Artists Leading the Learning, DCA 27 Jan, 5 Feb and 12 March

Angus Arts and Cultural Education Team in partnership with DCA Education present…

Artists Leading the Learning

DCA   27 Jan, 5 Feb and 12 March

A short course covering the core essentials of preparing and delivering high quality creative and artistic learning experiences for children and young people in formal and informal settings, delivered over three sessions by Pauline Meikleham (Arts and Culture Support Officer, Angus Council and Louise Kirby and Louise Ritchie – professional artists and experienced creative learning facilitators). Subsidised by the Creative Learning Networks Fund.

Session 1: Preparing the Way. Sunday 27 January, 11.30am – 4.30pm (includes a wee lunch, tea, coffee and a wee biscuit)

Session 2: The Eye of the Storm, Tuesday 5 Feb, 6 – 8.30pm (includes tea, coffee and another wee biscuit)

Session 3:  The Power of Reflection, Tuesday 12 Mar, 6 – 8.30pm (includes tea, coffee and a different wee biscuit)

Invest in your professional development and enhance your level of knowledge, skill and confidence as a creative learning facilitator
TOTAL COST £75
You may be a recent graduate interested in working with young people  in schools, nurseries or in the community.  You may be an artist who has some or a lot of experience already but feel you still have more to learn about planning, preparation, facilitation and reflection.  Whatever your level of experience and no matter what your interest is, this three part course will provide an opportunity to learn alongside other artists and creative facilitators, share and reflect on your existing skills and experience, learn about different ways of engaging with children and young people through art and take away some clear and helpful guidance on planning, child protection, evaluation and so on.
The course is offered over 3 sessions.
Session One is a full day blast through everything an artist needs to know in order to facilitate a successful creative learning activity, workshop or project and explores a range of approaches and models suitable for different age groups, levels of ability and contexts.  We will look at the importance of preparation and the different kinds of preparation that might be helpful depending on your personality, interests and level of experience and confidence including shadowing and mentoring, site visits, research, planning meetings and how to get the most out these different kinds of activities to help you plan your project.  We consider the role of the artist in learning settings and explore different approaches and models of practice that may give you ideas and inspiration for your own practice looking at real examples.  And finally we look at the nuts and bolts of what you need to know and do in advance of delivering a project or workshop and provide useful handouts and checklists dealing with all aspects of project preparation, evaluation and areas such as insurance, child protection and so on.
Session Two drills down into the unstable world of project delivery where anything can happen – no matter how prepared you are.  This session will give you strategies to deal with the unexpected and the confidence to adapt when things don’t go according to plan. You will hear about the experiences of artists who have had to deal with fires, floods, dried up felt pens, locked cupboards and bad coffee – and they somehow managed to survive!  We will look at the challenges of different sizes and types of groups and ways of ensuring everyone stays involved and gets what they need from you in your session.  We will analyse the skills of presentation and think about where we are on the confidence scale with regard to our facilitation skills as they stand.   (Follow up sessions offering more intensive skills development focusing on any specific area of interest can be offered later in the year, depending on demand).
Session Three looks at the much neglected, but crucially important, area of reflection and next steps planning.  How do you know what participants have learned or gained from your session? How can we make that learning more visible? What worked well and what could have worked out better and how can you use that knowledge to inform your approach next time?  How can you document your work and use it as a tool for reflection and planning?  How can the work participants have created be used as a tool for learning and reflection after your session is over? How can you plan reflection into the process from the outset rather than as just an afterthought?   Analysing the impact and outcomes achieved through documentation and reflection will enhance your skills, knowledge and confidence and those of your learners, inform and improve your future planning and delivery  and create momentum leading to further work and opportunities.

The Trainers

Pauline Meikleham is Arts and Culture Support Officer within Angus Education Development Service and has 25 years of experience of developing creative learning projects and programmes and of delivering training to a range of creative practitioners including artists and teachers.  She has extensive experience of working within formal, informal and community learning contexts and a sound professional understanding of how creative practice can support the aims and values of the new Curriculum for Excellence.   Since 2008 she has been working with local artists to establish arts and learning networks and to set up training and mentoring opportunities for artists seeking to work in schools.  She is currently working with local partners to establish a North East Regional Artists and Learning Network and to expand the range of training and mentoring opportunities for creative practitioners.

Louise Kirby is a visual artist and surface pattern designer, based in Dundee, Scotland.  She aims to capture the drama of the Scottish wilderness, with nature at the heart of all of her designs. She had a distinctive rhythmic signature with a playful approach mixing succulent colours, energetic repetitive marks and silhouettes and creates bespoke artwork for products and services – fashion, interiors, murals, stationary, ceramics… Louise Kirby works in collaboration with clients in a variety of ways:  Providing freelance design services creating bespoke surface patterns for products and services; creating bespoke artwork/murals for interior spaces and  designing and delivering a range of creative workshops and projects for schools, museums, galleries and hospitals.  Since 2009 she has been working with Pauline Meikleham to develop the artists network and mentoring programmes and on a range of creative learning projects.

