REPORTS ON GRANTS AWARDED
A selection of recent grant recipients – April 2015
SEVERN WYE ENERGY AGENCY
£3,000
This
Gloucester-based
charity
delivered the Energy Detectives
project
in
five
Gloucestershire
primary schools. ‘Energy Detectives’
was a 12-month package of support
for the schools, raising awareness of
energy and climate change issues.
Following workshops to give the
project’s context and the introduction
of ‘school energy diary’ software, an
eco-team of pupils did a survey of
each school premises, presented their
findings and recommendations to the
whole school and the governors, and
delivered
energy
awareness
campaigns. The schools were also
given resources for pupils to take
home to share with families. The programme gave pupils with the chance to apply
key numeracy, literacy and IT skills in a real world context.
SCOTSWOOD NATURAL COMMUNITY GARDEN
£8,871
A grant to this Newcastle upon Tyne charity in September 2013 was used to
employ two part-time education officers to help six primary schools set up and
run their Forest Schools in a very urban area of Newcastle. Each school
developed its programme in a different way, and 350 pupils have benefited
across the six schools. The project created such a buzz that many other schools
have approached the community garden for Forest School sessions and training.
The charity believes the project has significantly changed the way children are
educated in the west of Newcastle, ensuring that outdoor learning is now a
significant part of their school experience.
ARKWRIGHT SCHOLARSHIPS
£10,000
Following
the
Trustees’ decision in
2013 to award a grant
for five years, in
October 2014 Patrick
Maclure,
the
ECT
Education
Trustee
attended the Awards
Ceremony - one of his
final
visits
before
retiring as a Trustee.
Ernest Cook Arkwright
Scholarships
were
awarded to Morgan
Cumiskey from St
Colmans College, Henry Hick from Dean Close School, Lana Kernan from St
Patrick’s Academy, Robbie Sewell from The Perse School and Luke Waldock from
The Leys School. Arkwright Scholars are selected for their potential as future
engineering leaders. Scholarships support STEM students through their sixth form
studies with an annual financial award to each scholar and their school, as well as
a range of activities such as mentoring and industry visits. The scholarships are
highly regarded by universities and industry.
MONIACK MHOR CREATIVE WRITING CENTRE
£3,100
This
charity
in
the
Scottish
Highlands runs a variety of creative
writing courses. The Written World
project involved nine to 11-yearolds from primary and specialist
schools in the Highlands, in two
weeks of workshops. In the morning
children went on a guided walk in
the
nearby
Abriachan
Forest,
accompanied
by
an
outdoor
education leader and a writing
tutor, an established author. They
learned about life in the forest,
including birdcalls, reading animal
tracks and pond-dipping. In the
afternoon the group had a creative
writing workshop using stimuli from the morning. Exercises evoked ideas for
poems, short stories, group stories and riddles. The children’s work was collected
and collated into an anthology, every group receiving at least one copy. The
project was a tremendous success.
ST THOMAS MORE CATHOLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL
£1,850
An award in October 2012 to this school in Chatham was used to develop a Forest
School. The school bought wet weather clothing so that the children can go
outside come rain or shine. The children installed a living willow arch at the
entrance to the Forest School and used willow rods to make into baskets and sun
catchers.
ROATH PARK PRIMARY SCHOOL
£1,950
An ECT grant in December 2013 paid for a member of staff
to take Level 3 Forest School training, as well as providing
items to set up a Forest School in local woodland. As a
result, the school now has planned outdoor learning
sessions every week throughout the year. The teacher has
also set up a ‘mud kitchen’ in the school grounds, creating
a space where children throughout the school can take part
in outdoor lessons. As a result of this success, the school is
planning a willow-weaving project, and is developing
literacy and numeracy opportunities outdoors.
OXFORDSHIRE NATURE CONSERVATION FORUM
£1,757
This Defra-recognised organisation (now called Wild Oxfordshire), one of 48 local
nature partnerships in England, promotes and increases the quality and resilience
of the natural environment of Oxfordshire. An ECT grant in February 2014
contributed towards staff time and activities for two events which aimed to
enthuse children aged four to 11 about their natural environment. One event at
the Oxford University Natural History Museum gave the children close-up
glimpses of wild creatures in the company of experts. The second, an entirely
new venture for the organisation, was held in Bicester. There the children were
involved in ‘bush-beating’ for insects, a mini Forest School and bug hotel making;
they also encountered owls, bats, spiders and crayfish. Feedback from local
environment groups was so good that the organisation is continuing with the two
events in 2015.
