Creating a World Less Grey - Bringing Art To Schools

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Hello and welcome back to the Wellspring Way. It's our fortnightly chat about all things education with the people who are directly involved in schools today. My guest on the show today started out her career in the classroom teaching design technology. After moving into leadership positions, she then moved to Wellspring, where she's been the driving force behind our fabulous community colour initiative. She's now bringing her magic to a new project aimed at developing teaching skills and knowledge through subject networks. She's also an AQA and OCR examiner and moderator. I'm really pleased to be joined by Associate Principal at Wellspring Joanna Kempston. Jo, welcome to the Wellspring Way. Thank you. Now, first I'd like to go right back to the beginning of your career because you kind of fell into teaching, didn't you?

SPEAKER_00 0:44

I always thought I would go on to a career in fashion design. And actually, my final year at university had secured a post for Adidas down in Derbyshire. And within my sort of the end of the final year of my degree at Leeds, a relative who had a senior post at an inner city school in Leeds contacted me and asked if I could if I'd be willing to go in and support a group of students who were finishing off their GCSE textiles coursework. I went in and I helped so much so that made me sort of rethink career. And actually, I did a U-turn and spent the following year not going down to Derbyshire, but I ended up doing unqualified teaching, lots of different supply work at various schools, and so that's where it sort of came from 17 years ago.

SPEAKER_01 1:47

Interesting. Gosh, that is kind of quite a um diversion, isn't it, from um Adidas to um to teaching. Now, what I'd really like to talk to you about is the amazing, I mentioned it in my intro, the amazing communicolour project, because that was very much your project, wasn't it? You kind of drove that forward. Um, for people that aren't aware of communicolor and what it is, can you just explain a little bit about it?

SPEAKER_00 2:14

Yeah, absolutely. So um back in the first lockdown, Mark and myself had a conversation about um a need there, you know, um, for revolutionising our outdoor spaces. So when going to the to the schools and looking at the outside space um and what it was currently, what it was like, it was just great and dull and inviting, it was miserable, um, and there was not much there. Yeah, and actually, you know, we all know that colour can really make a big difference to well-being and how you feel. So with Communicolour, what we wanted to do, what we set out is really sort of transform the outdoor learning environments, not just in terms of the aesthetic, but also in terms of actually interaction for students. We really wanted to give the students an opportunity to spark that imagination and curiosity. And I go back years ago when I was, I mean, say my age now, but um in the playgrounds when I was a little girl, we had that generic hopscotch and snakes and ladders, um, and we we played on them all the time. But actually, where is that opportunity to bring indoors outdoors? Because outdoors is is you know also as important, if not more, yeah, and to what goes on indoors.

SPEAKER_01 3:35

Yeah, that recreation space and a lot of schools are just they just have a grey, a grey box, really, don't they, as a playground?

SPEAKER_00 3:42

Absolutely. So um rather ambitious, but we um installed our very first floor mural um at our school over in Barnsley, so it was Oak Hill. Quite a quite a large one, it was 352 square metres um of painting on the floor, but we had the most glorious weather in the spring bank. Took um a week to do it to complete it, fortunately because of the weather as well. Um, but the um the difference that we saw from that with the students, with the parents and carers, with the staff at the school, the difference that has made to that community. Um not only does it look you know better, so the site doesn't look dull and grey, but the children are actually using it on a day-to-day basis and actually creating their own play, which is the bit we really wanted to achieve, set out to achieve. But also the staff are also using it as a teaching tool as well. So they're actually using it um as part of their curriculum, so they're using it some of the um some of their like PE lessons, for example. So it's multifunctional.

SPEAKER_01 4:51

Yeah, it is absolutely spectacular, like you say, it's huge, and it's bright orange and blues, is it? And it's it's really, really vivid, vivid. Um, it's no no grey playground there at Oak Hill anymore. No, absolutely. Um, and the idea has been rolled out across lots of our schools now, and we've had different artists coming into different schools and doing different things, haven't we? How have you found that and kind of engaging artists? What's their take been on this project?

