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THE CHALLENGE OF ENGAGING YOUNG

PEOPLE WITHIN A “COMPREHENSIVE”,


CREATIVE LEARNING MODEL
Isaac Ngugi, Unclassified Arts

In partnership with
Chingford Foundation School,
Scarabeus Theatre &
Creative Partnerships London North
Research dimension mentored by Professor Anna Craft

                        


Introduction:
‘Beyond Flying’ is a case study intended for learning providers, stakeholders,
policy makers and anyone who has an interest in working and consulting with
young people and involve them in decision-making processes. It is based on a
project in which all partners were keen to explore the impact of attending to
aspects of a creative learning project that lay beyond the art form itself (in this
case, a theatrical event based on aerial acrobatics) or even curricula. Of course,
flying is an excellent metaphor for raising aspirations and the project certainly
intended to and succeeded in doing this. However, all the participants in this
project, including the students, were interested in identifying what it is that makes
something ‘take off’, what is it that engages learning (and not just the learning of
a young person) and supports genuinely collaborative learning.

A unique aspect of this case study is that it is written by one of the lead artists
and points to his and colleagues learning and as such, may be useful to creative
practitioners. As partnerships between the creative community and schools and
young people blossom, it is crucial that practitioners find ways of articulating this
process to a wider audience to ensure a productive and critical debate. And with
receptive partners, open to trying new approaches, anything is possible. The
headteacher of the participating school writes:

"The Beyond Flying project had ramifications beyond its immediate point of
delivery. As a head teacher new to the school, keen to promote climate change,
the arrival of Creative Partnerships and Beyond Flying proved serendipitous. It
contributed to improving 'institutional reflexivity' because it encouraged staff and
school structures and systems to move beyond 'silo-driven' approaches. This
managed softening of the limits that schools necessarily have to live and function
within, contributed to humanising further the school culture and ethos. We have
experienced improvements in how students and staff relate to one another,
concomitant improvements in behaviour, a decrease in the 'anti-boffin syndrome'
and an insertion of 'awe and wonder' into some opportunities for learning. This,
for us, made the 'beyond' just as potent as the originality of the 'flying'.

Jocelyn Cunningham
Creative Director, Creative Partnerships London North

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Background and Context:

The “Beyond Flying” project involved a core group of 14 – 16 years olds and
teachers, collaborating with Scarabeus Theatre Company and Unclassified Arts
on a three-month project utilising aerials, physical theatre and drama. The project
intended to develop a model of engagement for young people to explore how
creative practice can play an important role in the development of a
"comprehensive", creative learning model.

The aims of this project were:


o To explore a model of engagement with young people often excluded from
mainstream opportunities that allows them to lead the process themselves
and share learning with peers
o To disseminate this model in a cultural Olympiad event, partnering within a
North London project, to reach those who are interested in a cultural legacy
for London 2012
o To explore with the partner school a model for a “comprehensive ethos”, with
students deliberately selected from a broad range of age, gender, socio-
economic background, ethnicity, educational aspirations and achievement

This notion of a comprehensive ethos was a value shared by both the school and
Creative Partnerships London North, examining how a school and an arts
organisation can learn and work together, in the broader context of partnership,
as summarised in the Figure below devised by Jeffery (2005).

Figure I: “Shift from commissioning model to Partnership model.”

One partner Shared control


has control
non-negotiated approaches negotiated
lack of shared vision vision shared
resource to one partner resource shared
meaning for one partner meaning co-constructed

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The school and artists wanted the students to value the learning that arises from
working through differences, be it either age, friendship or peer group. In the first
meeting between the head teacher, Creative Partnerships and the artists, the
head teacher spoke of wanting to see:

“…teachers and pupils sharing creative experiences, developing a shared


language of involvement…getting out of the comfort zone where people are just
coasting and people finding their voice. I would love to challenge the notion that
creativity is just for special people who are hippies…”
(Isaac Ngugi, field notebook, page 21, February, 2008)

For a project to have a “comprehensive ethos”, there needs to be a culture of


inclusion in the curriculum that enables young people to reach toward and
beyond their potential, whilst being aware of both their qualities and their areas of
weakness.

