Star - The National Society for Education in Art and Design

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News
START news
The SPoon RAce
conTinueS To inSPiRe
After noticing the ‘spoon race’ and
‘yoghurt pot me’s’ in recent editions, The
Croft Preparatory School decided to
produce almost 500 ‘lollipop’ people. The
children and staff made themselves in
honour of the school’s 75th anniversary.
The children loved searching for each
other, and the staff revealed unknown
talents in creating ‘lollipop’ images of
themselves. The whole display made a
wonderful centrepiece for our
celebrations.
Lyndall Thornton,
The Croft Preparatory School
engAge cYmRu –
FoundATion PhASe RePoRT
In March 2008, engage Cymru ran a
conference at Aberystywth Arts Centre,
which brought together galleries, artists,
Foundation Phase advisors and teachers.
A conference report for those interested is
available on the website
www.engage.org/projects/foundation_
phase.aspx
START THE MAGAZINE FOR PRIMARY AND PRE-SCHOOL TEACHERS OF ART, CRAFT AND DESIGN
megA moSAic
mAKeRS
BAMM and Topps Tiles are running their
first ever mosaic competition. It is open
to every primary school, for any mosaic
completed in the last three years, by
children in Year 6 and below. A category
is also available for individual children
who have done pieces of work on their
own – through school, after-school club
or any mosaic course. Entries must be
submitted by a teacher or course leader.
Application forms will be available from
the BAMM website; entries should be
received by the end of October 2008.
Prizes range from generous vouchers to
be redeemed against mosaic materials at
Topps Tiles, to mosaic books. There will
also be £50 vouchers for Topps Tiles for
all schools who are shortlisted. Queries
to toppsmosaic@mac.com
or contact Anne Cardwell on 01799
501137. www.bamm.org.uk
The LeonARdo eFFecT
– ART And Science
WoRKing TogeTheR
‘Everyone’s art got better ‘cos we don’t
normally do it … and made science more
interesting – big time!’
A new form of interdisciplinary teaching
called the Leonardo Effect is raising the
profile of art education in children’s learning,
as a result of the radical results obtained
from a nationwide pilot funded by NESTA.
About 1,500 primary school children in
England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales took
part in the recent pilot devised by lecturers
at St. Mary’s University College, Belfast. A
teacher in Glasgow reported: ‘It blew my
expectations out of the water.’
The goal was to synchronise art and
science teaching through the use of joint
learning outcomes, where neither subject
played a secondary role. It resulted in
enthusiastic children working creatively,
independently and exceeding teachers’
expectations, not only in respect of art and
science but more surprisingly in literacy as
well. ‘Literacy went through the roof,’ said a
teacher in Belfast. The next issue of START
will include a report on the Leonardo Effect
pilot. For more information please email:
info@leonardoeffect.com or
www.leonardoeffect.com
If you have been involved
and would like to share your
experiences please contact
the editor.
LAunch oF SighTSAveRS
JunioR PAinTeR oF The
YeAR AWARdS 2008
For the third year running, UK primary
schools are being invited to enter the
Junior Painter of the Year Awards, run
by leading blindness charity Sightsavers
International.
The Awards, in partnership with the
Royal Academy Schools, are an artistic
celebration of the gift of sight, and
challenge children aged 4 to 11 to pick up
a paintbrush and use their imagination.
The Awards will also help pupils to reflect
on the importance of sight, and what it
might mean not to have it.
Sightsavers works in over 30 countries
across Africa, Asia and the Caribbean, to
cure and prevent blindness and to improve
life for those who are irreversibly blind.
There are 45 million blind people in the
world, yet 75% of all blindness can be
prevented or cured.
Three winners, one from each category
(4–7 years, 8–9 years and 10–11 years), will
be selected from a list of regional winners.
They will then enjoy a fun-packed day out
in London with their teacher and attend an
awards ceremony at the Royal Academy of
Arts, where their painting will be the
central focus of an exhibition showcasing
the best paintings from the competition. In
addition, the winners’ schools will receive
a visit from an experienced artist who will
give a teaching session for aspiring young
painters.
Almost 10,000 entries for the Awards
were received last year. Schools
interested in participating in the Awards
this year can find more information at
www.sightsavers.org/schools or by
contacting the Sightsavers schools team
on 01444 446727 for a free
Awards pack. Entries must
be submitted by 12
September 2008.
From the
editor
With the summer holidays fast
approaching, we take this opportunity to
showcase a wide range of ways of
enhancing, improving and transforming
spaces within your school environment.
I am always amazed by the innovative
concepts that artists and teachers devise
to transform their environments into
settings where stimulating learning
experiences can take place. Projects
profiled in this issue range from a
stairwell, hospital corridors and wards,
to an old school garage and a local church!
These areas are transformed through
digital art, mosaics, murals and textiles.
I hope you to will be inspired to let your
pupils loose on an unexplored area of
your school and transform it into a
magical space.
We strive to find exciting projects to
profile in the magazine and in this issue
we cover stamp designs, Tudor houses,
boxes, and learning in the outdoors,
forest school style. The mini poster
profiles mosaics created with primary
children, while the main poster lets us
explore the work of author and illustrator
James Mayhew, through his character,
Katie, who has wonderful adventures
in art galleries.
We are usually aware of what pupils
experience in the pre-primary years, but it
is also important to find out what we are
preparing them for in secondary school.
In this issue we have an inspirational
article giving us an insight into the exciting
adventures that an interest in digital art
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News/Editorial
explored in primary school can lead to
in later years.
In England, the new Early Years
Foundation Stage curriculum comes into
force in September. However, there is a
concern that this has the potential to stifle
creativity if followed to the letter. In the
next issue, we hope to address and
explore your ideas, views and ways round
and through it. We are also interested to
hear how the Early Years curriculum has
inspired creativity in Scotland, Wales and
Northern Ireland. To add your voice and
ideas to the current debate, please
e-mail me at the address below.
You can also look at the current debate:
www.savechildhood.org
I hope that over the summer you will get
the opportunity to recharge your batteries,
visit museums, galleries and exhibitions
for possible project ideas, or just update
your interests. On that note, I look forward
to meeting some of you at the START
summer school over the weekend of
18–20 July at Winchester University.
The next issue is a science and art special.
If you have been involved in any
interesting science and art teaching,
projects or events, please do get in touch.
Yours in art
Michèle Claire Kitto
Editor
Wanted!! Teachers for the new START Readers’ Panel
We are looking for art coordinators, non-specialist teachers, student teachers and
NQTs to form a readers’ panel in the magazine. In each edition different readers
will be selected to review books and resources as well as comment on events and
news. There will be lots of freebies for those who take part. Please send an email
with your name, school and contact details to: michelekitto@nsead.org
START THE MAGAZINE FOR PRIMARY AND PRE-SCHOOL TEACHERS OF ART, CRAFT AND DESIGN