SPEAKER_00 5:23

One of the biggest hurdles I've come across was actually um recruiting artists that I felt really sort of fit the bill for what our goals are for it. Um and having never done this before, um, I wasn't quite sure my starting point. And so I actually got in touch with a local organisation who um worked with alongside myself to create and produce um an artist brief that I actually ended up you know posting on social media on a day-to-day basis in the hope that we'd get you know we'd um attract local professional artists. Um I found the um it wasn't quite what I was after, so I kind of went back to the drawing board. Um the fantastic artists and the portfolios, but we wanted you know something really, really unique, but also you know, abstract as well, vibrant colours and colour palettes, and so I ended up um sort of sort of scrapping that idea, and I remember it vividly um back in the um August, it was the summer holidays um the year before last, and I ended up spending hours and hours on social media, more so Instagram, um patrolling through so many different artists' um portfolios and pages, yeah, and actually directly getting in touch with them. Some of them we found local, but we wanted to make sure that actually their style of work and their colour palettes really sort of, you know, mirrored my ambitions for communicolor. And sort of from there, I would say we've probably um established really strong relationships now with I'd say about six or seven artists. The majority of them are within Yorkshire, a couple of them sort of branch out away from Yorkshire, but they've actually had they've actually installed more than one installation for us, and they really understand what we're about and what our ambitions are. So actually telling them and working with them with the initial concept, you know, it's not for them, you know. What we didn't want them to do is just to go away and just revolutionize um a wall or a floor or a fence. We wanted it to have that interaction, that engagement for the students and for the community as well.

SPEAKER_01 7:47

Yeah. It's got a real um identity, hasn't it, now communicolour? You can get a feel for it and understand that idea of needing the right artist to produce something that is is definitely in Communicolour's scope and feel. Um, and one of the most impressive, I guess, biggest name artists that fits that bill, you've um managed to get the internationally renowned artist Um Morag Myerskoff involved, which is one hell of a yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:18

So this was actually going back. So my relationship with Morag um started off back in uh the August of 2021. This is when I was uh going through social media trying to headhunt you know lots of different artists, and actually thought, I'm gonna chance it here. I'm gonna uh do you know what? Her style of work is phenomenal. Um let's just be cheeky here and uh you know um reach out to her. And uh interestingly enough, at first, you know, as you can expect, she was a little bit apprehensive. I think what she must be inundated with sort of requests from various organisations. Um, but when I sort of had the opportunity, when she gave me the chance on a telephone call um just to explain our background and Wells Springs vision and the nature, you know, the nature of our settings, a lot of our settings and the communities, um, she really understood what we were, you know, what we wanted to do and what we we set out to achieve. And ever since then um she's been very much on board with us, which is amazing. So, yeah, it's really welcomed.

SPEAKER_01 9:28

Yeah, and she she came up to spend some time at one of our primaries in Leeds, didn't she? Um she's gonna create something special for that school. How far along in that process are we?

SPEAKER_00 9:41

Well, funnily enough, actually, um I touched face with Moorrag last week, or the week before, just before half term, and um she's taken away the workshop materials from the students that she, you know, she she delivered back in the beginning of December and she came up to Leeds to visit the school and the students, and um I'm waiting for a design from Moorrag. I'm not going to say anything else just yet, but she's actually started to pull together something, which is really exciting. Yeah, um, so yeah, watch this space.

SPEAKER_01 10:15

It's exciting. So hopefully by summer we'll have a Morrag Myerskoff piece in one of our schools, which just sounds sounds incredible, doesn't it?

SPEAKER_00 10:24

It is, it's and it's just so generous of Morrag for giving her time to this.

SPEAKER_01 10:28

So and and that um access of art, because yeah, it's about making spaces beautiful and and creating things that students can engage with and teachers can use in lessons, but it's also about widening aspirations and um access to things that communities perhaps might not ever have access to, isn't it?

