My enquiry....at last!

Apologies for the delay in finally putting fingers to keys and getting this posted!
My original enquiry was 'Can I plan a series of creative activities which will help engage the disengaged children in my class?'
At our various sessions we talked around this and I was given some excellent ideas by members of the group. I then went back to school and talked to a colleague who is working with me on a 'personalised learning plan' for some disengaged pupils in Year 6. As I work in Year 3 we thought it might be a good idea to bring the two groups together.
The Year 6 children have been attending sessions at Building Futures on Walker Riverside. They have been learning the skills of bricklaying, woodwork and tiling and I'm proud to say that the instructor told me that one of them (the only girl!) in one of the best bricklayers he's ever taught!!
So, We have planned for the Year 6 children to mentor my Year 3 children and together they are going to make a 'whirligig' for our playground. Each pair will make an essential part of it but it will only be complete when all pieces are put together.
The disengaged children in my class see themselves as making no useful contribution and usually sit back, do nothing, get bored and cause disruption. Through this project we hope they will see that the finished project will not exist without them.
Through my conversations with Rob at B.F. we have now roped him into our Creative Partners Enquiry Project and he is going to work with a group of Year 1 and 2 children to make an outdoor stage fro our playground! What a bloke!!

Follow up session for creative leaders in July

Hello everyone,
As promised I've posted this to gauge any thoughts/ideas you might have about where we might like to hold our follow up session in July.
Here's a few ideas to get us started:
Artists studios for example Platform at Middlesbrough, New Bridge Studios in Newcastle or The Shed in Gateshead
Enterprise/Creative Industries settings such as Lingfield Point in Darlington
Live Theatre, Newcastle
Culture Lab, Newcastle University

Lots of options!

Group 2 , Session 3 Darlington Arts Centre

This evening's session took place at Darlington Arts Centre.  Our inspirational speaker for this evening, Fiona Ellis, is an Independent Arts Consultant and the former Director of the Northern Rock Foundation.

Fiona's inspirational talk provided us with an overview of her time with the Northern Rock Foundation, as the organisation grew, her guiding vision for NRF which challenged the way in which a grant-making organisation operated and formed relationships with external stake-holders, and ultimately how she led the team during a period of uncertainty and change for all employed there.

Fiona shared with the group a number of relevant texts, thought-provoking quotations and resources, including:

John Gardner 'Renewal' McKinsey speech
'You learn not to burn up energy in anxiety. You discover how to manage your tensions, if you have any, which you do. You learn that self-pity and resentment are among the most toxic of drugs. . .

You come to understand that most people are neither for you nor against you, they are thinking about themselves. You learn that no matter how hard you try to please, some people in this world are not going to love you, a lesson that is at first troubling and then really quite relaxing. '

Group 1 - Project progress and reflection

Individuals explained to the group the current progress of their project and these were filmed by Shirley and Richard, this will form part of the documentation for the project.

Group 1 - Tour of the National Glass Centre - current exhibition

Rachel Groves, Schools Education Assistant and Jenny Payne, Gallery Assistant gave an overview of the NGC's Education Programme and the current exhibition 'Remake, Remodel'.

Evaluation update

Liz handed fed back from the initial evaluation form to the groups and has finished her mid point evalutation.

Liz handed out a new interim evaluation questionnaire to all individuals (see attached).

Group 1 - Paul Callaghan's advice

The advice Paul shared - you have to believe in the organisation and yourself, in order to realise that you can achieve what has been set.

We can’t complain about how badly a place is being run, unless we are willing to become involved, sharing our vision in order to make it a better place for all involved.

Developing communication is the key to successful leadership. Many leaders tend to have a closed-door approach – knowing what they are doing, and should be left on their own to complete.

In talking to peers and colleagues, the less obvious suggestions for change can often be the better ones.

Not every idea will be successful – brush this off and run with another, try to take risks. Risks are generally the original ideas that corporations or organizations are scared to take, but in experience 8/10 risks have paid off, with the correct team and support structure to see things through.

Regardless of your standing within an organisation, you should never be averse to seeking advice from peers and past leaders who were once in your role previously, or a similar position. These people are invaluable when wishing to share less conventional ideas, they have been there, and they can share just a small amount of their wealth of knowledge.

Always consider what are you doing? Why are you doing it? What can you do to make it better?

Group 1 - Paul Callaghan's experience

Paul started his publishing business in 1979. He studied at the London school of economics in the 70’s. Lived in America for

a while, then moved back to the North East where he lectured.

In 80’s, became a writer.

In 90’s moved in to computing. One of their high profile clients is

Adidas.

Around 1992 the Internet started to surface readily for business use, so in the 90’s they set up a website which allowed to buy domain names. This company became the highest grossing domain provider in the UK. This was eventually sold on to an American company.

His company Leighton employs 120 people and he said “Always believe in what you’re doing in order to be the leader of a successful venture”.

Group 1 - Inspirational speaker Paul Callaghan

Inspirational Leader: Paul Callaghan, Chairman of One North East and Leighton Group was born in Sunderland. Paul has been on the board of One NE for 5-6 years, but only became Chairman last year shortly before it was announced it would be closed. Paul has another 14 months before One North East is no more and Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPS) being set up in its place.

Paul is also chairman of the University of Sunderland. He got involved in Redhouse school 3-4 years ago as chairman, they have since completed their first year as an academy. Progress is already evident, it is a challenge but very rewarding.

Also, Paul is chairman of Live Theatre in Newcastle. He launched the play Pitman Papers 3 years ago, which went on to the West-end and most recently, an acclaimed opening on Broadway.

Group 1 - National Glass Centre

Today's session is at the National Glass Centre in Sunderland.