We need questions. We need answers.

I’m working on a massive Creative Partnerships project in a Leicestershire primary school with several other practitioners from various disciplines including, music, dance, architecture, story-telling, illustration and greenwood structures. Our brief: to make sure the staff can do what we do after we’ve gone.

We’re starting off on two threads of enquiry. One is to look at how we can encourage more imaginative play amongst the foundation level classes (3-5 years old) and the other is nominally working with years 3 and 4 (7-9 years). I say nominally, because actually I think we’ve discovered it’s more about exploring how the teachers can move away from teaching for a specific outcome and move more towards child-led learning where the outcome comes out of the process.

Last week this message was delivered in assembly:

The message delivered to the pupils last week

On Friday the pupils worked with some of the practitioners on brainstorming their initial ideas and questions.

Tomorrow I will go in and liaise.

Today I am trying to plan the day without actually planning the day.

It’s counter-intuitive and a bit scary, but we need questions and then we need answers. In that order.