SPEAKER_00 10:47

Oh it's it's so powerful, you know, beyond words to be honest with you. I mean another great example is um one of the um this time last year actually, uh Elizabeth, we installed a huge wall mural at um Oakwell Rise, and um the the two artists who were working collaborately together on it, um Ben and Eden, they're from Leeds, um, they kept going back to the school each day when they were installing it, um, and they were telling me the the interaction and dialogue they were having on a day-to-day basis from the students was so overwhelming you know overwhelming. Um, they didn't want to carry out a workshop with the children at first. They've never done anything like that, so their confidence with that, you know, they they said they said no to at the time, but at the end of it, they were telling me that they would love to do that in the future, either with our students or you know, with other students. And um, they said at the beginning the children were asking them, you know, they were so curious, like, what are you going to do draw on this wall? And they what they were thinking of was they were expecting um non-abstract, they're expecting they were saying, 'Are you gonna draw a paint a dog on here and a cat and this and this?' And they said, 'No, no, no.' So the children were getting the pencils and drawing on the wall, what their interpretation would be. And they said, You do this for a living. So, actually, those aspirations, actually, yes, you can do this for a job, and so raising sort of you know, aspirations and understanding about different um avenues with different, you know, with careers. Yeah. So it really broad that dialogue and that conversation, that's that discussion.

SPEAKER_01 12:20

Yes, it's such a powerful, it's such a fantastic project, and um, yeah, lots, lots more communicolor pieces in the pipeline because I know that Wellspring schools are um are all very eager to have their own, those that haven't got one yet are very eager to have their own, aren't they?

SPEAKER_00 12:38

Absolutely. I mean, one of them that we've just actually finished, which you you you know about, Elizabeth, is the the Phoenix um fence sculptures. And so, you know, going from a floor mural to going to you know painting walls, but then actually revolutionising fencing as well, because not all of our schools have the land to actually carry out an installation for the floor or you know, for some of the walls. So, actually, some of the fencing, we didn't want it to be the obvious fencing. How can we make it more discreet? But it's there for a purpose, but actually make it into you know um a sculpture park. So when the children are inside, they're not facing out onto this harsh green fencing, which needs to be there, but they're actually seeing beautiful sculptures which have meaning to it.

SPEAKER_01 13:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:26

So, I mean, that was a really powerful narrative from one of the artists, Marcus Method. Um, again, you know, really sort of renowned artists um from Yorkshire, but he travels all over the country and Europe, and he really understood and connected with the children as well. So, um, before it was in it was the installation took place. I actually um went and met the students at the school to get their feedback on what we proposed, and I talked through Marcus's narrative. Now, the narrative very much was about these 15 sculptures starting from one end and going right the way through to the to the other end, actually told a story in terms of we're all unique, we all flourish, we go into different directions, and you know, um so we grow and we dev we we develop and we flourish. Um, and the children really sort of when they read the narrative, their responses were just yeah, I can imagine it because it is I I had a little look at that.

SPEAKER_01 14:26

The narrative is really quite special, and the way the thought that he's put into it and how he's grasped those kids is is great.

SPEAKER_00 14:34

It's not just some colourful shapes on the fencing, it's actually you look at the development of each other's sculptures, yeah, and you can actually see the journey.

SPEAKER_01 14:46

And the fact that it's about them, it's that message again that you know you matter, you're important, somebody's taking the time to understand you and want to express who you are, which um yeah, for kids that perhaps might not always feel like that, but let's put it that way, um, that's a really powerful thing, isn't it? Oh, it really is.

SPEAKER_00 15:05

And I mean, actually we spoke Katie Hartshorn and myself actually, we we've been out to the school a couple of times um before the installation um and during sort of the prototype stage and process, and um what we actually found from some of the um community as well is the students and the staff is they all said the same um same couple of words they said it feels like a prison. The student the student said it, they said we feel like we're in prison. The neighbour directly opposite the school said that. Um and you know, some of the staff have said that. Whereas when I've when I've revisited and I've spoken to you know, the community and the students and the staff, they've they their choice of words now and how they feel really emphasizes the difference that these installations have had and are having and will continue to have. They don't see the fencing now, they don't look at it as if it's this harsh fencing, they see you know, they see joy and colour and they see you know they feel happier, they want to go and touch it. The children don't want to vandalize it, but they they feel valued in, and that's what it's all about. Because uh what why we're here, why why why do we do what we do? We do it because we want to make a difference, don't we? We we do, yeah, and we're here because we want to make a difference to to the children's lives, yeah. And I just think you know, uh hearing words like that makes it all worthwhile. It does, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:36

Um but you've kind of got Communicolor well up and running, it's almost looking after itself now. The estates team are doing a brilliant job of of keeping that going. You've moved on to a new project now, haven't you? So talk me through the subject networks and what the aim of those is in Wells Spring, because this is very different, this is this is about teachers.

