Continuing Professional Development - Chameleon Creative Learning Project

A Creative Partnerships programme of creative learning with a creative professional is very different to a traditional Artist in School project or residency.  Whereas an Artist in School project tends generally to be an add-on to the curriculum, a CP project aims to develop a partnership between the school and the creative practitioner where they can work closely together, evaluating and reflecting on the process and changing things where necessary to maximise impact.

Photo by Alex Hallowes

 It is a process of change and the Chameleon CPD programme aimed to ensure that creative professionals and school staff understood the difference, so that they could embrace it during their project.

We had a series of days where practitioners and staff could examine creative learning separately, and then we had days where they came together to 'play'. This served the double purpose of introducing them to each other, which, in a few cases, proved to be the start of the partnership.

Photo by Alex Hallowes

We also had a documentation day - since evaluation and reflection are so important in the process we felt it would be useful to have a day where both staff  and creative practitioners could learn some new skills to help with the documentation of their project.

We had a day of Write-Dance.  This is a programme which originated in Holland - it recognises, and tries to help, those children who have difficulty in some fine motor skills which inhibit writing development.

We also had a day entitled 'Teach Me if You Dare!' with behavioural psychologist Rob Long,  who introduced us to some strategies to use with unmotivated children.

Photo by Alex Hallowes

'A person without imagination is like a tea bag without hot water.'