RSA Education has begun a new partnership with Service Children’s Education, the agency responsible for the children of Ministry of Defence personnel, service and civilian, who are based overseas. SCE currently provides education for over 10,000 pupils in 38 schools in nine countries.
To begin the partnership, I spent two fascinating, inspiring days at JHQ, a garrison in Rheindahlen near Dusseldorf that serves as the central headquarters of the British Forces in Germany. JHQ will close next year, and the start of this process has been wonderfully documented by pupil Callum Kelly through his Gold Arts Award.
We are working with SCE to help them think through their education offer during a time of considerable change for the organisation, and plan some projects that connecting their schools to our work on Opening Minds and the Area-Based Curriculum. This builds on some fantastic work SCE schools did through Creative Partnerships, including this animation that connected primary pupils at St Patrick’s School to their grandparents back in the UK.
Overall, I was struck by both the deep similarities and the subtle but significant differences between SCE schools and schools back here in England. Staff attrition is lower but pupil turnover much higher; teachers are ‘deployed’ as civil servants; headteachers do not have control of their own budgets, but, with the power of Commanding Officers, can issue parking tickets, and are informed immediately if their teachers ever have contact with the Military or host nation’s police!
It is clear that SCE schools are delivering a high quality education for their pupils. Their schools, leaders and teachers have expertise, especially around mobility and bereavement issues, as well as around closing schools properly, that the rest of our system needs to learn from. The Year Six and Eight pupils I spoke to handle their own regular ‘redeployments’ with resilience (as well as with Skype and Facebook). The two schools I visited were a highly creative and clearly deserve their Artsmark Gold awards. Windsor school has taken on the challenge of disconnection and isolation to make sure that, despite being on a garrison, their students experience as many external learning opportunities as possible. Teacher Chris Scholl’s Comenius project has connected pupils to other countries, and to help them explore aspects of their own identities.
The passion that the two remaining JHQ schools showed for ensuring a fantastic final year for their staff and students is extraordinary. The schools wish both to carry on as usual, and mark the end of the schools and JHQ through celebration as a ‘teachable moment’. We are exploring options for a Heritage Lottery Fund project, led by schools, but exploring the history of the whole garrison.
In many ways, SCE operates like an old fashioned local authority, in the best sense of the word. The inspectors and advisers have the up to date knowledge, resources and authority to make a real difference to school improvement. Schools appear to have the autonomy they need to do the job well, without some of the burdens that control over budgets, staffing and governance bring. With a reduction in schools and personnel this may change in the years ahead, and SCE is already thinking deeply and carefully about new structures and partnerships. However, there is something precious and special about the existing infrastructures and relationships, and even some of the quirkier rules and regulations, linked to their ties to the Ministry of Defence. We hope that, in the year ahead, RSA can help SCE and its schools to design their own future, rather than have an outsourced solution thrust upon them.
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Kim Jackaman
Whilst at St Christopher's School I worked closely with Joy Harris and all members of the school staff to introduce the Arts Award for our pupils. This was fantastically successfully - a highlight being 'The Silver Girls' Community Shakespeare Evening with Adam Coleman. The evening was a delight to all those who attended - including His Excellency the Governor of Gibraltar.
We then, as a school went on to achieve our Gold Artsmark, again with the support of Joy Harris, all the staff and our children and parents who all showed great pride in the Arts at St Christophers.
Now at Robert Browning I am hoping that the children here can continue to be as successful in the Arts.
I would also like to say thank you to Joy who really made our Arts provision come alive.
I've been with SCE now for 28 years, all of which
has been spent in Gibraltar and all of which has been spent in St.
Christopher's School. The Arts has always featured high on our agenda
and this became very apparent when past pupils started sending their
memories for inclusion in our closure book and facebook. Past pupils
have commented about all the opportunities they had here to develop
their interests in The Arts. One comment which touched my heart was from
an expupil who fondly remembered how her entire family were involved in
an Old Time Music Hall production where her mum helped with the music,
her dad adopted the role of a 'heckler' in the audience, Gran helped
make the costumes and Lorraine and her sister sang and
acted. Interestingly Lorraine's sister has agreed to sing at our closure
assembly later this month.
