West Midlands Collaborative
West Midlands Collaborative
Elliot Foundation Creativity Collaborative
The question we set out to answer at the start of this project was how can empowering teachers to develop creative pedagogies, facilitate the environment in which learners are enabled to flourish and fulfil their creative potential?
Over the course of the three years we investigated the experiences and perceptions of learners, teachers and creative practitioners to answer that very question.
Our Collaborative was made up of nine primary schools and they all collaborated with local organisations such as the Open Theatre and Stan’s Cafe. Creative practitioners from these organisations visited the schools weekly for one, two or three terms. Typically, Open Theatre practitioners worked with small groups of learners in non-verbal physical theatre sessions every week throughout the school year. Stan’s Cafe worked with the schools on shorter term projects, addressing needs identified by teachers such as getting to know the local area or improving their learners’ imaginations.
Other years
In Year 1, the Elliot Foundation Creativity Collaborative explored creative teaching, built partnerships, and developed a shared vision to empower teachers and unlock learners’ creative potential.
Year two was a year of discovery, where schools explored creative teaching, deepened partnerships, and shifted focus from arts to pedagogy through hands-on experiences and reflection.
In Year 3, the focus was on embedding creative practices, strengthening partnerships, and preparing schools to sustain the work beyond 2024.
Regions
The Elliot Foundation Creativity Collaborative explored how empowering teachers fosters creative learning, through partnerships and creative programmes across nine primary schools.
The Nottingham Creativity Collaborative united 12 schools to explore how creativity and curiosity in education can be sustained through teacher development, cultural partnerships, and strong community ties.
