School Takeover Day – Arts-Based Learning
In the summer term 2024 the Talking Turns project delivered a ‘Takeover day’ at Shiphay Learning Academy in Torquay. Creative practitioners from Talking Turns worked with all pupils in the school, from nursery to year 6, with pupils immersed in drama, music and digital media activity – showcasing the power of arts-based learning in supporting pupils to access their learning across the curriculum and the development of their oracy skills.
Pupils experienced practical arts-based learning activity during the day, to pave the way for a rich twilight sharing with the wider staff, resulting from first-hand experience. The purpose of the day was to explore one way of sharing the project’s learning beyond the direct participants. A few guests from other schools involved in the project also attended part of the day to observe and support their own CPD.
Here are some examples of the workshops led by creative practitioners with pupils across the day:
Theatre Practitioner, Jade Campbell, worked with pupils to delve into Roald Dahl’s ‘The Magic Finger’ to explore emotions with children through the main character. Jade used the device teacher-in-role to become ‘the girl with the magic finger’ to take children on a journey of understanding empathy and how powerful it can be, using drama tools discuss the consequence of violence in a safe and supportive environment, transforming and changing behaviour and learning to question and rethink our actions and understand the power of unity and working together.
Music Practitioner Rachel Thame opened access to creative play through multi-sensory music approaches. Using the book ‘How to be a lion’ by Ed Vere, Rachel and the children explored storytelling using musical instruments in Early Years and emotions through sound, listening to recorded music, movement and paint.
Digital Practitioner Mark Brudenell from Sound Communities introduced pupils and teachers to some free online music software which the children explored and used to create music/soundscapes to enhance a story.
“Seeing those children in the classroom, who struggle to express their learning in the written form, suddenly become highly motivated and really shine when given different opportunities to demonstrate their learning through the arts.”
“Young people thrive from creative encounters. They are a quick route to creating relational trust between artists / teachers /children which then allows young people to demonstrate their creativity, to have the confidence to share and develop their original ideas.”
Drama Practitioner Abby Stobart worked with pupils to explore the questions ‘What does being lonely feel like? What could we do to make someone not feel so alone?’ Pupils helped Abby bring to life the story of Wendy Meddour’s “The Friendship Bench” by acting it out as a team, to find out how Tilly tackles loneliness and makes friends. Through drama games the children physically explored how different emotions are shown in their bodies and how they can identify them in others. The children used image theatre to play out how to make negative situations into positive ones.
Sound Communities Practitioner Jack Thompson worked with a group of year 6 ‘digital leaders’ to plan and produce a podcast about the day and the children’s experiences of it. This opportunity was a brilliant way for the young people to learn new skills, model another activity to support oracy and to capture peer-to-peer-pupil voices.
For further information please get in touch with us at Daisi – kate@daisi.org.uk
All images are credited to Emily Appleton
Find out more about the Talking Turns project and the School Takeover day…
