Category Archives: Creative Learning

Glow Exclusive! Turning the ordinary into something beautiful

David Batchelor is an artist, born in Dundee and now living in London who is best known for his brightly coloured sculptures using industrial materials including light boxes from neon street signs, industrial dollies used to move heavy objects and items from everyday life such as brightly coloured plastic sunglasses and kitchen utensils.

As part of the Education Scotland Learning Experiences Catalogue, David will join us live on Glow from his studio in London on Tuesday 24 September at 2pm to talk about his artwork and answer your questions. To sign up for the event, simply visit Glow TV.

For a full schedule of forthcoming learning experiences and to find out more,  visit the LearnCat today.

Learning Experiences Catalogue now launched

Education Scotland has announced the launch of the Learning Experiences Catalogue which aims to develop a sustainable programme of relevant, engaging and challenging learning experiences for children and young people aged 3–15 within a broad general education.

Learning experiences have been designed to support children and young people to learn to create, collect, code, animate, bake, garden, build, tell stories all set within contexts and many of them are interdisciplinary.

The catalogue provides learners with a brief description of each learning experience which they can read or can be read to them by clicking the audio file beside the LearnCat icon. Graphics have been designed to support learners in understanding where the learning will take place, which curriculum areas they will learn within and who they will learn with. Educators are provided with more information about each learning experience and planning guidance.

Each academic term a new collection of learning experiences will be launched. The autumn collection of learning experiences will be live from September 2013.

Explore the Learning Experiences Catalogue today.

Teddies, trains and tops

A new exhibition has opened at the Wee Museum of Newhaven at Victoria Primary School.

The exciting new exhibition was curated by the P3 / P4s and explores the toys and games used by children since 1844 when Victoria Primary School first opened.

You can also view the permanent displays on the fishing heritage of Newhaven and history of Victoria Primary School.  The exhibition is open to the public by pre-arranged visit.

Please contact the school for opening times: 0131 476 7306.

Click here for more information.

Join the ‘Commonwealth Class’

The BBC, the British Council and the Commonwealth Secretariat have joined forces to bring you Commonwealth Class, an exciting new opportunity for schools.

Commonwealth Class is a special initiative that provides teaching resources, online debates and interactive activities for schools to mark the run-up to the 2014 Commonwealth Games. It celebrates the values of the Commonwealth and connects schools and young people as they learn about how to be active, responsible global citizens as part of the Commonwealth family.

The Commonwealth Class education pack is an exciting resource designed to teach young people about Commonwealth values such as rights and responsibilities, protection of the environment, respect for others and what people need to lead healthy lives free from poverty.
Produced by the British Council, the resource pack contains cross-curricular activities, short films and discussion guides with learning outcomes that link to key skills, curriculum subjects and Commonwealth values. Activities include what qualities you need to be a successful Commonwealth athlete, and an exploration of the route of the Queen’s Baton Relay which will visit all 71 countries and territories taking part in the 2014 games.

Get set for 2014 and download the British Council Commonwealth Class education pack today.

BBC online debates
Commonwealth Class partner, the BBC, is hosting a series of monthly online debates commencing this summer. The debates are intended to create a platform for schools in the UK and Commonwealth countries to teach and learn together.
The first debate in the series will take place on Thursday 13 June.
Visit Schools Online and sign up to Commonwealth Class for more resources and interactive activities that support lesson planning and teaching across the curriculum
And a week before the first debate you can visit the BBC’s Commonwealth Class website to find out how you can take part!

YMT’s course for writers and composers – submission deadline closing soon

Would you like to be the next Andrew Lloyd Webber or Stephen Sondheim?

YMT have an incredibly exciting opportunity for young people (aged 16-23) who are passionate about writing and/or composing.  Their week-long Young Writers and Composers Course is led by Olivier Award winning script-writer Stephen Clark (Martin Guerre, Zorro, Love Story and The Far Pavilions) and Arts Foundation award winning Conor Mitchell.

This course will take place at the start of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival at Fettes College, Edinburgh (pic above); thought to be the inspiration for J.K Rowlings’ Hogwarts.

Apply by completing the application form and submitting an example of your writing or music by 1 July 2013 –  course places are limited and a small group of writers and composers will be selected.

Contact richardcross@ymtuk.org to register your interest and for further information.

If you are selected onto the course, save £50 by quoting ‘ZORRO

PRS For Music Foundation – Beyond Borders funding links UK countries

Deadline: Thursday 26 June 2013

Beyond Borders is a co-commissioning and touring programme, offering funding of up to £15,000 for both new commissions and repeat performances of music written in the past five years.

Run in partnership with Creative Scotland, Arts Council of Wales, Arts Council of Northern Ireland and Colwinston Trust, the scheme was launched in 2010 and has supported 22 projects so far.

The idea behind the fund is to stimulate collaboration between organisations in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, enabling them to produce exceptional new music to be performed in at least two UK countries.

Beyond Borders is open to any UK-based not-for-profit organisation, but applications must consist of at least two partners, each from a different UK country. Larger partnerships, incorporating international organisations, are also encouraged.

For more information on how to apply, visit the PRS Foundation website

Funding to help groups celebrate the 2014 Commonwealth Games

A new £4 million fund has opened which will help the people of Scotland celebrate their part in the Commonwealth before, during and after the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Celebrate‘ is a joint scheme developed by the Scottish Lottery Distributor’s Forum which is made up of Big Lottery Fund Scotland, Creative Scotland, Heritage Lottery Fund and sportScotland.

Grants of between £500 to £10,000 are available to help communities across Scotland come together to hold arts, heritage, sports and local community celebrations of the 2014 Commonwealth Games. The fund will also support communities to celebrate the diversity of the Commonwealth and create a legacy of community and Commonwealth connections.

Celebrate is open to

  • voluntary and community organisations
  • community councils
  • statutory bodies (such as schools, local authorities or health boards)

Applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis until 12 December 2014. For more information, and to apply, visit the Celebrate website.

Authors Live – Tony Robinson, 6 June 11.00 am

Authors Live is stepping back in time with renowned popular historian, actor and author, Tony Robinson, to discover the strange secrets hidden in our Weird World of Wonders. Join us as we march through time with the Romans, Greeks and Egyptians and find out what made us Britons British. It’s history, but not as you know it!

To find out more and sign up for this event click here.
After watching the live webstream in the morning why not join us for an interactive question and answer session with Tony Robinson at 1.30 pm http://bit.ly/13kLxyI

The Big Strum!

Fife Council Youth Music Initiative is currently running a pilot project using the ukulele to teach singing and musicianship skills to primary teachers and their pupils.

The project, involving over 60 teachers from 35 primary schools, is being led by Ann Rae, primary music specialist and ukulele enthusiast who has led twilights for participating staff throughout the session.

To celebrate all that has been achieved by children and their teachers during the year, all schools involved in the project are being invited to attend one of three “Big Strums” – held during the day on Monday 17th June, in the Rothes Halls, Glenrothes. Children will enjoy a packed hour of singing and playing, supported by their teachers.

Each of the three Big Strum sessions will accommodate just under 600 young ukulele players at a time – surely a first for Fife, if not Scotland! – with support by Fife Youth Music Initiative through transport subsidies for schools.

Adding to the excitement will be a multi-media presentation including use of cameras relaying live pictures to a large screen, in partnership with the Creative Industries Department from Adam Smith College.

Pictured, are young ukulele players from Denend Primary School who are all looking forward to the event!

For more information, please contact Sandra Taylor, Music Co-ordinator, Sandra.taylor@fife.gov.uk Education and Learning Directorate, Fife Council.