A comprehensive ethos also means that young peoples’ participation in an


activity involves making key decisions at the heart of the project. From
government strategy to research and practice literature, it is widely recognised
that young people have a right to be heard and take part in decision-making
processes that affect them. The Department of Children Schools and Families
states:

“By children’s and young people’s participation we mean adults working with
children and young people to ensure that their views are heard and valued in the
taking of decisions which affect them, and that they are supported in making a
positive contribution to their school and local community.”
(DCSF May 2008)

Taking this ideal further, the comprehensive ethos incorporates a whole-school

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approach in all its activity. Ideally this would not only include teachers and pupils,
but also all staff, parents and the surrounding community. Geoff Whitty says:

“A school cannot be considered truly comprehensive if particular social groups


are effectively excluded from its benefits, either by choice or by default.”
(Whitty 2005)

“Beyond Flying” was a creative learning project looking at process rather than
product, where the students would be empowered to make key decisions and
take responsibility of their learning. It was intended that the project would set
hurdles for all personally involved and would impact on the whole school
community (including caretaker, teachers, families etc).

This view really interested me; for the past fifteen years I have been teaching
drama and physical theatre and believe that the performing arts are an effective
way to develop people both individually and collectively. This work can give
people tools of empowerment both in and out of school that can benefit
themselves and others, whilst also celebrating the diversity and creativity of
these communities.

Writing this case study has offered me the opportunity to enhance my own
reflection methodology and to explore impact on my own teaching pedagogy. The
case study itself focuses on the relationships between teachers, the artists and
students in this setting, and the various strategies adopted to communicate and
engage with the young people. It analyzes data collected to examine the
challenges in fostering engagement in the project, from the perspectives of those
involved, especially pupils and teachers.

I used a Harvard University protocol adapted by McCormick (2007) designed to


encourage arts-based reflection in educational settings; the Pathway to
Participation model posited by Shier (2000) that examines the process of

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increasing empowerment and responsibility in young people; and finally “Defining
The Potential of Pupil Consultation” model pioneered by Jean Rudduck et al
(2001) that looks at the different benefits of pupil involvement and participation.

What actually took place?


In the Spring of 2008, the school advisor from the Local Authority, the Creative
Director of Creative Partnerships London North and the new Head teacher of a
northeast London secondary school held a series of discussions on the potential
of a range of creative learning models that could address the emerging Cultural
Olympiad Festival in north London. The Head teacher had previously been active
in Creative Partnerships Thames Gateway.

The school has a nationally high number of Special Educational Needs students
(4%) and provides 6th Day Provision for students from across the borough.
Although the school has a stronger than average number of students achieving A
to C’s than many in the borough, the head teacher recognised a high level of
passive learning and wished to ‘broaden the pedagogy’ in the school through a
variety of approaches. The school is also very committed to combining Sports
and Arts providing a coherent model of dynamic and imaginative teaching and
learning that attracts full participation from the local community.

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The project started in the Easter break 2008, with 25 pupils from Year 10 and 12.
The initial work incorporated drama, conflict resolution and group dynamic
exercises so that the participants could establish ground rules and look at the
expectations of the project and each other. With the summer term the aerial
practice started, with students becoming proficient in putting on the harnesses
and progressing in swinging, spinning, ascending and performing choreography.
The pupils developed themes for the theatrical piece, challenging the typical
stereotypes of young people, touching on aspects of bullying and relationships.
They devised drama and stage fighting scenes, creating material that formed the
basis for the aerial choreography. Intensive rehearsals were followed by two
shows at the school as well as one public show at the Festival River Lee, an
Olympic Sports and Culture Festival.

Pivotal in the set-up and running of the project was the input of the creative agent
from Creative Partnerships London North. He not only managed this project, but
also was also the’“connector’ between the artists, partner organisations, the
school and students in a responsive rather than a prescriptive ‘tried and tested’
way. Some of the challenges of being a ‘connector’ were:

“…building robust and responsive relationships between the artists and


schools…keeping everybody on track so that we fulfilled our intentions and the
outcomes of the project, and making sure everybod’s’ experiences especially the
young people was valued, captured and fed back into the process. “
Phone conversation with creative agent 28th September 2008.

The art teacher and head of Arts & Humanities faculty, volunteered for the
project, along with English and Drama teacher. As coordinators, they worked on
a comprehensive approach to the recruitment process of the students:

“Initially all students were asked to volunteer for participating in the project and

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then the coordinators worked with subject tutors and personal tutors to identify
and approach students “who wouldn’t normally put their hand up”. This led to an
individual and flexible selection process and resulted in having students ranging
from gifted and talented, to students who were dealing with issues of self-esteem
and bullying to students who were considered at risk or who had already been
excluded.”
River Lee programme description, written by creative agent 27th April 2008

The coordinators joined the planning and implementation team ensuring the
project was viable in the daily operation of the school. They were present in
every session, offering insights into the work created and tracking how students
responded and developed through the work.

