Child Matters framework.
For the teachers: Improvements in teacher learning: ‘I have learned to listen to the children, not only through listening but by observing and offering choices’
This was a huge learning curve for staff and is showing a key outcome for the programme which was seeking to develop staff skills and confidence as part of the School Improvement Plan (SIP). Observations of Quality First Teaching through monitoring, has shown that teachers are approaching even mundane objectives in a creative way.
Results
The continuation of this Change School programme and the continuing and progressive evaluation of the impact with children, young people and staff about how and in what ways Learner Voice can help embed an integrated curriculum, working towards the five outcomes of the Every Child Matters framework.
