St John’s C of E Primary School are looking for a creative practitioner with an affinity for the outdoors to help us explore the following question: ‘How can we develop the use of our outdoor environment to provide exciting, & stimulating experiences for our foundation stage pupils?’ Deadline for proposals Monday 29th November by 5pm About our School St John’s is a primary school that serves a diverse multi-racial and multi-faith community in an area of social and economic disadvantage. The attainment of most pupils on entry to school is well below that expected nationally. The percentage of pupils whose first language is not English is very high and a significant and increasing number start school at an early stage of learning English. We believe St John’s is a learning community in which we work together for excellence and continuous improvement in a stimulating and exciting environment. We encourage independence, personal responsibility and good citizenship within a Christian framework. Our dedicated staff team offer children a broad and balanced curriculum. In addition to gaining language, mathematical, scientific and technological skills, children are encouraged to develop enquiring minds; to question, reason and make decisions. We put great emphasis on the development of social skills and encourage all children to become responsible, confident citizens. We help children to develop high self esteem and to act towards others with care and respect. Ofsted described the school as, “…an outstanding school that provides its pupils with an excellent standard of education. It is accurately described by the head teacher as being an exciting and vibrant school that has energy and vitality.” Project Aims Through our enquiry we would like a Creative Practitioner who has experience of working within early years to work with our children and staff in Nursery to: Develop speaking & listening, encourage conversation and the breadth and depth of language. Start our journey with our practitioner leading some outdoor play, consultation and exploration with staff to get us all ready for action. Develop our confidence and risk taking skills in creating new inventive approaches to outdoor learning. Provide interesting and quirky provocations that motivate and inspire our children & staff. Help us nurture curiosity and intrigue, to have the courage to explore physical environments and to encourage the staff to come out of their comfort zones and flourish through play and curiosity themselves. Develop a process and style of learning that engages and empowers the staff so that we can sustain outdoor learning after the project finishes. Help us create a microcosm of another world and place that provides us with a plethora of opportunity to sustain child led learning through our shared outdoor space. Help us develop the space, the children and adults in becoming a cohesive unit of sustainable and exciting learning. Help us take ownership of our outdoor space to encourage child led learning. Help us use the very little time we have effectively to share ideas and reflect to allow the project to be refined as it unfolds. Project Information Age Group: Nursery pupils Medium: A Creative Practitioner with an affinity for outdoor learning and teaching. Learning objectives: Encourage independent learning. Provide stimulating learning experiences to encourage expressive language. Curriculum Area: To raise the attainment in literacy with an emphasis on speaking and listening. CPD: Deliver CPD to staff through twilight sessions to increase their confidence in using the outdoor space to create exciting and dynamic learning techniques that we can embed within Early Years & Foundation Stage to create a sustainable legacy. Fees There is a budget of up to £4000 (to include staff training, planning, delivery, reflection, evaluation & materials) When Project planning Dec 2010/Jan 2011 Project delivery Spring half term onwards (Mid February – April) with a final showcase/sharing at the end of the project Practitioner requirements In addition we are looking for a creative practitioner who: Is experienced at working within Early Years. Is committed to collaborating with our staff to create a sustainable legacy. Can inspire and motivate our cautious but hardworking adults. Understands where we are and can build on our existing knowledge and good practice by amalgamating their skills and expertise with ours. Is passionate and enthusiastic about working with us and who can make hard work fun! Has a practice that will engage our pupils of all levels and abilities. Application If you would like to work with us on this project then please send: A recent CV. 400 - 600 word proposal stating your skills, how you would approach & deliver this project and why you would like to work with us. Budget breakdown Examples of previous work Details of 2 referees from education providers with whom you have previously partnered. All applicants must have CRB (within last 12 months) and Public Liability Insurance to the value of £5 million Please send application by post to Tania Yasmin, St John’s C of E Primary School, Stratford Road, Sparkhill, Birmingham, B11 4EA or you can email your application to Tania at: t.yasmin@st-johns-pri.bham.sch.uk If you require any further information then contact St John’s Creative Agent Harmeet Chagger-Khan via email: harmeetchagger@yahoo.co.uk Interviews Deadline for applications: Monday 29th November 2010 by 5pm Short listed candidates will be notified by Friday 3rd December 2010 Interviews will take place on Thursday 9th December 2010 Planning: Dec/Jan 2011 Delivery: Mid Feb Onwards If selected for interview you will be asked to show some of your work to 8 of our nursery children (15 mins) followed by a 20 minute interview.