“And you actually said to us…that we were like, kinda in charge…we had a bit
more power than we realised.” Year 10 pupil

. In addition, students facilitated a workshop on youth peer to peer creative


practice at a conference during the Festival River Lee entitled The Cultural
Olympiad: Engaging young people through arts and sport.

The conference provided the opportunity for students to share the process of
“Beyond Flying” with participants presenting drama sequences about aspects of
the project that did not work. The workshop ended with the participants
developing a “good practice guide for working with young people”, with the pupils
as their consultants. Students were invited to join a panel discussion looking at
what would engage young people in arts and sports activities.

Below is a model that aims to capture our aspirations in “Beyond Flying” (Figure
II). The students in the middle are the primary focus. The rest of the model
illustrates the development of “Beyond Flying” as the artists, school and Creative
Partnerships discover the potential reach of the work.

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REFLECTIONS ON PRACTICE AND PROCESS

The challenges of taking flight:


Throughout the whole process there was ongoing reflection and evaluation by
students, teachers and artists. Sometimes it was ad-hoc through informal chat.
Soon after the workshops began, I asked one of the coordinators how they felt:

“I feel relieved. The recruitment has finished with the majority on board, and we
have managed to cross year groups as well as friendship and relationship
groups. I feel that I have finished the first mountain; now there is the second
mountain with logistics, transport and the timetable.”
(taken from Isaac Ngugi, field notebook, page 52, May, 2008)

Some of the reflection involved more explicit processes to surface perspectives.

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The same day that I had spoken with the coordinator above, I introduced a
process called “Where you at?” to consult the young people and staff around the
issues of where they felt they were in the project. A simple reflection tool, it
involved all pupils and teachers in one group looking back on the journey so far,
mentioning any highlights and/or lowlights and the potential impact of doing this
work. The aspects of physical and mental exertion, together with overcoming
obstacles were a big feature for the majority of pupils:

“For me it is the opportunity to try new things. At the beginning I was so much
more scared. It is hard to explain but this is more of an experience that will help
later in life and will create more options for you in the future.”

“I still have fear of loss of power. There is also the thing of trusting the team and
them relying on you. A big responsibility. They have to allow you in and you are
allowing people in.”

“Mentally difficult. Pushing past barriers and having to throw yourself in. You feel
happy for doing something to get past those barriers.”

For the teachers and artists, it was seeing individuals forming into a group and
progress in the activities together:

“I have been really pleased because you have connected as a team. But when I
am not in the sessions I feel like have missed out.”

“I feel exhilarated too. You are all very committed and I’m amazed with what you
are doing and that you have learned to do the harnesses. When we were setting
up I said to you all “what are you waiting for? Do the warm up. And you did it.
And you remembered.”
(in conversation with artist Isaac Ngugi, field notebook, page 53-5, May, 2008)

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And as we were to find out in this project, there was also some valuable learning
when things do not go so well.

Pastel drawing of “Beyond Flying Students by A level art students.

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LANDING WITH A SPLAT! THE EGGY MESS EXERCISE:

This exercise was a turning point in the As the session progressed, the creative agent and teacher offered the
“Beyond Flying” project for both adults and following observation:
students. In this session I had to “We also need to get into what did not work in this project…they like
completely abandon plans and be open to you, so they won’t just tell you…you have to give them permission to.
the demands of the situation. The ensuing Invite them…”
result was to bring about a positive change creative agent & teacher, from Isaac Ngugi Reflection notes P4 May
in the students’ experience of the project, 2008.
as they began to feel empowered with a What were the bits of work that switched them off? Which part did not
direct voice in how the project developed. make sense? At what point did the work feel like an Eggy Mess?

This was their opportunity to give the adults feedback.


“Conclusions in the Eggy Mess exercise written by pupils.”

After some cajoling I had asked


them to discuss amongst
themselves those moments and
create drama scenes. The scenes,
looking at the devising process and
warm-ups were funny, humbling
and accurate. They then scribed
their conclusions (left & next page).
“It was the first time anyone who has taught me has “I learnt not to take myself too seriously, and
how I should adapt my language that will
said
ensure the young people are engaged.”
‘I want you to tell me where I went wrong’” artist after watching sketches.