CARTER COMMUNITY SCHOOL
£2,000
A grant in June 2013 helped
this mixed secondary school
in Dorset deliver a crosscurricular project for Year 9
students, inspired by T E
Lawrence and his cottage at
Clouds Hill. Working with
artists, students undertook
two days of creative enquiry
with archaeologists and a
Jordanian
school,
who
shared their knowledge of
Lawrence
and
Arabian
architecture. Students used
the knowledge to design and
build a unique and inspiring structure, an illuminated castle on the hill behind the
cottage. Some students worked with a musician and storyteller on a short
choreographed shadow performance, which was staged behind the illuminated
castle walls.
BURWELL VILLAGE COLLEGE PRIMARY SCHOOL
£1,263
A grant in December 2013 allowed this Cambridgeshire school to transform a
disused area into an interactive wildlife garden where pupils can explore bees,
butterflies, beetles and birds in their natural habitats. One of the most exciting
projects was a bughouse of recycled items – children used pallets to create the
layers, adding bits of old piping, bamboo canes, rocks, moss, bark and twigs. An
insect and plant observatory was also created, and a window planter allows the
children to see how plants grow above and below ground, as well as insects and
worms living in the soil.
BIRKENHEAD HIGH SCHOOL ACADEMY
£1,301
An ECT grant enabled this Wirrall girls’ school
to create a mosaic featuring historical figures
relating to STEM subjects outside its
technology block. A mosaic of Ernest Cook is
being
incorporated
to
represent
his
commitment to education and interest in the
decorative arts and buildings. STEM students
enhanced
their
skills
in
maths,
art,
technology, history and science as well as
improving their research and communication
skills by working on the mosaic. Teachers
worked with the pupils in the areas of art,
technology and maths, while a member of the
support staff, who previously specialised in producing mosaic, has overseen the
production of the mosaics. The grant, awarded in December 2013, was used to
purchase mosaic tiles and materials.
THAMES21
£8,500
Over the past two
years,
waterways
charity
Thames21
has given young
people opportunities
to
take
practical
action
and
learn
more about the river
on the River Shuttle.
A
grant
in
September
2013
contributed towards
the River Education
for
Life
project,
which
raised
awareness of rivers
and aquatic nature
in
local
areas,
strengthened literacy and numeracy skills and gave schools confidence to use
their local environment as a teaching resource. Main activities were river dipping,
allowing children to discover various fish and macro-invertebrates; water quality
testing, showing how water chemistry can affect wildlife; litter surveys to
illustrate the problems litter causes river wildlife; and ecology walks, showing
how people have an impact on the waterways through littering, misconnected
plumbing or use of surface drains to dispose of chemicals. Supporting Thames21
is very grateful for the generous support of funders such as the ECT which
enables the organisation to work with students and teachers, to change existing
attitudes to London’s tributaries.
YDANCE
£1,500
A grant in December 2013
went towards the second year
of a choreographic project in
partnership
with
Scottish
Ballet, leading up to the
Commonwealth Youth Dance
Festival in 2014. 40 aspiring
choreographers from across
Scotland
were
assigned
professional choreographers
as personal artistic mentors,
allowing them to broaden
their creative and technical
skills.
The
project
also
supported up to 12 young
choreographers
to
create
their own dance piece for the
festival.
For
many
participants this was the first opportunity to control the entire creative process by
selecting music, choosing performers and making their own choreography.
HALF MOON
£9,470
An ECT grant allowed this east London theatre to work with 300 primary
schoolchildren in Tower Hamlets and Southwark to develop their understanding of
numbers and mathematical skills through drama and storytelling. The workshops
took the children on an imaginative journey with familiar fairy tale narratives and
hands-on encounters with mathematical problems and scenarios. Teachers were
invited to a professional development day at the theatre to help embed the use of
drama into other curriculum subjects. One teacher said: “It has been great
working with Half Moon Theatre. I really enjoyed the story aspect and the strong
link to solving mathematical problems. I think this is a fantastic approach to
engage and motivate children in problem-solving.”