Louise Ritchie is a visual artist currently also based in the Dundee area, who has recently completed public art commissions for Dundee City Council and been commissioned to participate in School Design /Creative Engagement Programmes by Ginkgo Projects . She and Louise Kirby are the two co founders of research network group TRiGGER , funded by ArtWorks Scotland/ Paul Hamlyn Foundation. Louise is also President of the Society of Scottish Artists.   Her work  revolves around an ongoing series of responses to real and imagined environments.  The paintings are not representational but are more a memory of those places, influenced by the emotions and events of the time. They aim to stimulate and provoke thoughts that draw empathy from the viewer.   Louise has extensive teaching experience working with nursery age children right through to post graduate students and has led and supported several large scale collaborative projects locally and internationally.  Louise has been working with Pauline Meikleham and Louise Kirby since 2010 to develop the artists network and mentoring programmes in Angus and on a range of creative learning projects locally.

What to Do Now ….

If you would like to book please call DCA Box Office 01382 909 900 and ask for a place on ‘Artists Leading the Learning Training Course’.  Places will be allocated on a first come first serve basis.  Payment of £75 should be made in full on booking.   NB Booking is for all three sessions, it is not possible to book for just one session.

The Creative Learning Networks Fund is managed by Education Scotland, in partnership with Creative Scotland to support the development of Creative Learning Networks (CLNs) in local authority areas across Scotland.

GIRFEC blog: nurturing our children and young people

GIRFEC board member Michelle Miller discusses why it’s important to nurture our young people:

http://engageforeducation.org/2012/11/girfec-blog-nurturing-our-children-and-young-people/

Carole Patick from the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations discusses the importance of helping children and young people to achieve their potential:
http://engageforeducation.org/2012/11/girfec-blog-helping-young-people-to-achieve-their-potential/

Ralph Roberts, Chief Executive of NHS Shetland, discusses the benefits of keeping children active:

http://engageforeducation.org/2012/12/girfec-blog-keeping-children-active/

CfE and Glow News

Education Scotland’s CfE and Glow News e-update provides you with updates on Curriculum for Excellence and support for practitioners, along with all the latest developments within Glow:

Read the November issue of CfE and Glow News to find out about the following:

Curriculum for Excellence
National Qualifications – Professional Focus Papers now available
National Assessment Resource
Education Scotland’s Learning Blog – selection of posts
Education Scotland reports on the impact of staff qualifications on early years learning
Game On Scotland – the schools programme for 2014
Glow
Feedback on the RM Unify pilots
New interface for teaching staff accessing Glow – December 2012
ICT in Education Excellence Group – First thoughts discussion paper
Update on Glow and e-portfolios
Glow TV events coming up.

Opening up the Future: It’s your future

It’s my Future is a song created by children, young people and adult learners to express their views on how learning needs to change to fulfil their aspirations. It demonstrates what exciting modern learning can look like. Education Scotland wants to hear from children and young people across Scotland about their hopes and aspirations for the future.

On Tuesday 4 December at 11am Education Scotland hosted a national event at Inveralmond Community High School. The event, led by young people, aimed to help shape future developments in learning and teaching. A Glow TV session enabled children and young people to speak directly to Craig Munro, one of Education Scotland’s strategic directors, and share their views about learning and teaching. View this event on Glow TV Watch Again

Dumfries House Hosts Inaugural Ayrshire Artist Gathering

Stephen Kay, Education Officer for The Great Steward of Scotland’s Dumfries House said

“I was delighted to host the first Ayrshire Artist Networking Event at Dumfries House, organised by Helen Duncan and Jenny Hunter, Cultural Co-ordinators for East and South Ayrshire respectively, providing a venue for over fifty local artists and creative practitioners of various mediums and professionalisms to meet and highlight their individual areas of interest and expertise.”

After a short tour of the House by Charlotte Rostek, Curator of Dumfries House, a keynote speech was delivered by Mark Chester, Executive Director of The Princes Drawing School in London in support of art & culture locally and nationally, and whose foundation has recently opened artist studios on the Dumfries House estate.  This fantastic new facility will support art education throughout Ayrshire and beyond as part of the educational vision for Dumfries House through the support and involvement of “The Prince’s Drawing School”, “The Prince’s School of Traditional Arts”, “The Prince’s Foundation for Children and the Arts” and as a major part of His Royal Highness, The Prince Charles, Duke of Rothesay’s Heritage Regeneration programme.

Helen Duncan, Cultural Co-ordinator

“I was overwhelmed with the response – not only are these Ayrshire artists and makers producing their own work, but working with children and young people delivering high quality creative learning opportunities for schools.  This is essentially a business network for artists to connect, collaborate, share and support.”

