Category Archives: Attention All

Early Learning

Early Years staff, Starcatchers Creative Skills Training

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Starcatchers is a pioneering organisation that specialises in performances and creativity for babies, toddlers and young children under the age of five in Scotland. In addition to creative development and tours of performances for this age group, Starcatchers also delivers programmes of training for Early Years practitioners.

From 2013-­‐15, Starcatchers is delivering a new pilot programme of Creative Skills Training for Early Years practitioners in Scotland. Funded by the Scottish Government and Creative Scotland, this programme offers a range of training sessions from artists, including theoretical as well as practical sessions.

Download the full detail here:

Starcatchers Creative Skills National Info

The programme is for everyone working across the Early Years sector, including staff in nursery and family centre settings, health workers, childminders, and out-­‐of-­‐school and play workers.

‘If we are to encourage the next generation to be creative, flexible and confident, as practitioners we must first embody those principles ourselves. We need to be brave.’ Rhona Matheson, Starcatchers Director

The Training

The Creative Skills training is designed to be practical, accessible and inspirational, and will enable practitioners to explore their own creative and artistic capabilities in a supportive environment before introducing new ideas and techniques into their own Early Years practice.

Art forms explored will include drama, dance and movement, visual art, music, storytelling and puppetry.

Community Learning and Development

Moving Image in the Classroom – General Teaching Council for Scotland

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‘Following on from the earlier blog about the Festival of Dangerous Ideas (FODI), we also participated by hosting our own ‘dangerous’ event. We all know the power behind moving images. Anyone who’s been moved to tears by a movie or participated in plot related arguments after a trip to the cinema will understand how caught up we can get in the different realities presented to us through moving image. With that in mind we asked ourselves why moving image is so underused in education? Is moving image seen as a ‘soft option’? Demonised by its association with media studies?


http://www.teachingscotland.org.uk/home/blog.aspx

We wanted to challenge that idea and so our own Dangerous Idea was born. Moving Image as a vehicle for knowledge creation! But what knowledge could we create?’

Community Learning and Development, Early Learning, Health and Wellbeing

Creative arts in social services and early years survey

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IRISS would like to illustrate how the creative arts are currently being applied in Scotland’s social services. They know that creativity can change lives for the better and they would like you to help them understand how the creative arts are being used, and the impact this type of work can have for people supported by services and for staff.

They have created a survey for you to complete to give them an overview of your work. After they’ve received your responses, their plan is to work with some of you to showcase what it is you are doing so that they can inspire others. Part of this project will also be to document the strengths and challenges of the use of the arts in the sector, so that they can share the learning across different disciplines.

Creative Quarter Project:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/artsandsocialservices

Community Learning and Development, Languages and Literacy

Love Literacies, Love Lifelong Learning, Love RaPAL and be published

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Research and Practice in Adult Literacies (RaPAL) are asking for short written pieces (story, poem, report) on experiences of successful teaching and learning to launch their new website (http://www.rapal.org.uk/) on 18 May 2013 to coincide with Adult Learners Week in the UK. The most rewarding pieces will be published in the RaPAL journal and top three will be invited to present at one of RaPAL’s annual conferences. Prizes include a year’s free subscription to RaPAL. No more than 1,000 words. Deadline: 31 May 2013

For more information, please contact journal@rapal.org.uk.

Early Learning

Creative Development and Connectivity – creative conversation in Stirling

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Dr Suzanne Zeedyk

Kildean Suite, Forth Valley College, Stirling

Thursday, May 9th 2013

4.30pm – 6.30pm

4pm for refreshments and registration

ALL WELCOME – please share with colleagues

For the past 25 years Suzanne has been an academic researcher, studying babies innate ability to communicate and connect with other people. In 1993, Suzanne took up an academic post in the UK as a Developmental Psychologist at the University of Dundee and has remained there since, currently holding the post of Honorary Fellow.  She is an inspiring and thought-provoking speaker that we can highly recommend hearing.
Suzanne has loved what the field of Developmental Psychology has taught her, why it is that a child’s earliest years have such a profound effect on their later years, including their emotional security, their trust in others, their self-confidence, their relationships, their connectivity. Now she wants to help ensure that this knowledge is spread as widely as possible and frequently acts as partner or speaker for a wide range of organisations throughout the UK and abroad including police, educators, health workers, nursery staff, parent groups and children’s theatre groups helping them to better understand the neuroscientific, biological, and psychological evidence concerning the human need for emotional connection, something creativity can be a channel for. Suzanne feels if we overlook emotional connection, then we all pay for it, through the services that governments need to fund such as prisons, mental health programmes, hospitals, fostering arrangements, extra support in schools and other services.