A few years ago Joy got together with the Head and
Deputy and introduce into the school the Arts Mark programme, through
their enthusiasm all the staff bought into the idea but more importantly
so did all the children. Through enrichment afternoons and frequent
visitors the last few years have been fantastic and I'm sure memories
will live on for ever in the minds of pupils, parents and staff.
Although the school closure was drawing near, when it was suggested that
St. Christopher's work towards Artsmark in the final year everyone gave
it 100% backing and got to work at once. The hard work was rewarded
and the school achieved Artsmark Gold, an achievement all the pupils are
really proud of and the memories of which they will take with them when
the gates close for the final time.
I personally have many memories which I will take
with me but the one that is foremost in my mind is when the 'Silver
Girls', Joy's term for a group of Y7 pupils, organised a Shakespearean
Evening. Joy had arranged for Adam Colerman Senior Practitioner from the
Globe to present a Shakespeare Workshop in the school. The Silver Girls
organised the entire evening, even down to drawing up a list of invited
guests. At the top of the list was Sir Adrian Johns, His Excellency,
The Governor of Gibraltar. A formal letter inviting Sir Johns and his
wife was sent by the girls, the Governor was so touched by the idea and
interested in the concept of Arts Mark that he accepted the invite,
attended and fully took part in the evening's events.
It's been a pleasure working with Joy, her
enthusiasm for The Arts has certainly rubbed off on me and I look
forward to working wit her again when I move to Germany.
Today was a creative day. Joy Harris, Tori Boyes and I visited a wonderfully creative school; Lauriston Primary School, in Hackney. We accompanied them to their local secondary school for a celebration of the learning related to the Olympic Games and values happening in the local area. It made me want to be in the kind if job that took me to see creative learning all the time. I was able to gather so many ideas. It was a huge reassurance to see that sharing of learning in the creative arts took similar a format to the way we shared our Creative Partnerships experience last year. I teach at Bielefeld School, Germany (SCE) and our Creative Partnerships project 'Dance Ambassadors' developed dance opportunities for our children through work with dance artist Denzil Barnes. At a time of drawdown for SCE, it is important that we connect with arts organisations and schools in the UK to celebrate and share our good practice. Incidentally, I was amazed by Joe's observations in two days with us at SCE. As the school record holder for 'auto' related correspondence, I completely agree that life working in a military environment can be vastly different to life teaching in the UK. Since leaving my previous school, in London, I have been so impressed with the effort SCE staff do to maintain links with organisations and schools in the UK. Our work with Globe Education today and in the past, I feel, is a fine illustration of how good practice in SCE mirrors that of UK schools.
Thanks! I hope you’ll find the Army Childhood book an informative
resource. And I agree with you about @joehallg’s SCE piece.
@ArmyChildren @joehallg Thank you for this link we will be following it. Joe has written an excellent article and captured the SCE spirit.
Today was a creative day. Joy Harris, Tori Boyes and I visited a wonderfully creative school; Lauriston Primary School, in Hackney. We accompanied them to their local secondary school for a celebration of the learning related to the Olympic Games and values happening in the local area. It made me want to be in the kind if job that took me to see creative learning all the time. I was able to gather so many ideas. It was a huge reassurance to see that sharing of learning in the creative arts took similar a format to the way we shared our Creative Partnerships experience last guest. As a teacher at Bielefeld School, Germany (SCE) our Dance Ambassadors project developed dance opportunities for our children through work with dance artist Denzil Barnes. At a time of drawdown for SCE, it is important that we connect with arts organisations and schools in the UK to celebrate and share our good practice. Incidentally, I was amazed by Joe's observations in two days with us at SCE. As the school record holder for auto related correspondence, I completely agree that life working in a military
environment can be vastly different for life teaching in the UK. Since leaving
my previous school, in London, to work for SCE in Germany, I have been so impressed with the work our staff do to maintain links with organisations and schools in the UK. Our work with Globe Education, at the Globe and in the past, at our Professional Development Centre in Bielefeld, I feel, is a fine illustration of
rovided us with further opportunities to share new ideas