Ings Primary School – Hull.

Getting to grips with the equipment

The ‘Enquiry Question’ for the school to explore was:

‘What cultural and co-operative experiences can we give to our Key Stage 1 children to ignite their imaginations and inspire original, confident writing?’

The original question was  based around the development and enjoyment of writing for KS1 pupils, and the development of pupils’ awareness of the world and other cultures.

Literacy was identified as a key priority, as was developing the children’s awareness of the world and its cultures.

The links with the school improvement plan are as follows:

• thinking about their own identity and comparing with others is a way to engage the child’s imagination and empathy.
• the engagement of pupils in the creative aspects of the project will enable them to express themselves more confidently through their writing.
• the children will become more confident as a result of the wider life an cultural experiences that they will encounter and learn about throughout the project
• pupils will become more confident as individuals – their contributions to the creative process will be valued and their motivation to work together to explore other cultures will increase
• the experience of enjoying the project and work done for the project, and the inspiration of discovering more about their own world and of other lives and cultures will generate the motivation to complete the project to a high standard
• the connection with a school in Sierra Leone will give the pupils exposure to lives other than their own, and will provide a stimulus to further explore wider cultural influences
• the use of digital media and ICT in different areas of the curriculum will develop the topic-based work that is to be implemented within the school in the future

In the ICT suite.

The project aimed to develop the school’s international dimension by strengthening links with St Philips Primary School (Sierra Leone). The children will create multimedia work through exploration about what the children at St. Philips would like to know about their life. 

They will need to start by researching about what they, themselves, would like to know about the St Philips children to begin this mature thought-process.  The children will work co-operatively but also independently through developing their camera skills, reviewing what they have done, using their skills out and about, then creating a book and a stills film from this exploration.






Jon worked with 2 classes of Y1/2 pupils including 2 teachers. Timescale for activity work: 7 weeks.

End of project exhibition with film showing, and written work and photographs on display. The book produced by the children, and the photo booklets will be on sale. Also Fairtrade products will be available to buy – strengthening the links between the local Co-op.

Hull Kingston Rovers stadium tour

Staff development in the use of media programmes and photographic equipment has increased considerably, and will be used in future theme based projects to give another element to teaching practices employed in the school.

The school CP co-ordinator and the other class teacher were both involved in the planning process. The children were asked about places that meant a lot to them, and they also had discussions about where they would take a visitor from Sierra Leone if they came to Hull.
The project has helped to develop the value of a more creative approach to teaching and learning, and the inclusion of creative skills in the theme-based approach to the curriculum.

The focus of the project on improving literacy was important, although the project developed and encompassed other skills which led to the improvement of writing skills – confidence building, speaking and listening, team working, learning about other cultures etc.

The development of these skills inspired the written work, and the experiences of the children while they have explored different aspects of their own and other cultures has increased vocabulary and the social skills needed to help the children to express their view and opinions.

Photography trip to the Humber Bridge

The project has inspired the whole school, and has given morale a boost during a time of uncertainty. Staff are already using the skills they have gained from the CPD sessions.

The end of project exhibition helped to forge new relationships with parents, and there is increased enthusiasm within the school to further develop the links made with Sierra Leone.

The project made the following contributions to Every Child matters:

• Every child had a say and was fully involved in the project and its content
• All children were involved in the trips organised as part of the project
• All children developed skills in the use of photographic equipment and ICT
• All children were given responsibilities, and were allowed to work independently as well as in teams
• The project contributed to the development of essential life skills

Hull Landmarks photography trip

The project idea has had a great impact on both the children and the staff. It was recognised that the lack of knowledge and cultural understanding of the children meant that their imaginations weren’t stimulated, and that, in turn, affected their confidence – in their own abilities, and in their view of themselves and their value to others.

The project has increased the knowledge that the children have in their own City and environment, as well as increasing their knowledge in the lives of others. This has stimulated the interest of all the children, but has especially had an impact on the interest and enthusiasm of the boys in the two classes – to write about their experiences and to be involved in collaborative work.

Staff commented on the excellent skills of Jon – he was flexible in his approach to the project, and was extremely approachable (important to both staff and children). His use of technical language was easily understandable – staff and children were able to use photographic equipment and new media programmes with ease. He was brilliant with the children – showing both humour and patience throughout the project.

Every Child Matters

The project ran smoothly and had a huge impact within the whole school. The children were involved in all aspects of the programme, and their involvement as co-constructors of learning gave them a very positive approach to work done throughout the project’s duration.

Pupils in year 5 at Lisle Marsden C of E Primary School used photography, film making, script writing skills, adobe premiere and photostory 3 to produce 2 versions of the Easter Story.

Firstly the pupils scripted and story boarded the traditional gospel version of the easter story and acted out the story while taking still images of the scenes, using microsoft photostory the pupils were able to add narration to the film along with a soundtrack.

In the second week of the project, pupils scripted ‘Jerusalem Today’, a tv news station that interviewed key characters in the easter story. Using chroma keying techniques pupils were able to transport themselves in history.

As part of our Creative Partnerships change school project we are working to equip the school with new IT skills and a new creative approach to delivering certain parts of the curriculum. The school wanted to place a heavy emphasis on multi media and the creative use of ICT.

As part of our continuing work withg Creative Partnerships – Hull, we have recently started our second Change School Project with Lisle Marsden C of E Primary School in Grimsby.

The first phase of the project has been to deliver a keystage 1 / keystage 2 transition project based around digital media and a themed topic area.

