122 research outputs found
Evaluation Protocol: Speech Bubbles
The Speech Bubbles intervention aims to improve children’s communication and social skills
by providing them with weekly creative drama sessions. The benefit to pupils’
communication skills is also thought to have an effect on pupils’ reading skills. This is an
intervention targeted at pupils with below expected communication and social skills. During
the sessions trained practitioners encourage children to tell, act out and reflect on their own
stories by creating a safe and playful environment, promoting children’s communication,
confidence and wellbeing. This is based on the Helicopter Stories pedagogical approach.1
Speech Bubbles is part of a broader programme of work entitled ‘Learning about Culture’,
which aims to improve the evidence base around arts-based education programmes. This is
coordinated by the Education Endowment Foundation and the Royal Society for the Arts.2
It consists of five programmes: two in Key Stage 1 (Reception and Year 1) and three in Key
Stage 2 (Year 5). Despite the unique aspects of these intervention models, there are many
similarities in how they are delivered and what they hope to achieve.
Evaluation Protocol: First Thing Music
The First Thing Music programme aims to improve children’s reading and social skills by
providing them with daily music sessions. The sessions are part of a structured music
education programme based on the Kodály approach. Students will learn the basics of music
through daily singing and musical games with teachers who will be trained by music
practitioners. Music education has been linked to improvements in academic attainment in
areas such as literacy and language.1 First Thing Music is part of a broader programme of
work entitled ‘Learning About Culture’, which aims to improve the evidence base around
arts-based education programmes. This is coordinated by the Education Endowment
Foundation and the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and
Commerce.2 It consists of five programmes: two in Key Stage 1 and three in Key Stage 2
The Craft of Writing
The Craft of Writing (CoW) intervention provides a sustained ‘Arvon experience’ developing
teachers as writers and is combined with a more explicit focus on pedagogical implications for
the classroom. The intervention will be underpinned by a Framework of Craft Knowledge cocreated with professional writers. This will make visible what the teachers are learning about
writing – the process of writing; linguistic choices; and narrative/poetic techniques – and it will
be used to support teachers in integrating what they learn from the Arvon experience into their
routine teaching of writing
Young Journalist Academy
Young Journalist Academy (YJA) is an intervention that establishes journalism programmes
or ‘newsrooms’ in primary schools. Primary school pupils, typically in Year 5 (9 to 10 years
old), receive training from YJA staff and then develop and lead their own ‘newsrooms’ in their
schools. They produce journalistic outputs in various forms over the course of a school year.
These outputs could include print, audio or video content, which are published for the school
and on the YJA website for a wider audience. The programme has been developed to
stimulate interest in journalism as well as improve pupils’ writing skills and motivation for
learning
Power of Pictures
The Power of Pictures (PoP) is a programme that uses the creation of picture books to develop
primary school pupils’ writing skills. Through its programme, PoP aims to enhance teachers’
understanding of the power of picture books and increase teachers’ comfort in and ability to
teach using picture books to a range of ages. In the last year, the PoP team has worked with
65 teachers in 40 schools
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