SPEAKER_00 17:04

So before Communicolour, um obviously when I started out at Wellspring back in September 18, um I you know was um added extra capacity to the central team for school improvement. Um so I'm back in that field. Um I was I was actually touching, I was um touching on it a little bit um with an overlap with Communicolo last academic year as well. But there's obviously with the expansion of um the trust, and we now obviously have 29 academies, and there's the real need there in terms of that um you know um that community of networks, um all these highly wonderful talented um professionals within our system by having the opportunity to actually network. We know it's so powerful, the evidence you know, from you know, research studies you know, it showcases the impact that this really can have. Um back in September we um we started out phase one of the network launch, so we um set out six different curriculum networks, and then followed by after October Hart um a further five. Um so now we have 11 well-established networks within our organisation, um, more so sort of the focusing on um you know curriculum subjects, and then we've also got um a network for send as well because that's absolutely necessary. Yeah, um, so yeah, so it's going really well. Um to say it's you know obviously second term in.

SPEAKER_01 18:39

Yeah.

unknown 18:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:40

So on a practical level, um how does that work? Is that um people who are already experts getting together, you know, so say for instance, I don't know, um the network for science, are they all experts in science that are a part of that network? And then do they how does it how does it work practically?

SPEAKER_00 19:00

Yeah, so what we have, we recruited um we recruited a lead practitioner for each of the networks, and within that we um the the the heads of schools or you know the leaders of each school have the opportunity if they would like to nominate somebody from their um their school to to join the network. Um so each network's completely different. So, you know, some of the networks um which are smaller because not every single, not all of the academies folks specializes in EYFS or you know, Key Stage 3 or etc. So um some of the networks we find that actually those who are part of that network community um you know have experience and um and are confident within that field. But then other networks, there's many colleagues there who actually are coming as representatives from their schools but have limited or no knowledge within that subject. And the the whole purpose of um the networks is that collaboration and building up the confidence, sharing, good practice, and actually just for them to actually disseminate that within their own academies. Right. Um, and actually, you know, what we've actually found so far as a whole is actually, you know, now we're you know going into the fourth half term, um, certainly from phase one of the network groups, which started established in September. You know, um if we're finding that in these network meetings, colleagues are you know finding real value of them, which is exactly what we set out to achieve, that's the whole purpose of it, um, and actually are making progress within their own teaching of that subject, but also their colleagues are. Um, so an opportunity there to you know to really um you know discuss and debate and share ideas and you know support one another, and there's opportunities to have buddy systems there as well. Um, so yeah, and then there's also um they decide collectively as a as a group um what the focus will be for the next meeting, but also contribute to the Josie TV platform as well. So this um you know, clips, video tutorials um onto Josie TV with certain areas that they feel is a real need.

SPEAKER_01 21:23

Yeah, it's um such a simple idea, but really effective, isn't it? When you think that in a large trust like Wellspring, 29 schools, the level of knowledge, expertise, experience is incredible amongst all those hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of education professionals. Um but sometimes it's hard to to get that shared and and grow that and and so that that can benefit everybody. But this this whole idea is is really doing that, isn't it?

SPEAKER_00 21:59

Um absolutely. Absolutely. And you know, what we've always wanted to happen, and it is is you know, it is blossoming, it is happening now, is actually colleagues within each of the networks are building relationships, which is absolutely the foundation, isn't it? It's pivotal. And actually, you know, having 29 schools across is it six local authorities, they don't have the opportunity to meet face to face and meet each other. But like you said, you know, these these highly talented um professionals within our system, and rather than working solo, working together, collaborately, sharing good practice, um, this is starting to happen outside of the network meetings as well. So I know from um feedback that they are contacting one another outside of that via you know various methods, contact methods, but also um meeting up as well and actually supporting one another. So it's it's you know incredibly it's incredibly powerful. Excellent. And uh it's only just the beginning, isn't it? So um let's see where we're going to be in a year because it's you know it's really exciting, really exciting. And the 11 uh lead practitioners have been absolutely you know the uh foundation of all of this. Um they've really um made a huge difference to actually um the successes that we're having so far.

SPEAKER_01 23:23

Yeah, it's really good for their career development as well, isn't it, as as leaders and and that having that that additional role. Um yeah, it's got to it's gotta be a good thing. It is. Yeah. Um now then I want to move on now to our little quick fire round, find out what your own you said a little bit about that you in your school days that you had hopscotch, you used to play hopscotch in the playground, but I want to find out a little bit more about your own school days. Oh gosh. So maths or English? English, more creative.

