Disability Theatre Comes Of Age In Coventry’s City Of Culture 2021

Coventry has a key role in the history of theatre in England and, thanks to Open Theatre, young people with learning disabilities are centre stage in the CoC's current plans

Puppetry – using different forms of theatre with children and young people with learning disabilities

While large parts of the UK think that theatre started around the time of Shakespeare, people in Coventry know it has a much older history. The ten Coventry Mystery plays cover Biblical stories from Creation to Doomsday, featuring favourites such as Adam and Eve, Jesus in the Temple and Noah’s Flood.

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      string(5738) "46Vol 7.1School Leadership Todaywww.teachingtimes.comPersonalExperiencesSchooldesignStudents designingtheir ownlearning spaceSurely the best people to design a learning space are thosethat will be learning in it? Juliette Heppell recounts herexperiences working with pupils to create the ultimate innovativelearning environment, and shares some advice for other schoolsconsidering this inventive approach.Five years ago, I was sitting in a hot theatre withfour of my students, waiting to hear if we had won£30,000 for our ‘Classroom of the Future’ design.As Feltham City Learning Centre announcedthe entries, my heart sank. I had a group of Year 9students from Lampton Academy, a West Londonmulti-ethnic comprehensive with a high percentage ofstudents in difficult circumstances, competing againstsixth form pupils from local selective schools. I just satand hoped that all my students’ hard work and in-depthresearch would be recognised; it was! Their ideas andcommitment for their own ‘Classroom of the Future’could be turned into reality.The excitement when they won was inspiring,and the hard work of turning their virtual design intoan actual learning space began. Little did I realise47Vol 7.1School Leadership Todaywww.teachingtimes.comPersonalExperiencesSchooldesignhow intense the journey would be and how much difference their research and theimplementation of their final design would make to all of those involved.An international impactSo why has one classroom design project had such an impact? From the very earlydays, before even winning the money, we spent three years on research, includingspeaking to:■ experts on furniture design■ other schools around the world■ education policymakers■ technologists■ education journalists.During this time, our students have shared their learning with many other schools, bothin the UK and abroad. 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However, this does not happenindependently of consultants, and everything used is evidenced and tested against thesimple parameter – how might this improve learning within the designed space?Our advice for teachers and pupils undertaking similar projects, gleaned from ourfive-year experience, is below:Guidelines for pupils■ Be clear about your priorities. Consider: what is essential, and what can younegotiate? 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Leadership

Students designing their own learning space

21 Sep 2015

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      string(5716) "experience the terrifying in a safe environment and fantasy is by far the most popular genre amongst young people. 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Family

Public Libraries More Important Than You Might Imagine

17 Apr 2018

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      string(5570) "ResourceTHE DISABILITY AGENDAOriginal DocumentThe Disability Rights Commission (DRC) has identified 10 priority areas for action, which are set out in an overview document called Creating An Alternative Future as well in a report called Ending Poverty & Widening Employment Opportunity. This briefing provides an overview of the case for change and summarises recommendations of particular relevance to children, young people and families.KeywordsDisability rights, povertySummaryThe Agenda priorities and objectives for reform are:· Promoting a culture of equality and human rights· Bringing an end to child poverty· Increasing life chances through learning and skills· Ending poverty and widening employment opportunity· Increasing democratic participation and active citizenship· Developing a social care system fit for the future· Tackling health inequalities· Meeting the future housing challenge in England and Wales· Meeting the future housing challenge in Scotland· Building stronger, safer communitiesThe case for change:· Disabled children and the children of disabled parents are at significantly higher risk than others of growing up in poverty.  One in three children living in poverty has a disabled parent.· For some black and minority ethnic groups, the risk of child poverty is far higher. Amongst families that include a disabled adult, the risk of poverty is:· 36% in white families.· 52% in Indian families.· 63% in Pakistani families.· 83% in Bangladeshi families.· Children born with an impairment or long-term health condition, or who develop one early in life, are at high risk of exclusion in their early years and of problems in school.  Disabled people are twice as likely to have no qualifications, are less likely to be in paid work, and earn less than those with the same qualifications.· Compared to 20% of the population, disabled people make up only 6% of formal volunteers and 4.3% of public appointments.· There will be a two-thirds increase in people over 85 in the next 20 years, and costs of residential care are rising while increasing numbers in residential care are not receiving appropriate help.  The social care gap is being met by unpaid carers, including many child carers.· Nine out of ten people with learning disabilities report harassment as a feature of everyday life.· The need for accessible housing is likely to grow, but there are already 300,000 people living in housing that is unsuitable because it is not adapted or accessible.Services for children and young people should:· Audit and develop early years’ provision so all families with disabled children can access inclusive, high quality provision, such as children’s centres.· Make sure the early years’ workforce is effectively trained to work with disabled children.· Make sure all new-build and refurbished schools are inclusive in their design.· Develop action plans to increase the choice and control of young disabled people to select and direct their learning and support.· Make sure all families that need support are allocated key workers who work to performance measures that include reducing child poverty, and who can work across agencies to develop creative and personalised packages of support.· Make prevention and early intervention the key organising principles for services.· Offer families with disabled children or disabled parents more control over the planning, commissioning and delivery of services, including better access to individualised budgets.· Encourage parents to engage in the delivery of children’s centres, through which they can meet other parents and build new support networks.· Make sure there is effective transition of disabled people into adulthood.Schools should:· Take a whole-school approach to tackling harmful behaviour towards disabled pupils and promoting positive attitudes.· Incorporate modules on disability in the citizenship curriculum.· Make sure that disabled children and young people benefit equally from the opportunities provided by extended school provision.· Increase disabled young people’s participation in further and higher education through a targeted strategy to raise expectations, linked to improved transition planning.Leaders and councillors should:· Apply human rights principles as a framework for resolving differences between social groups and reforming service delivery.· Promote policies that encourage contact on equal terms between disabled and non-disabled people: at work, in school and through training, and set a personal example by identifying opportunities to do the same.· Make sure that social care policy increases choice and control and is not diluted by being risk-averse.· Make sure all members of the community take part in shaping decisions.· Be open about personal experiences of impairment of long-term health conditions, to provide positive role models to encourage others and help tackle low expectations.· Support mentoring schemes to help disabled people gain leadership positions.· Understand and promote the value of good quality early years education for disabled children and the need for continuing learning opportunities throughout life.ActionNotesDetails can be found online at: http://disabilitydebate.org/disability_agenda/promoting_a_culture_of_equa.aspxAuthorRaspal Chima, Questions PublishingDate CreatedMarch 2007Enquiries to:rchima@qiis.co.uk (Authoring Unit)Month / YearPage 1 of 1©Birmingham City Council"
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Leadership