STEPNEY CITY FARM
£8,500
This charity is an important green
space, education hub and haven of
biodiversity in built-up Tower Hamlets,
and its education programme works
with youngsters up to 25. A grant in
September 2013 allowed the charity
to deliver 20 environmental education
workshops to 13 primary schools –
one school was able to sow wheat,
harvest and process it and then bake
bread rolls to eat with jam from plums
grown on the farm. The farm also ran
a summer gardening school for eight
to 12-year-olds where children sowed
seeds, weeded, watered and planted
out chard seedlings, harvested potatoes, tomatoes, beans, salad and herbs,
collected eggs and fed the animals.
ACADEMY OF ST MARTIN IN THE FIELDS
£6,000
In the summer of 2014, the Academy took the Create, Cultivate, Orchestrate
project to Newham thanks to ECT’s grant, in an initiative to encourage young
instrumental, creative and performing talent. The orchestra’s musicians and
young musicians from Newham formed a new creative ensemble, which spent
three days rehearsing, improvising and composing together. Four Academy
musicians and an experienced workshop leader worked with 72 young musicians
from three secondary schools in ensembles to create their own work through
reimagining Piazzolla’s Winter in Buenos Aires. From these workshops, the
Academy produced a more intensive three-day project where 26 young musicians
formed a creative orchestra. The young musicians learnt about Vivaldi’s Four
Seasons, observing the Academy musicians perform the work before creating
their own compositions inspired by the pieces. The project had a great impact on
everyone involved. As a result of the project the students were motivated to be
part of a school ensemble, teachers received professional development training
and inspiration for their teaching practice, and Academy players were able to
mentor and support young musicians, all at different stages of their musical
development.
CONTACT
£3,500
Thanks to an ECT grant in February 2014,
this theatre in Manchester ran a schools
engagement programme alongside its
biennial international festival, Contacting
the World. 162 students aged 11-14 from
five schools worked with the artistic
facilitator to create a new piece of drama.
The workshops, developed with teachers,
were
creatively
stimulating
and
complemented the curriculum. The schools
spent half a day in the main theatre
space, learning about lighting and sound.
Each school was also offered two
workshops during the festival week, one
with their twinned international company
and one with another company involved in
the festival. These workshops consolidated
students’ learning and gave them firsthand experience of new theatre skills.
FOTOSYNTHESIS
£8,500
This community interest company delivered 48 photography and art workshops in
seven primary schools across Lambeth. The workshops helped the children
understand mathematical concepts, particularly shape and measurement. The
company worked closely with teachers to ensure the project met challenges
relating to teaching of key mathematical concepts in Year 4, including units of
measure, angles of symmetry, perspective and 2D and 3D shapes. Children made
pinhole cameras, took part in maths treasure hunt activities and explored 3D
shapes through making polyhedrons from flat pieces of card. They built a visual
reference library of mathematical and geometrical concepts, which has been
published in a resource book to be distributed to the participating schools. The
book and teacher training will be made available to schools all around London.
BRADFORD ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION TRUST
£5,807
The Trust manages a 22-acre broadleaf
woodland which it is keen to develop for
community use, particularly for schools. An
ECT grant in September 2013 allowed the
Trust to run a programme of 20 free taster
sessions for five schools, two pupil referral
units and a children’s centre. School
activities included pond-dipping, bird box
building
and
biological
sampling
techniques, while young people from the
pupil referral units took part in a range of
Forest School activities including carving
workshops,
fire
workshops,
outdoor
cooking and shelter building. The children
from the centre were involved in
environmental art workshops, looking at
natural materials and an evening bat walk.
Feedback has been excellent; the Trust has already booked some of them for
repeat sessions and has had interest from three new schools.
PEGASUS
£4,500
The schools engagement
programme used drama,
story and creativity to
develop students’ literacy
skills at six primary and
two secondary schools in
Oxford.
The
children
discovered stories from
around the world, and
explored their cultures of
origin and what makes a
good story. From this
exploration, they adapted
and scripted a story to be
performed
on
stage.
Professional storytellers looked at the culture of verbal storytelling, and then the
students worked with two artists to explore traditional world stories through
drama with dance, music and circus. Teachers attended a training day with the
artists and tutors who would be working in their schools. After the performances,
tutors held a follow-up session with the class and teacher to help develop the
students’ response to the professional performance. Children’s responses
included: “I always read but it showed me to try different books” and (it was)
“really good because now I find reading fun.”
