Background
Ysgol Trefonnen is a dual stream primary school based in Powys. A class of year 5 & 6 English stream learners were selected to take part.
Prior to starting their project work, the learners had studied key social justice figures such as, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Junior, and Betty Campbell. They had also learned about the Black Lives Matter movement with a focus on diversity, respect, and uniqueness. The learners had also explored broader questions relating to nationality and peace as part of their work on war.
Following on from this initial work, the school wanted to investigate how puppetry combined with digital technologies could further improve the pupils’ understanding, engagement, and awareness of diversity in our evolving society? It was hoped that through the project work the learners would develop a personal toolkit which would allow them to reflect and respond to signs of inequality throughout their lives and bring about positive change in our society.
Activity
The project was co-delivered by the class teacher and puppeteer, Fagner Gastaldon. The initial sessions with the learners were extremely playful, forging a safe and creative environment for exploration and discussion. Equality and uniqueness were framed in a positive way with learners producing puppets to reflect notions of individuality.
Throughout these initial sessions a positive relationship was formed between the teacher, creative practitioner, and learners. Collectively they worked through some challenging questions, for example…
Who is Welsh?
What does it mean to be Welsh?
Where is home?
Where do you get your sense of belonging?
This activity had a particular resonance for those learners with Eastern European backgrounds, allowing them to recognise they could be both Welsh and Polish for example.
To enhance the project work, the school invited professional storyteller, Phil Okwedy to complete a session with the learners. The learners heard stories about freedom, equality and belonging before taking part in a forum theatre session. Using a Mantle of the Expert approach the learners had to critically think and solve moral problems through play.
To demonstrate their learning from the whole project, the learners worked in small groups to create mini-theatre companies. The groups have been involved in script writing and story boarding and using cardboard boxes to design their theatres. Each theatre has its own unique identity and collectively they form the ‘Theatres of Friendship’. Pupil voice and genuine group work has been central to this activity.
A little girl in the class who is often non-verbal, really blossomed in this session. She created an object (a navigational device) which she confidently shared with the other learners.
The pupils have just been working so well together, more than any other teaching experience I’ve had in group work. The underlying theme of acceptance, friendship, treating others with respect and valuing differences has really shone through in their working practices.
Impact
The project is still on going and it is hoped that the learners will explore more challenging conversations relating to racism during this later stage. The impact on the class teacher, learners and creative practitioner will be fully explored during the final Evaluation stage of the project.