The exchange between adults


and pupils got lively, but
reached a consensus with
acknowledging that it is how
we communicate, and not
what is asked of them that
influence how engaged pupils
feel in the activity.

“In whichever context information is elicited


from the pupils, they need to feel relaxed
enough to respond thoughtfully and openly to
the issues presented to them, not felt to be
judged and to believe that their responses will
be taken seriously.”
(Macbeath et al, 2001 p.80)

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This part of the process was challenging for the practitioners. There must be
flexibility in workshop delivery and a priority to continually put the young people
first, regardless of previous plans or successful work. And here the intervention of
the creative agent and teacher was key, playing the crucial role of critical friend.
They posed the challenging question of what was really happening in the space?

Students frequently know the ‘right’ thing to say to the teacher/practitioner; even
if it is something they do not really believe. With each exercise they know what is
expected from them even if it really does not interest them. Young people can
coast through any exercise and ‘go through the motions’. And they can also
identify (and for me this is the most significant point) and see through the various
strategies adults use to engage young people.

The Eggy Mess exercise helped to give the young people confidence to take
more responsibility, and to feel more personally involved. Encouraging the pupils
to talk openly went some way towards bringing back pupils with an added sense
of ownership of the work, a principle emphasized by Ruddock and Flutter:

“Being consulted can help pupils feel that they are respected as individuals and
as a body within the school, that they belong, and that they are being treated in
an adult way. Pupils who are at risk of disengaging may come back on board if
they think that they matter to the School.”
(Rudduck and Flutter, page 1, 2001)

Drawing on Shier’s model below (Figure III) we can see the different stages the
pupils went through during this exercise. The first 3 stages (listening to children;
supporting children in expressing their views; having their views taken into
account) were all carried out within the Eggy-mess exercise.

Figure III: Levels of participation

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(5) Children share power and
responsibility for decision-making

(4) Children are involved in the


decision-making process Increasing empowerment
and responsibility
(3) Children’s views are taken
into account

(2) Children are supported in


expressing their views

(1) Children are listened to

Drawing on Shier model of participation (2001)

However it is also of the utmost importance that the young people feel that
something practical is done about it and that their views and suggestions are
acted upon. This is where the remaining stages (4 & 5) of involvement and
shared-ownership in decision-making processes come in. This means that as
practitioners and teachers, we would have to take their comments on board.

Up, up and away: What did we see, think and wonder?

Using the “See Think and Wonder” protocol (McCormick adapted from Project
Zero, Harvard University, 2007) was a good way for both teachers and artists to
observe and evaluate the activity as well as uncovering and recording their
thinking. It was one of the tools used to look at the enquiry of how young people
engage and what the challenges to this engagement are. What follows is one
example, where I asked one of the artists what do you see, what do you think
about that and what did it make you wonder?
Activity: Pupils flying on the aerials
Responding creative partner from Scarabeus
1. What do you see?
Seeing people happily engaged completely. Seeing them trying hard to sort out
how to do their flying. I can see they love flying and they have good movement.

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2. What do you think about that?
There is a dramatic improvement in their overall approach. They now have an
ability to help each other and are now trying to find their way to make action.
3. What does it make you wonder?
What did we do in this instance to make them engage? What makes them want
to help each other? I have also observed a re-definition of roles. How does that
happen?

For me what surfaced overall from using this tool was how it was beneficial for
artists and teachers to stop thinking about the project in its entirety and observe
what was happening at that moment. Having this snapshot while the activity was
happening produced questions for us. By sharing these questions and our
responses to them, we could monitor and develop a collective approach to the
work. Having aims for the sessions and noting what we all achieved was one
thing, but the process and journey that got us all to this point had:
o Artists and staff working intuitively as workshop plans changed
o Adults modelling the activity that was expected
o Adults giving pupils both responsibility and space to play with their ideas

Building on a comprehensive ethos

“Beyond Flying” provided many opportunities outside of the core group of pupils.
The Year 10 music pupils composed and performed material based on
observations of the physical theatre workshops (with one pupil actually
participating and contributing in the drama sessions). Year 12 A level art students
observed and sketched the pupils using a variety of equipment and artistic styles
from life drawing to cubism.