If you would like to join us please book free tickets via:

http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/333091

For further information contact: hoarec@stirling.gov.uk or gayle.martin@falkirk.gov.uk

Further events will be planned for the academic year 2013/14.  Please keep a look at our website

Forth Valley Creative Learning is a new collaboration between Education in Falkirk, Stirling and Clackmannanshire Councils, creating together opportunities to explore creativity and creative learning

Community Learning and Development

A Richer Understanding of Article 31 – conference

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This event will celebrate and raise the awareness of the adoption of the UN General Comment on article 31: children’s right to culture, leisure and play and how policy makers and practitioners can make the expectations of the UN General Comment a reality in Scotland.

What does this mean for Scotland’s children?

Thursday 28th March 2013, Our Dynamic Earth, Edinburgh

(9.15 Registration; 10 am—3.30 pm)

Click here for the attached pdf – A Richer Understanding of Article 31 Conference March 2013 Brochure

This is an exciting opportunity for people from across arts, culture, leisure, play and human rights sectors to come together to see how we can work collaboratively to ensure children in Scotland have the best opportunities to engage and participate in culture, leisure and play.

Community Learning and Development

“Be on a T” or “Design a Front Cover” Competitions – Aberdeen/Aberdeenshire

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The “Be on a T” competition is aimed at children of secondary school age (12-17) and is looking for an amazing design to feature on this summers t-shirt. These t-shirts will be worn by over 1000 volunteers and 80 staff, throughout the festival, and seen by many more. Not only will the winner have their name and design seen all over, they will also receive £100 of vouchers to use during the festival AND £100 cash, which is so generously being donated by one of our sponsors.

The “Design a Front Cover” competition was hugely successful last year and in it’s second year it is being extended out to community centres, Scout groups and local youth clubs. This one is for those of Primary school age and requires them to design the front cover for our 2013 brochure. 50,000 of these brochures will be printed with the winners cover on every one. On top of that the winner will receive £100 of vouchers to use at the festival, a trip to Edinburgh to visit with a top design company AND £400 for their school or group, to purchase art supplies.

Full guidelines can be sent on request.

Community Learning and Development, Dance, Developing the Young Workforce, Drama, Music

New support for young people to gain vocational qualifications and to work in the arts and creative industries

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http://www.youngscot.net/news/new-support-for-young-people-to-gain-vocational-qualifications-and-to-work-in-the-arts-and-creative-industries.aspx

Up to 23, year-long, paid Modern Apprenticeships with arts organisations aimed at young people aged 16 to 20 will be created in a partnership between Creative Scotland, Young Scot, Creative & Cultural Skills Scotland and Creative Skillset.

Young people taking part in the Modern Apprenticeships will study for vocational qualifications while gaining professional experience working for an arts organisation. Creative Scotland will offer employers up to £8,000 towards the salary of each apprentice, enabling organisations to provide positions.

Community Learning and Development, Languages and Literacy

Paper Creativity Challenges – Glow Meet

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Paper Creativity Challenge – Paper Making Workshop, Today, 11 am http://glo.li/VVDkvv

http://blogs.educationscotland.gov.uk/glowscotland/2013/01/09/take-part-in-the-paper-creativity-challenge/

Make delicate handmade papers from pulps. Learn simple techniques suitable for using at home such as how to create a smooth surface texture for printing on, soaking and blending recycled paper and then also painting with coloured pulp.

Paper Creativity Challenge – Ernest, 15 January 2013, 11 am http://glo.li/VVDuTD

Now it is your chance to Glow Meet with Catherine Rayner as she reads her book ‘Ernest’. During this session you will have the opportunity to read and explore the story of Ernest, a rather large moose, with early years pupils and then Catherine will work with older children and demonstrate to them how to illustrate texts. Ideally learners should have paper and paint so that they can also try the techniques.