SPEAKER_00 23:54

I I'd say English at school, and now I I've always loved I love numbers as an adult. Uh yeah.

SPEAKER_01 23:59

Do you know a lot of guests say this that the things that they liked when they were kids actually they've kind of switched as they've got they've got older. It's interesting. Um school trips or school discos? School trips. What do you can remember any that kind of stick in your mind? Um Eden Camp. Oh Eden Classic.

SPEAKER_00 24:16

Yes, we went to Eden Camp. I also remember we went camping. I'm not quite sure, I don't remember where. Um as a brave teacher, you guys.

SPEAKER_01 24:25

Very, very few teachers taking a group of kids camping.

SPEAKER_00 24:27

We went camping, yes.

SPEAKER_01 24:30

Um music or drama?

SPEAKER_00 24:33

Neither.

SPEAKER_01 24:33

Neither you'd always find me in the art room, but uh that was that's your creative outlet, isn't it? It's yeah, it's it's the the visual stuff.

SPEAKER_00 24:42

I love listening to music, but I never, you know, it was never something that I um had a passion for. But it in terms of creative, in terms of art, yeah. Always art. Um primary school or secondary school? I really enjoyed school. I love school life. I loved it. Um I enjoyed both. Um, but if I had to choose one or the other, I would go for primary.

SPEAKER_01 25:09

Um quiet reading or noisy playtime. Noisy playtime. Um, an outdoor or indoor PE? Indoor. Did you want to go out and get cold and muddy? No, not a big fan of that. Um and finally, my last question, which I ask everybody that comes on. Um, if I gave you a magic wand and you could change anything you wanted to about the education system in this country to make it better, what would you do?

SPEAKER_00 25:40

What would we do? So I I would certainly close the gap in terms of opportunities for students who are from high deprivation, high you know, deprived areas. Um closing that gap.

SPEAKER_01 25:53

Do you mean in terms of um like opportunities like extracurricular stuff, or do you mean kind of um standards of teaching or with the wider world as well?

SPEAKER_00 26:03

Yeah. Opportunities in terms of, I mean, this can you can go on forever with this one, but you know, certainly um with opportunities for you know raising aspirations and I know we do this with really well within our system, but you know, some of the children have never been into their city centre or have never been on a train or a bus, but actually, yeah, opportunities for them to go to another country, a different continent. You know, actually, why should children be you know from deprived communities be disadvantaged? So experience all that the world has to work with. And I think that would be you know, so not just in terms of trips, but um in terms of broadening our um horizons and seeing what's possible. Brilliant.

SPEAKER_01 26:46

Um yeah, I think um yeah, when you look at some, you know, some of the um very, very expensive private schools and what those children get access to and and then what kids in deprived communities have access to, it's um it's a tricky one to get your head around that one, isn't it?

SPEAKER_00 27:04

It is. I mean I've always you know in in my 17 years within this profession, I've always worked and I um and I've always had a buzz from working in in a city schools or you know, deprived areas. Um you know, my one of my very first schools over in Bradford. Um, I still got a couple of the ex-students who contact me now and then married and got degrees and going on to do masters and still ask me for their advice and you know, being invited to graduations, and you then you know you've made a difference, you know, when they haven't had their you know that role model or nurture at home, um you do very much feel like you know it is making that difference.

SPEAKER_01 27:44

Yeah, gosh, that's really lovely. One of the um most incredible things about teaching, isn't it? I think seeing seeing that happen. The um it's all well and good being in the classroom seeing it, but actually years later and seeing the impact you've had is um that must be incredible.

SPEAKER_00 27:58

Yeah, and for them, you know, to cut you know to turn out so well rounded and um it's not just about careers, but as human beings, just in that in terms of actually being really good citizens.

SPEAKER_01 28:08

Yeah, yeah, it's definitely it's definitely making a difference, it really is. Um that's been brilliant. Thank you so much for um for sharing a bit about your experience of teaching and what you've achieved over your career. Next time I'll be joined by Executive Vice Principal Mia Steed, who's going to be talking to us all about how to foster a love of reading. Hope you can join us then.