The keystage coordinators decided they wanted to use the Great Fire of London as the theme so we planned to create a series of stop frame animation films and news reports based on the timeline of events from the historic event.

Th school had purchased digital still and video cameras along with ‘I can animate’ and Serifs – ‘movie plus x3′ software.

Below are the series of animation films produced by year 2 & 3 pupils.

The ‘Change School’ work has now begun in earnest and all the pupils and staff from Year 2 and Year 3 engaged in a very exciting two week ‘Transition Matters’ project learning about the Fire of London through the exciting use of film and ICT.

Working alongside Jon Robson and Chris Webster, the CP Creative Practitioners from Hull, children discovered through firsthand experience how a topic from the ‘Middle Ages’ can be brought to life through the amazing use of 21st century technology!

As well as having lots of fun and learning of course, this work has much deeper significance! All pupils and staff are mixed; teachers, teaching assistants and children from both Infants and Juniors are working together as one. Planning together, playing together, eating together and learning together! This project forms part of the important transition work that is now a feature of the school.

Transition isn’t simply children moving up in July as one school year ends and then starting again in September with a ‘new’ teacher with all the potential anxiety this can bring. It is about personalisation; getting to know the children, ensuring their needs are met, setting appropriate expectations and smoothing out progression as children move from the Foundation Stage to Year 6 and then finally preparing the way for the children as they move onwards into Key Stage 3!

USEFUL LINKS ::

Creative Partnerships – Hull
Lisle Marsden C of E Primary School – Grimsby.
Kudlian – I Can Animate – easy to use animation sofware for both Mac & PC.
Serif Movie Plus X3 – easy to use video editing software that allowed us to chromakey easily.

Gembling Primary school have been getting to grips with wind turbines and sustainable energy options by producing a short film with the help of Cafesociety.org about the wind farm which is currently under construction in their comunity. They used photography and an interview with the local minister alongside researched images found on the internet.

The project is part of the schools enquiry programme supported by Creative Partnerships.

During July 2008, Jon Robson of Cafesociety.org undertook a speaking and listening project at Sidmouth Primary School – Hull.

The project entitled ‘Fantasy Worlds’ was funded by Creative Partnerships – Hull and tried to answer the enquiry question – “Can new technology be used to improve speaking & listening skills in a year 1 class where over 50% of the pupils have English as a second language ?”

We decided to use digital story telling and film making as a vehicle to improve speaking, listening and written work. We themed the project around 4 areas. – Under the Sea, Castles, Space & Pirates.

The pupils developed their stories orally and created story boards to visualise the scenes, after the stories had been craeted, time was spent developing the characters before designing puppets and background scenery for filming.

Here are the finished films :-

They showed persistence and engagement with the making of the puppets and scenes.

The children very much enjoyed the artwork process… Getting messy and covered in paint is a real thrill..

They also showed imagination when creating their stories and designing their puppets.
The children gained experience in working in teams.

They had to plan and discuss their ideas for their own particular themed story.
Pupils had to work together and be able to listen to each others ideas.

Pirate Day :: We all planned to take over the school and hunt for the treasure. Luckily for us 3 ks4 pupils from endeavour were on work experience at the school and proved themselves invaluable.

The children came prepared with home made costumes to act out their story and take control of the school.

We planned our attack and filmed it as it unfolded.
Some teachers looked on with true fear !

Improvisation was a key element in our unfolding story. We were unsure how the head teacher would react to her school been taken over…. Luckily she obliged and the school became ours !

Because the project encouraged speaking and listening,
The EAL children benefited from this in that they were motivated to communicate their thoughts and ideas.

Fact :: Kids love technology !
being trusted to use high tech equipment was a confidence boost for the year 1’s

They engaged in the whole process of filmmaking from start to finish. It was clear that they had felt that the films were ‘theirs’ and they were proud of them.

The children were enthralled by the whole experience.

They are still talking about their films even now. The project has made a lasting, positive impression upon them.

I have really enjoyed the film making. It has been a brilliant experience, the best parts were directing and camera work. I have learnt how to use a pro camera and direct professionally and how to work together as a strong team. I have learnt also how to come up with ideas and share them with the group.

I think the project has been excellent and the people I have worked with have been a pleasure to work with. Thanks to Jon, Louise and Chris for organizing the project.

I enjoyed doing the plays and filming a tour of our school. I did not like the interviewing because I thought it was boring. I had never made a film or DVD before and I have also learnt how to work with a digital video camera. I also learnt how to share things and how to cooperate and how to act in a group.

I thought it was a great experience and that it was a good chance to work in a group. I would like to do it again if I get a chance.

I have enjoyed doing all of it. I have never written a script by myself before and working as a team member I can see what we can achieve. I’m sorry that Ryan and Natalie missed the filming part of the project as they both played an important part in the project. We all put in our own time especially our lunch times. Nothing can say how good this experience has been. Thanks to Louise, Chris and Jon for helping us do this.

I have enjoyed working on the film. The best bits were when we were filming. The worst bits were when we were editing. I have never done film making before and I have now learnt how to edit parts of the film. I have also learnt how to cooperate with a group of people. I think it was a big chance and when I get older I will do it again.

I enjoyed doing the project very much. I liked the filming part of the project best because I got to learn how to work a camera, the bad side of the project was that there didn’t seem enough time to get everything done, but we tried our best and managed to get the film made. If I had another chance to make a film I would.