Tom Wilson, local Visual Artist and runs Wild and West

“I know I’m not alone in thinking that the splendour of the house and the warmth of the welcome aside, this was an exciting and inspirational event at Dumfries House. The enthusiasm of the speakers for its development as a centre for cultural education and learning made me feel very lucky to have it on my doorstep.  It is a very healthy, holistic, imaginative vision, enabling art, culture and heritage to make a strong contribution to the regeneration and development of this area as a whole.  At a personal level I came away knowing that Dumfries House is genuinely keen to offer opportunities to local artists.”

The Sundancer, Ayrshire Singer/Songwriter

“The opportunity to deliver songwriting workshops at Dumfries House is fantastic – particularly as I was lucky to purchase my first guitar through a grant from The Princes’ Trust when I first started playing nearly 20 years ago.  I look forward to working with local young people at Dumfries House, sharing my knowledge and experience to give them support which I have received.”

Ruth Carslaw, Film-Maker

“As the event unfolded you could genuinely feel a shared sense of purpose and momentum – propelled by the great speakers, fellow artists and the building itself!   I left feeling that Dumfries House will become a creative hub for all – artists and communities alike.”

For further details or to be kept informed of future events, please contact helen.duncan@east-ayrshire.gov.uk or jenny.hunter@south-ayrshire.gov.uk

‘Start’ funding for arts organisations to engage with schools

The Prince’s Foundation for Children and the Arts is inviting cultural institutions across the UK to apply to the Start programme.

Start is a grant-giving programme set up by The Prince’s Foundation for Children & the Arts to enable schoolchildren to experience the very best of the arts by introducing them to their local cultural venue.

Start provides funding and support to arts organisations to foster long-lasting relationships between arts venues and their local schools in deprived areas. At the heart of Start is our desire to make cultural venues accessible for a new generation.

Start partners with projects that work within the following broad framework to engage young people with all aspects of the arts:
·         Introducing young people to the arts;
·         Inspiring them to learn more;
·       Enhancing their experience through critical analysis and participation; and
·         Encouraging them to Create their own art.

Children and the Arts is looking to recruit new partners for the 2013/14 academic year.  We are seeking passionate and committed organisations to work with us to develop and deliver Start to primary and secondary school students in their local area.  Our aim, and that of our partners, is that pupils will develop the confidence and enthusiasm to continue their engagement with their local cultural venue beyond the life of the project.

Please read the application guidelines for arts partners before applying.
You can download the Stage 1 application form from this link or from our website.

The deadline for completed Stage One Applications is 5pm on Thursday 31st January.

For more information please visit www.childrenandarts.org.uk/start

Dance Sector Review

Creative Scotland has published a review of the dance sector in Scotland. The review maps the huge developments in dance over the past 15 years but also highlights the vulnerabilities and gaps.

To find out more about the review, visit the Creative Scotland website.

To download the Executive Summary, full report and additional appendices, click on the following links:

Dance Sector Review – Executive Summary

Dance Sector Review – Report

Appendix 5 – Digest of Statistics

Appendix 6 – Report on the Dance Review Workshops

Creativity Exchange Fife: evaluation report

Creativity exchange fife #CXFife12 was delivered by Fife’s Creative Learning Network (FCLN) on Thursday 8 November 2012; approximately 120 participants attended.

The event was introduced by Fife Council’s Executive Director (Education and Learning) Ken Greer. It focused on creativity in learning, its impacts and benefits and showcased some of the excellent creative learning work being delivered in Fife within the context of Curriculum for Excellence.

To find out more about what took place and who took part, download the illustrated evaluation report here: Creativity Exchange Fife 2012 Final

NCLN Meeting – 4,5 December, Aberdeen

CLN Coordinators from across Scotland will gather together in early December for a national network meeting in Aberdeen.

Serious Play – 4th December

The ‘Serious Play’ event provides an opportunity to explore the interface between creativity, play and learning with  professionals from Education, Early Years, Family and Community Learning, Arts and Culture and Outdoor Learning.

Keynote speaker Chiqui Gonzalez, Minister of Innovation and Culture, Santa Fe, Argentina will give a keynote presentation on her work, championing shared family learning through cultural activity.

The conference will enable participants to share theory and practice and to engage with a range of seminars and participatory activities.

During the day, NCLN members will meet with Joan Parr and Petrea Cooney from Creative Scotland for an update and conversation on the new Creative Learning Plan which is currently in development and will supersede the Education and the Arts, Culture and Creativity: An Action Plan.

Creativity and Self-Evaluation – 5th December

Ros Sutherland from City of Edinburgh Council will lead a session on self-evaluation and how we can use it to continually reflect on and improve our practice. Through conversation and practical activities the group will explore and discuss:

·      Is self-evaluation a bureaucratic process or can it be creative?

·      How can we keep things simple when self-evaluation frameworks seem so complicated?

·      What are we evaluating?

·      What forms can evidence take and how should it be presented to senior managers, funders, and target audiences?

·      Can the NCLN lead the way, demonstrating that self-evaluation and creativity do go together?

National Creative Learning Network

The NCLN is a community of practice which has a leadership role in championing and advocating creativity in both formal and informal learning contexts; it consists of the group of coordinators leading the CLN for each local authority.

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