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Year 12 A level Art student

A coordinator took one of the conflict resolution models used and worked with
Year 8 English pupils, adapting the exercise enabling the pupils to write poetry. In
all of these instances this work was linked directly to their expected curriculum
outputs. Year 12 media students filmed the process of “Beyond Flying” giving the
pupils added experience of filming and editing.

Year 12 media students filming the aerial work


Smaller spin-off projects involving other pupils and having them contribute to the
project also ensured that there was a wider reach of the project’s impact, and
with this a greater sense of legacy once the project was complete.

Pupils’ contribution
There are of course many benefits to encouraging pupils’ input, not just for a
creative comprehensive ethos model, but also for all teaching and learning. To

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illustrate the impact of such consultation on the “Beyond Flying” project I would
like to examine a model (Figure IV) posited by The Network Project”, a research
and development initiative on Consulting Pupils About Teaching and Learning
pioneered by J Rudduck et al (ERSC 2001-3).

Figure IV: Defining The Potential of Pupil Consultation

PUPIL CONSULTATION

yields a practical agenda strengthens pupil self-esteem


and respect

which leads to

ENHANCED COMMITMENT TO LEARNING AND TO SCHOOL

which is sustained by

transformation of teachers’ knowledge of pupils


(greater awareness of pupils’ insight and capacity for
constructive analysis)

which in turn leads to positive changes in

pedagogy teacher-pupil
relationships

Whilst the model above is self-explanatory, I would like to highlight the facet of
“positive changes in pedagogy”. As a practitioner I have been working with young

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people for nearly 15 years and have learnt that if you give students a platform
and tools to use true interpersonal dialogue, you can have an exchange that is
rich and informative. And it is this “exchange” that not only serves the project and
the school as a whole, but also my whole teaching practice and methodology.

Picture drawn by pupil RA

When working on a project that is on this scale with its many outcomes, it is
possible for practitioners to lose sight of what it is they need in terms of
professional development. I have taught on projects where I have only focused
on the needs of the students. But this pupil consultation (along with the
established working framework of this project) has enabled a reflection on my
own practice. Was I just on autopilot? Do I have a tendency to make devising
neat and link up when it doesn’t have to? Could I have reframed that question

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better? For me, having this dialogue is important to empower young people by
enhancing our collective understanding of the process of learning.

Conclusion
The impact of “Beyond Flying” not only reverberates through the core group of
pupils but throughout the school as a whole. Creative Partnerships asked the
pupils to write blogs so that thoughts and experiences were shared with the
group, school and community. Friendships and relationships are now forged
between pupils that would have been impossible months ago:

“I liked working with six formers because you don’t usually work with them sort of
people. There’s like this fear, with “Year 12, scary,” and “Year 10, they are still in
normal school. And now N is now a close friend” Year 10 pupil

This success was also based on the practitioners and teachers open to each
other and pupils’ responses; constantly reviewing the work carried out and
reflecting on their own and collective practices putting the students and their
engagement as a first priority:

“If I am to be a good role model, I can surprise them in a positive way, that will
help engage them and make the work personal to them.” artist

It was building an atmosphere of trust and taking a keen interest in the young
people that enabled them to take responsibility in the project and articulate what
they wanted to say:

“It was an opportunity for a group of young people to express what they feel
about society at that time. We learned to become more responsible and how to
express our views in a totally unique way.” A, R blog

“ I used to be a passive learner.” - Student participating in a panel on youth voice

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at SeeChange, a conference for creative practitioners, July 08

Recommendations (for schools) :


This comprehensive ethos model worked because school staff involved were
willing to seize opportunities for themselves and their pupils and were prepared
to take on this extra work on top of other responsibilities. There are a few factors
that enabled the school to achieve this:

o The head teacher’s vision of how a “comprehensive ethos” can work in his
school and shared ideology with Creative Partnerships London North
o The head not imposing his vision but offering it to interested staff. This meant
that the lead coordinators volunteered to take on the project, sharing values
and principles on how this project could be achieved
o Having someone in the role of creative agent who can maintain an overview
of its whole structure and have an understanding of effective partnership
working between school and artist
o To have the creative agent, artists and staff examine the school’s capacity to
implement a creative learning project, and the commitment to resolve
logistical issues (i.e. pupil recruitment, timetabling, space)
o Ongoing evaluation: having an exercise like Eggy Mess can help to gauge
young peoples’ involvement. While there are indicators that can show
superficial engagement in young people, it is crucial to question young people
directly and take observations on board

