Herringham Primary School in Chadwell St. Mary working with Royal Opera House Creative Partnerships, has recently completed the first phase of a cutting-edge education project which offers students the chance to direct and affect how they learn.
The project, called ‘Leading Learning’, partnered Herringham Primary with a Scottish social enterprise company Space Unlimited, who are passionate about enabling people to use their natural creativity. They regularly work with groups of young people to develop answers to questions posed by industry clients such as The Scottish Government, and KPMG.
For the project, Year 6 students were posed the question “What kind of learning experience do you need to prepare you for your future?” Working alongside the pupils were five Herringham staff and the Royal Opera House Creative Partnerships Creative Agent, all taking an equal role in the process.
Three of the key themes identified by Year 6 were self-awareness, the confidence and support to try things out and make mistakes, and responsibility and respect. The young people made very real suggestions about how all Herringham students could take ownership of their learning and how staff could support them to develop at their own pace.
The next phase of the project begins immediately and will allow the staff and children involved to put the changes into practice in their own classrooms. This will be monitored and evaluated before spreading across the school.
Deputy Head, Sam Otto, who acted as the client in the project, is confident that the project will alter teaching and learning styles permanently across the school and beyond.
Sam said “This year’s project and partnership with Space Unlimited has totally exceeded our expectations. The responses from pupils were profound, the impact on the staff significant – they are all enthused with a confidence and determination to explore their new learning and ensure it has impact within our own school and beyond. The sense of achievement for individuals and for the group as a whole has been quite incredible.
The work with The Royal Opera House Creative Partnerships team and Space Unlimited has generated an excitement about learning that all schools strive for. We can’t wait to see where the project takes us next! ”