The Disability Agenda

21 Mar 2007

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      string(5696) "48Platform   Vocational learningManaging Schools Today    March/April 2008Criticising the respected expert who authoreda 1,774-page report into the future of highereducation in 1997 is not without risk. And we don’thave 1,774 pages to reason every point. But I’m sure LordDearing won’t mind a little gentle questioning of hisrecommendations on re-introducing technical colleges forstudents aged 14 and over under the guise of ‘colleges ofskills and technology’.Lord Dearing says that we “have too many pupilsentering Key Stage 4 for whom the standard offering inthe comprehensive, even now that most have specialisms,is not working”. He suggests that parents, teachers andthe student could decide at the end of KS3 to opt for oneof these new colleges. What would happen in practice?Teachers would be making recommendations during KS3.Condemning 12- and 13-year-olds to a vocational track.Making lifetime decisions for children who are probablynot old enough to be able to know what they want. Weshouldn’t do that. We must embrace vocational pathwayswithin the current school and college structures withoutstigmatising young children who might inconveniently pulldown a competitive school’s GCSE results.The perceived stigma of a vocational choice can beavoided if we make it compulsory for all students in KS4 totake at least one vocational subject. This is not a new idea.I recall it worked very well at Kingshurst City TechnologyCollege. When the CTC opened in 1988, all students, eventhe most academic, studied for two vocational GCSEs.Lord Dearing also proposes that these new collegeswould extend special provision. So if the stigma of beingLord Dearing iswrong!We don’t need new technical colleges, says Valerie Bragg,responding to Lord Dearing’s ideas for vocational learning inthe previous MSTshunted off into a technical college at 14 were not enoughof a disincentive, then the implied stigma of being ‘specialneeds’ might tip the balance. Lord Dearing wonders howwe could “motivate those of today’s 14-year-olds who havealready had enough of learning”. A few 14-year-olds maybe mature enough to leave school, a few may have evendecided that they want to learn a particular craft. But arethe majority of disaffected 14-year-olds suddenly going tobe enthused by learning new skills at a technical college?I doubt it.Let’s look at an excellent example of current provision.Coventry Technical College opened in 1935. Courses wereavailable in engineering and construction for young menand secretarial and cookery studies for young women. Thecourses reflected the needs of the area at that time andover 3,000 students enrolled. Its successor establishment,City College Coventry, opened in 2002 and completes its£50million transformation and move to the SwanswellLearning Quarter this year.Education and learning span the full range up toNVQ4. There are GCSE and A-level courses, BTEC NationalAwards, certificates and diplomas. The range of courseshas expanded somewhat since 1935, covering businessand professional studies, computing, construction, earlyyears, engineering, hairdressing and beauty, health,humanities and science, media, multimedia, motor vehicle,music technology, performing and creative arts, sportsand public service courses and courses for students withlearning difficulties and disabilities. There are over 14,000students on its books.49March/April 2008    Managing Schools TodayVocational learning   PlatformSo we can ask: is this not what we want for our children?Is it providing the courses that young people need? Couldit provide courses for 14-year-olds? What else would oneof Lord Dearing’s new technical colleges provide? Letme answer this in two ways. First, if there is a gap, thenwhy not work within the current structure to fill the gap?Alternatively, if there isn’t a gap, where is the shortfallin market needs against learning provision? And again,why not work within the current structure to make up theshortfall? There is, for instance, no reason why more FEcolleges (or indeed HE institutions) could not have more(vocational) specialisms.Intellectual gamesIt is all too easy to recommend a new type of institution.It is intellectually fun and we are not hampered by triflingpracticalities such as what will it cost and who will pay. AsSir Andrew Foster wrote in November 2005 in his reportRealising the Potential, a review of the future role of furthereducation colleges: “Too many reorganisations have takenplace with, as one consultee memorably told us, deadbodies left on the field of battle.” He went on to say: “Largescale structural changes in the public sector have too oftentaken an age to implement, cost a fortune and alienated thevery workers on whom the system most depends.” Wouldthese new colleges be any different?Of the many excellent recommendations in his reportinto higher education, I’d like to highlight three of LordRon Dearing’s conclusions. The “strongest single message”he received from employers was the value of workexperience. Work experience needs the co-operation ofindustry. Industry wants to be associated with successfulinstitutions and Lord Dearing also calls for “the historicboundaries between academic and vocational educationto be broken down”. I don’t believe that a stand-alonevocational education establishment – a technical college– is what students or industry leaders want.He also suggests that these new colleges focus on “skills andtechnologies that require specialist equipment. That would bemy model for cities and big towns.” This seems a"
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Leadership

Lord Dearing is wrong!

27 Apr 2008

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