Sarah Gulliver-Goodal, Cultural Ambassador for Scottish Borders CLN, was recently awarded the GTCS professional recognition award for Creative Learning. Here she writes about the process of applying for professional recognition and what the award means to her.
“Going for Professional Recognition in Creativity was a huge decision and a long term personal commitment. The first step was very deliberately looking at my own practice and my place within school by evaluating and reflecting on my work. I felt able to go ahead once I was based in one primary school rather than travelling between schools, even though I do have three distinct roles within the school: Art CST, Nursery Teacher and PT cover teaching in P1.
Art and creativity within the primary school is very important to me and I wanted to be part of a change that would see creativity/ arts being a key aspect of learning across the curriculum at every stage. Professional recognition for me included cpd training, professional reading, gallery visits and leading a whole school creative arts project over 12 months which culminated in an exhibition in our local town hall. I benefitted from networking with visual artists, sculptors, sound artists and other professionals working in the Heritage Hub, in SBC planning and at Historic Scotland. Following the project work and the public exhibition the children are much more aware of their own creativity and they have more confidence in the quality of their own work. Staff readily use my expertise both within formal art sessions and informally as a resource for practical help.
Using reflection and evaluation of my work at each stage of the project has benefitted me as an individual and as a teacher. My planning and assessments are more focused now, I’m more aware of actively involving pupils in their learning and of working with pupils in new ways.
Professional recognition has been a very valuable learning tool for me not just a one-off cpd session but a way of working from now on.
The certificate presentation ceremony hosted by the GTCS at the Scottish Parliament was inspirational in itself and it was lovely to be supported in this by my Head Teacher, Maggie Norman. I love my work and get a lot of personal satisfaction back from the extra effort; it felt really good to receive recognition.”
Sarah Gulliver-Goodall
Cultural Ambassador, Scottish Borders Creative Learning Network
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