For 3 years I supported two lovely primary schools, Erdington Hall and Nonsuch Primary to work with artists and develop their creative curriculum. Teachers and children worked with outdoor visual artists, digital media artists, Mantle of the Expert practitioners, dancers, gardeners and a whole host of other creative practitioners. I hope the schools continue to work creatively to engage their children and I have found it fascinating to document the work. So a big thank you to the staff and children at both schools for making feel so welcome and for making me a much better project manager. Won’t miss the CP data base though!

I’ve also been reflecting on what I’ve learnt working on the projects that I delivered as a drama practitioner and storyteller and it’s hard to boil it down in a blog but here goes:

• Children are more confident as writers, speakers and thinkers if they feel a sense of ownership over a story and feel like they have participated in its making.

• Using a mixture of process led drama and performance techniques supports different kinds of learners.

• Stories are made to be told!

• A child’s imagination is often richer than the pictures in a book.

• Never expect children to respond to a story in the same way.

• Unlocking the imagination is the problem not a lack of imagination.

• Stepping into a story should mean just that – we go in together and grown ups need to be in role too!

I’ve worked in partnership with wonderful teachers across Birmingham and Coventry to use drama and story to develop children’s literacy, speaking and listening, imagination, writing, confidence and play. So thanks to Whitmore Park, Stanton Bridge, St John Vianney and All Souls primary schools in Coventry and to Hillstone, Skilts, Sundridge, St James R.C, Clifton, Anderton Park, Lillina de Lissa Nursery, Washwood Heath Day Care and Kingsthorne for having me.

It is making me think about working on relatively short projects and how much time we can give young people to ‘play’ without adult intervention.  Good quality small group drama demands a healthy dynamic and co operation but if you’re working with a group for just a few hours they need more time to develop these skills.

I’m often talking to teachers who mention that their children seem to lack imagination and I think some have often missed out on the chance to ‘act out’ and role play ideas, situations, characters and things they have imagined and seen.  It would be great to provide older children with more opportunities to do this in school.  But how?

The Play House has talked often of creating a multi sensory environment here at The Play House for children in Key Stage 2.  We have already created one for children in the Early Years with The Selkie Girl a few years ago.  That environment was crucial for children to understand the concept of the seaside in the Selkie story.  They played in a real wooden boat, collected shells and threw sand and none of this was particularly adult led.

I wonder what it would be like to offer older children that opportunity?  What environment would it be?  Should we work with even smaller groups and allow them lots of time to explore?  How would all of this impact on the drama?

It’s the highlight of my week to be greeted by such enthusiasm from them to delve into a story together in an empty and silent school.  Even though some are well into year 2 they have such a desire to play but their ideas are so rich with imagery.  Their imaginations are allowing them to see so much more than is actually there in reality.

Inspiring examples of this from children so far include…

- A glass bottle contains “a magic potion that will instantly shrink the wolf if sprinkled on him.”

-”We could pick wild strawberries from the woods and then we can make jam together.”

- Describing shadows moving deep in the forest and explaining, “she can feel that she is being followed, it’s just a feeling but it might come true!”

When the children say these things, and you see the teaching assistant or teacher react, it makes it all worthwhile!