DURHAM EDUCATION AND WATERSPORTS CENTRE
£7,800
This charity, which has a well-resourced IT suite at Durham Rowing Club,
received a grant in September 2013 for a literacy project which gave 100 children
from seven schools the chance to explore local areas of interest and write
information leaflets including details about the environment and surrounding
countryside. They were shown existing leaflets and encouraged to do their own
research. By choosing the form and content and using language and style
appropriate for the reader, they broadened their vocabulary and used it in
inventive ways. The children also improved their IT skills and knowledge of the
environment, including forestry, rivers and streams, and flora and fauna. The
leaflets included a QR code to allow access to information via mobile phones and
tablets.
CLYDE RIVER FOUNDATION
The Clyde in the Classroom project encouraged
children to learn about and to appreciate the river
as part of their local environment. In 2014 the
foundation worked with 102 classes from 96
primary schools across the River Clyde catchment.
2,744 pupils took ownership of classroom
hatcheries to raise brown trout from eggs to fry
before releasing them into the wild. Each class was
assigned its own scientist who visited each week to
answer children’s questions. Pupils were entirely
responsible for ensuring conditions in the
hatcheries mimicked those of a healthy river while
the fish developed. From temperature control to
removal of dead eggs, they worked around-theclock to care for the trout. The foundation
developed a website and interactive blog as an
£8,500
additional learning tool for creative writing and as a means for classes to interact.
A teacher said: “The whole project has been a fantastic learning opportunity.”
EDWARD BARNSLEY TRUST
£30,000
The Trustees gave a grant over three years in March
2014 to continue their support of this Trust, based
at Froxfield, Hampshire. The Edward Barnsley Trust,
which has been supported by the ECT since 1988,
teaches traditional craftsman cabinetmaker skills to
aspiring furniture makers. Training is overseen by a
craftsman-tutor, leading apprentices through a
carefully-planned syllabus to give them all the
necessary skills to become the craftsmen of the
future. Two foundation apprentices were chosen for
2014. They followed a set programme of pieces
guided by the craftsman-tutor, starting with making
pieces by hand before being introduced to machine
work and making more technically-challenging pieces. Apprentices spend around
1,100 hours at the bench, becoming both quick and accurate furniture-makers.
All the work has to meet the Barnsley standard because it is sold from the Trust’s
showroom.
ST FRANCIS CATHOLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL
£2,500
This school in Ascot was awarded a grant in October 2013, enabling the school to
develop pupils’ creative skills and strengthening links between two local schools.
St Francis and South Ascot primary schools came together in a creative music
project inspired by the Brazilian world cup. 60 children took part in a series of
creative music workshops exploring samba rhythms and salsa dancing,
culminating in a performance. The children also collected recyclable materials to
create a musical sculpture, created flags to represent the qualifying countries and
designed and made carnival headdresses.
PADDOCK JUNIOR AND INFANTS SCHOOL
£1,227
This Huddersfield school worked with the National
Trust to regenerate under-used green space next to
the school grounds, giving a group of children,
dubbed the ‘Paddock Rangers’, the skills to
maintain the area and mentor other classes. 32
Year 5 children first visited a local woodland to
identify wildlife native to the specific area. Wardens
advised on the best types of plants to entice
wildlife, and the children learned safety tips on
handling tools, developed basic coppicing skills and
built new feed tables and houses from recycled
materials. The team sowed the new meadow
garden, learning how to prepare the land and
ensuring that the new seedlings would thrive. Once
the regeneration stage was completed, children
embarked on a creative writing project in the
newly-formed space and became involved in a
summer reading group. Classes have studied biodiversity and looked at diverse
landscape for wildlife, giving them the chance to develop analytical thinking and
to produce graphs and tally charts as well as compiling fantastic writing work
detailing their methods and conclusions.
HOOK INFANT SCHOOL
£2,000
With this grant in October 2013, this Hampshire
school bought ten iPad minis to use across all age
groups, to help teachers meet changes in the
national curriculum. In the previous year, the
school had introduced iPads and laptops into some
lessons, with a remarkable 11 per cent
improvement in Key Stage 1 reading. The new
curriculum requires a shift from operating
computer programmes to programming itself;
reception pupils are already using a basic
programming
application
called
Daisy
the
Dinosaur, in which the children give directions to
the dinosaur and see how she carries them out.
