St Thomas & St Anne's

St Thomas & St Anne's CE Primary - Shrewsbury

Intro
Year Groups : Year 4
Students : 28
Teachers : 1
Writers : Amerah Saleh and Parm Kaur

Support : Janette Bushell & Judy McFall
Arts Award : 28 Discover Arts Awards

What the teachers said ....

Did the project impact on students learning

Some pupils became increasingly confident over the weeks, performing poetry, answering questions and offering opinions. Whereas at the start of the sessions they would not have engaged in this type of activity. Pupils were able to explore cultural diversity and develop an understanding of the importance of working together to ensure everyone has the same rights, regardless of religious beliefs and ethnic background.

What did the project bring as 'added value' to your teaching?

Because the class teacher was able to be part of the sessions she could see how poetry could be delivered, and the range of poetry that the children could explore. Pupils got to work with a poet who had very different experiences to their own, and who made the content of the poetry relevant to pupils interests and experiences. The school is exploring a wider range of the arts.

Did anything surprise you during the project ?

"Amazing responses from those pupils who sometimes struggle with the written side of literacy, as much of the work was verbal. Pupils thought really carefully about the topics that were being discussed and gave sensible and relevant answers."

Any other comments?
Amerah was dynamic and engaging. She developed a fantastic rapport with the class. They enjoyed her sessions tremendously. Her spoken word poetry ('Beautiful') left the pupils feeling inspired and captivated. Her delivery of this was animated and exciting. The only issue the class teacher has is when researching Amerah to see if there were other poems to watch as a class she struggled to find poems that were appropriate to the age group she teaches. Her concern was that children may research her at home and be exposed to poetry aimed at adults.

"Meeting the artists bridged a cultural experience gap and widened our pupils experience of diversity."

What was the value of meeting the poets?

Having someone come into school makes a big difference to all pupils. Having the opportunity to work with someone with expertise in a subject means that the pupils have a much more enriching experience of poetry. The second poet was incredibly current and offered poetry in a really modern way, eg using rap and engaging with the children at an appropriate level for all the pupils. Because she was young the pupils saw her as a peer, rather than someone coming in to teach them poetry. They haven't necessarily come across someone of her ethnic and religious background before, and meeting her bridged a cultural experience gap and widened their experience of diversity.

How did it support the curriculum ?

Literacy, music (rhythm), PSHE. Our pupils haven't necessarily come across someone [Amerah] of her ethnic and religious background before, and meeting her bridged a cultural experience gap and widened their experience of diversity.

Did you feel supported with the Arts Award and the resources provided?

"Yes, very. All resources were left by Janette after each session so we didn't need to provide any resources. We had feedback after every session and she told us what was going to be done with the work from that session. We would be confident delivering Arts Award within the curriculum as long as the structure was in place and expectations given."

"Her spoken word poetry ('Beautiful') left the pupils feeling inspired and captivated."