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.

Mini Olympics transition project at St Marys College - Hull. During transition week over 250 year 6 pupils were given a whole range of new sporting activities to try along with guest speakers from the sporting and literature world.

Current media studies students from the school worked alongside Cafesociety.org and documented the ‘Mini Olympics’ and created a series of 20 news bulletins which were uploaded to www.smc4sport.net and viewed around school on whitebaords and flat screen TV’s.

2pm Thursday 19th June - Phoenix Centre, Dunford Road, Holmfirth

A series of short films, made by members of Holme Valley Sharing Memories Group, will put the spotlight on the lives of the older generation in Holmfirth.

The films will be premiered on Thursday 19th June at 2pm at the Phoenix Centre in Holmfirth as part of this year’s Holmfirth Arts Festival (7-27 June).

Members of the group, who are all in their 70s, 80s and 90s, have been working with artists Jenny Ellis, Jan Benham and Jon Robson to capture personal memories of the past 80 years. The films reveal fascinating stories, including an overland expedition to India by motorbike in the early sixties and how lives were changed after the second World War.

Sierra Leone’s reggae diva Khady Black performs Mr. Government. Filmed on location in Kingston Upon Hull - UK.

Ever wondered what it is like being a teenager living in Hull today? In a new exhibition, pupils from Endeavour High School invite you to experience life from their perspective. “What’s Your Story?” uses films, photographs and personal objects to create an insight into the lives of a diverse group of young people.

The exhibition is part of the “Campaign! Make an Impact” project, an innovative project in which students are inspired by museum collections to create their own campaign about issues which affect their own lives. This project has been led by Hull Museum Education who have also been working in partnership with Cafesociety.org, the British Library and the Thackray Medical Museum.

Hull Museum Education teamed up with creative media practitioners Jon Robson and Matt Stephenson of Cafésociety.org to work with the students on their contemporary campaign inspired by museum collections.

Jane Avison, Senior Education Officer at Hull Museum Education said: “The young people have created the exhibition as part of their campaign against racism and intolerance. First they made short films about their own lives and then came to the museum to investigate the slavery collections and issues around racism. They developed a greater understanding of each other and wanted to run a campaign to promote tolerance between different cultures.”

The aim of the campaign is to break down barriers between communities, dispel some myths and promote understanding of different cultures. Jane continued: “The young people have been very courageous in putting themselves forward as the face of the campaign, giving us an insight into their lives. They would like the viewer to stop and think before making judgements, to consider the person and their story, not just nationality.”

The exhibition will be officially opened by Sir Keith Ajegbo, the Government Advisor for Citizenship. There will also be the opportunity to show case campaigns from the other partners involved in the “Campaign! Make an Impact” project.

The exhibition will be held in the Live Arts Space at the Ferens Art Gallery from Saturday 8th March to Sunday 27th April. It will then be displayed at the Artlink Centre for Community Arts from Thursday 8th May to Monday 2nd June.

More exciting work with Hull Museums Education Service

Hull Museums Education Service, together with the British Library and Museums, Libraries and Archives Yorkshire (MLA Yorkshire) havre asked us to get involved in a programme of work relating to citizenship, identity and campaigning, following on from the succesful Making an Impact Young Campaigners project we developed at Winifred Holtby School earlier in 2007.

In the first phase we’re planning on working with pupils from Hull’s inner city Endeavour Secondary School, making a series of short films focussing on the views and stories of people from other countries who have chosen to settle in Hull.

A later phase will see us working with pupils to develop documentary photographic, journalistic and campaigning skills for an exhibition and book exploring the identities and lives of the pupils themselves.

Exciting stuff and a great project to be involved with.

Hull Fair Travellers School

Another exciting project… During the two weeks of Hull Fair, the city council runs a temporary school for the children of the families who run the fairground attractions. We’re really looking forward to working closely with the school on another photography and journalism-based project which will document the lives and views of the children who travel with the fair.

It will be fascinating for us to learn more about their lives, meet their families, and - of course - we’ll all be making work which will provide a unique insight into on of Europe’s biggest and oldest fairs.

The end result will be a book (which will be available to order - details soon) and a series of short Photo Story films.

Restorative Practice

Before summer we began work documenting the pioneering Restorative Practice work being developed by Estelle MacDonald, head of Hull’s Collingwood Primary School.

We’re currently editing interviews with pupils and expect to be back in school soon to finish the job and we’ll post the film on the site when it’s complete.

Keep an eye on the site for details of how work progresses and new jobs as they come up…

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Back to work… been a busy summer though…

Our good friend Barmmy Boy returned to Freetown on August 10 so he could be back in time to vote in the elections. Barmmy had a great time here in the UK, worked really hard, made loads of friends, learned a lot. He now intends to work closely with the British Council to help Cafesociety.org develop school partnerships and media training work in Freetown.

Another Salonian friend of ours, Tony Gblah, also returned to Freetown recently after spending a year in Hull as a volunteer with various church social projects. Tony’s having a bit of a tough time at the moment - no money, no job, no fixed abode - we’ll be trying to help him get back on his feet.

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The Mayor of Freetown, Winstanley R. Bankole Johnson payed a short visit to Hull on the 29th August 2007. After a civic lunch with the Lord Mayor of Kingston Upon Hull, Cllr Brenda Petch he had a meeting with Jon Robson and Richard Skog of the Freetown Society, during which he signed the petition supporting the Fight For Freedom Campaign.

Mayor Johnson then launched the opening of Greetings! Wilberforce Women, a photographic project between women in Freetown and women in Hull, a Wilberforce 2007 project.

Lansana Mansaray, aka Barmmy Boy, a rapper from Freetown in Sierra Leone, has been in Hull working with Cafesociety.org for the last four weeks. He has worked with secondary pupils in exploring their creativity through music.

Please click here to listen to the BBC Radio Humberside interview