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Recommendations for artists/practitioners
o In this project young people engaged in activities where facilitators related to
them in meaningful ways and tried to understand their feelings
o Sometimes you may have to abandon plans (regardless of time spent on
them)
o Be prepared for what the young people have to say, and if you can, act on it
so that they can see that their input has impact
o Investigate evaluations tools in different forms (be it active, written, drawn etc)
as they are useful in investigating what worked and what did not. The findings
that are negative can be a unique source for overall learning. Discovering
what did not work served as a catalyst for this project to improve and move
ahead.
o Value genuine partnership. Make sure that the roles of both the artists and
teachers are clear. Having teachers in on sessions is not just for child
protection. They bring knowledge of the students and can have skills that can
complement and deepen the work. And this partnership can have a further
legacy as it informs collective practice.
o Consider how the product can best the serve the process and not the other
way round. The emphasis on process rather than product consistently ran
through the whole teaching team, which was at times difficult, as you want to
showcase what has really happened.

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References:
A R. (2008), Pupil blog “Beyond Flying” project, June 2008
Department of Children Schools and Families (DCSF) (2008), ”Drawing on Shier”
(2001) model taken from Working Together: Listening to the voices of young
people and children London: DCSF
E G. (2008), Pupil Blog, “Beyond Flying” project, June 2008
Hargreaves D.H. (1982) The Challenge for the Comprehensive School: Culture,
Curriculum and Community London, Routledge & Kegan Paul
Jeffery, G. (Ed) (2005). The Creative College. Stoke on Trent: Trentham Books.
  Macbeath J., Myers K. & Demetriou H., (2001) Supporting Teachers in
Consulting Pupils about Aspects of Teaching and Learning, and Evaluating
Impact. FORUM, Volume 43, No. 2, p.78-82
Rudduck J & Flutter J (2001) Consulting Young People In Schools, Homerton
College Cambridge: Economic & Social Research Council,
Rudduck J., Arnot M., Fielding M., Macbeath J., McIntyre D., Myers K. & Reay
D., Figure 7 (2001-3) Consulting Pupils about Teaching and Learning. Teaching
& Learning Research Programme/Economic & Social Research Council
http://www.tlrp.org/proj/pdf/Rudduckposter.pdf 8th July 2008
Shier H (2001) Fig.3 Pathways to Participation: Children and Society Vol 15 107
Whitty G (2005) “Comprehensives”, Tuesday 19th April 2005, London: Guardian
News & Media Ltd

Further Reading:
Richard Ings has written a case study on peer to peer youth voice that in part
refers to Beyond Flying within a set of case studies from all London Creative
Partnerships available from A New Direction, Discover, 1, Bridge Terrace,
Stratford, London E15 4BG.

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Creative Partnerships London North
Creative Partnerships is the Government's flagship creative learning
programme. We aim to develop the creativity of young people, teachers and
schools, transforming their aspirations and achievements. Since April 2004,
Creative Partnerships London North has worked to create a climate in which
sustainable and creative change can happen. It has done this by exploring
opportunities for the development of ideas with participants at the centre of their
own learning; and engaging young people, teachers, support staff, headteachers,
families and communities in partnership with creative individuals and creative
and cultural organisations.

Writer: Isaac Ngugi works as a creative arts specialist and is a founder partner
of Unclassified Arts, an award-winning physical theatre company that provides
performance training and arts education worldwide. His work includes designing
and implementing projects through a range of fields including social inclusion,
special needs, youth participation and involvement. For more info please see his
website:www.unclassifiedarts.com

Acknowledgements
Thanks to Charles Rice, the Local Authority Secondary School advisor, Peter
Sinclair (4Greens) and Patricia Cahalane (Lee Valley Festival).
Creative Partnerships London North gratefully acknowledges the immense
contributions of all of the involved students and staff of the secondary school in
‘Beyond Flying’ and the creative partners in Scarabeus and Unclassified Arts.
And grateful thanks to Jonathan Clitheroe for his passionate commitment to
making connections and letting things grow.

A New Direction
In October 2008, the three London Creative Partnerships teams (London East
and South, London North and London West) joined together to become A New
Direction, a new independent organisation delivering Creative Partnerships' three
new programme strands in schools across the capital extending its reach to 21
London boroughs. The organisation is also looking to developing other strands of
work outside of the Creative Partnerships programme.
For more information about A New Direction visit the website:

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www.anewdirection.org.uk

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