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Creative Partnerships Celebration at Madley Primary School

Jon — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 15:59:09 +0000

Wellies, treasure and muddy mountain tools

Phase One of Muddy Mountains and the ‘village’ projects came to a conclusion on Thursday.

Practitioners, staff and children spent the day sharing what they had been up to and evaluating their creative journey thus far. Performances, assemblies, demonstrations and lots of cake!

Children who had worked with drama practioners Gemma and Molly revealed the secret ‘village’ hand-shake.

Reception had been working with artist Sally Harper, making huge cardboard houses for their puppet characters to live. The ice-cream factory was immense!

Groups who had worked with Connie and Norm displayed their creative outpourings in one of the classrooms converted into a gallery.

The Mudley News was officially opened and yours truly got to cut the red ribbon! (I don’t think I’ve ever ‘opened’ anything before!) Creative practitioner Denise has been organising the News team into a professional outfit – editors, sub-editors, reporters and even a cartoonist.

The Muddy Mountains Maze was open for business with young tour guides answering visitor questions about the creative process and showing guests around the wooded area.

The children declared that both projects were only a quarter complete, and were bursting with ideas and potential for developing both schemes.

“Never under-estimate mud!” was a relective comment from one of the pupils.

www.madleyprimaryschool.co.uk/

Madley/Mudley?

Jon — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 16:57:00 +0000

The fun continued last week at Madley Primary School in Herefordshire as the Muddy Mountains Maze develops at pace.

Pictured here – ‘treasure’ discovered in the spoil heap.

The Magic of Madley Primary School

admin — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 15:04:00 +0000

I don’t think, in all my years of working in schools, I have ever come across a setting so up for clear blue creative experimentation. Imagine this, two major creative partnerships projects running alongside each other, one for the children (the village) and the other for the staff (muddy mountains). Throw into the mix no less than seven creative practitioners and you begin to get a feel for the innovative and imaginative approach to learning.

The head is keen that a certain amount of cross fertilisation occurs between the two projects, and with so many stakeholders involved, roles and logistics can sometimes be chaotic and blurred. However, the sheer volume of stuff going on makes for an exhilarating and creative atmosphere.

Initially, my role was to instigate the staff project – encouraging the team to design and build their very own ‘muddy mountain’ from two huge spoil heaps on the school field. The physical outcome could take any form, based on their reaction to the material, tools, techniques and environment.

Despite some early wobbles as we all grappled to get to know each other and the open-ended approach to problem solving, a wonderful maze and pod design was taken forward and executed with enthusiasm. It always amazes me how given time a group of individuals can pool their skills and resources to produce a brilliant outcome.

We now have three steel frames on order for the domes and the maze is definitely taking shape. On Thursday the children were invited to start their ‘muddy mountain’ in response to what the staff had produced so far. The children had great fun making a lovely mud chair in the woods, eventually to be housed in one of the pods.

Jon Williams