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Education gets creative

17 Sep 2010 10:56 AM

Creativity will be placed at the centre of Scottish education following the launch of the Education and Culture Action Plan today.

The Plan brings together the education and cultural sectors to provide exciting learning experiences to ignite children's imaginations and help them develop their creative skills.

Action being taken forward includes:

  • Establishing the Creativity Portal website, which will feature good examples of creativity in education and allow teachers to browse projects and opportunities offered by cultural organisations across Scotland
  • Providing training and professional support to teachers and creative practitioners
  • Developing a National Arts Education Network involving all of Scotland's local authorities

Culture Minister Fiona Hyslop said:

"The modern world is changing rapidly and if we are to equip our children with the skills they need to succeed in the new global economy, we must teach them to be resourceful, flexible, confident, responsible and, perhaps most of all, creative.

"That is why it is so crucial to have creativity at the very heart of education. The Action Plan I am launching today sets out how this can be achieved through collaboration between the education and culture sectors.

"It is the culmination of months of collaborative work involving a number of bodies - and Ministers - to develop resources that will aid both creative teaching and creativity across the curriculum.

"The Creativity Portal - the first tangible resource from the Plan - will aid the rollout of Curriculum for Excellence in our schools and give teachers a forum for sharing best practice across the country."

Andrew Dixon, Chief Executive of Creative Scotland, said:

"Creative Scotland welcomes the collaborative approach between the education and creative sectors that is at the heart of this plan.

"We are also delighted to have partnered with Learning and Teaching Scotland in developing the Creativity Portal, which is one of the first of its kind in the world. The portal is a significant aid to the implementation of the Curriculum for Excellence. Not only will it provide benefit to teachers and pupils in Scotland, but also to the cultural organisations involved who now have a platform for increased presence in both urban and rural areas, with the ability to spread the benefit of high quality cultural experiences."

Alan Armstrong, Director of Curriculum and Assessment at Learning and Teaching Scotland, said:

"Learning and Teaching Scotland's active partnership working with the Scottish Government, Creative Scotland and others, is ensuring that education practitioners and learners have access to support, advice and materials that promote the development of creative skills across the curriculum.

"The Creativity Portal, which will be showcased at the Scottish Learning Festival next week, will bring Scotland's cultural and education sectors closer together in supporting delivery of Curriculum for Excellence by encouraging and sharing high quality creative learning experiences for children and young people."

It was developed following major two seminars involving audiences from the education and creative sectors and focuses on collaboration, sharing good practice, enhancing the teaching of the curriculum and supporting the delivery of the Curriculum for Excellence.

Action to implement the plan will be driven forward by delivery partners including Learning and Teaching Scotland and Creative Scotland. These organisations are developing a range of resources and support materials for teachers and creative practitioners, such as the Creativity Portal.

This important new website, which launches on September 22, 2010, will include best practice case studies and allow teachers to browse projects, experiences and opportunities offered by cultural organisations across Scotland.

Examples of the activity being promoted and developed under the plan:

  • The Arts Across Learning 2010 Festival involved theatre companies and professional artists and storytellers working with about 6,000 nursery, primary and SEN pupils in Aberdeen City. The programme included events in schools and class visits to cultural venues. The festival encouraged schools to use arts across the curriculum, in accordance with the Curriculum for Excellence. Following the festival, pupils said it was 'excellent' and had 'made them think' while teachers praised the festival for increasing children's confidence and helping them develop skills for life. Photographs of this project are available on request.
  • Ae Primary School in Dumfries and Galloway teamed up with a writer, film-maker and dancer for the school's half centenary celebrations. The project focused on sharing local history, memories and hopes for the future in a book, film and dance performance. Pupils and teachers learned new skills and increased in confidence in this cross-curricular project which involved the whole school, the local community and national agencies.

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