Year 1 children have used iMovie to create basic
movie animation, while the ABCPocket Phonics
application has led to more children passing the phonics screening test. Year 2
children used Lego Movie Maker to create a stop motion picture, drawing a
background for the story, drawing and cutting out characters, writing dialogue in
speech bubbles and producing story boards. The school is currently working with
a local developer to pilot a new maths application.
SELBY HIGH SCHOOL
£2,000
This school in the heart of Selby strives to raise levels of literacy and numeracy.
A grant in June 2013 allowed the ‘Any time is a good time’ project to give
proactive support to students, future students, their siblings and
parents/carers/guardians. Year 8 and 9 students from the high school worked
with the English and maths departments to create and collate 20 learning bags
for parents of Key Stage 2, 3 and 4 pupils to borrow. Children and parents were
shown ways to support and develop literacy and numeracy outside the classroom,
as well as how different activities including art, games and cooking can include
elements of literacy and numeracy. This project was part of the support network
for Key Stage 2 and 3 transition to secondary school, giving parents access to
support for literacy and numeracy in the atmosphere of the primary school rather
than at secondary school, where it might be more difficult to approach the
teacher or arrange a time with them.
CENTRAL SCHOOL OF BALLET
This grant in April 2014 was towards
development of the Satellite School in
Southwark. Central has been delivering
dance workshops to primary school
children in Southwark for several years.
The Satellite School project provides free
after-school ballet classes one evening a
week throughout the year. All classes are
taught by experienced teachers and are
accompanied by live musicians. Central
has also offered two scholarships for
Satellite School students to attend its
summer dance course, giving six to 12year-olds the chance to take part in an
exciting and diverse week of creative
£7,500
dance workshops. This May, Central’s junior school and the Satellite School will
perform a ballet to The Carnival of the Animals by Saint-Saëns at the Shaw
Theatre in London.
MOSAIC
£1,500
An ECT grant in December 2013 allowed this West
Yorkshire charity to involve groups of children
from 11 schools in the Batley/Birstall area with
professional artists, exploring the theme of
‘change’ through activities such as mapping,
print-making, textiles, illustration, photography
and
journal-making.
The
sessions
were
challenging and exciting for the children, who
gained from working with artists and exploring
artistic media in new ways. The activities
expanded on what teachers can normally offer in
the
classroom,
broadening
the
children’s
understanding of what constitutes art. For each
group, sessions with the artists were preceded by
a visit to the Cartwright Hall gallery and workshop
activities. The project leaves teachers with
techniques and ideas to take back to the classroom. As links between the creative
activities and Maths and English worked well, the charity is also bringing science
into the school creative project.
BREDON HANCOCK’S FIRST SCHOOL
£1,100
This village school near Tewkesbury received a grant
in June 2013. The school had just established a
partnership with a school in Tanzania and wanted a
project in which both schools could take part. Children
at Bredon Hancock school were unaware of their own
agricultural heritage and the importance of agriculture
to the rural economy. Bag Gardens - a biodegradable
hessian sack filled with compost and soil with a column
of stones up the middle - were a simple way for
children in the UK to find out about sustainable living.
By growing vegetables in a Bag Garden, pupils found
out about growing plants, composting and healthy
diets. The children worked in small groups to create
the gardens and then as individuals and pairs to
maintain them, and their herbs and vegetables have
been used in cooking activities. The scheme has now
expanded into a whole vegetable plot with the installation of a greenhouse, water
butts and raised vegetable beds. Year 5 have also led a project to develop a ‘bug
hotel’ to encourage the right insects and discourage certain invertebrates from
the vegetables.
ROMAN RIVER MUSIC
£2,500
This charity in Colchester received a grant in August 2013, giving over 600
younger pupils the chance to learn about music and experience the inspiration of
performing live music. An animateur and a singer gave one-day workshops to Key
Stage 1 pupils in five schools. Pupils created a performance piece which they
performed at the Mercury Theatre. The composer James Redwood and a violinist
gave workshops on The Carnival of the Animals to Key Stage 2 pupils in 12
schools, introducing them to the music, instruments and animals. Each class
wrote music in response to the story and all 450 pupils attended a performance
introduced and animated by James Redwood. 100 pupils from four rural primary
schools spent a day at a contemporary art gallery creating art and music inspired
by The Carnival of the Animals, and 35 secondary school students rehearsed and
performed alongside professional musicians as part of the festival programme.
One head teacher wrote: “All the musicians that came were so passionate about
their work and that enthusiasm was infectious. The children had such a unique
experience.”