With the help of education charities, SPAEDA and GLADE, Churchstanton Primary School put on a whole school celebration event; ‘The Circle of Life’. This performance was inspired by a school trip to the musical, ‘The Lion King’, and explored the many habitats and ecology of the African continent.
Head teacher Claire Halstead explains why this project is important to Churchstanton:
‘We wanted our leaners to understand the importance of connecting with people & living things, habitats and nature; to think about these connections and what the benefits are. At our INSET, training global education charity, GLADE, lit a spark for Global Learning and we learnt to tell stories through movement and costume with Spaeda Creatives, Latisha Cesar and Fiona Campbell. As an Artsmark school, we recognise the importance of the arts and culture in supporting learning and enhancing the wellbeing of pupils and The Circle of Life project will play an important part in our Artsmark journey.’
With the support of the artists and an ambitious and patient staff team, the students at Churchstanton Primary School have developed an amalgamation of skills, looking into costume design and creation, dance and movement, and drumming and song.
Helen Reid Music & Arts Executive Officer for Somerset County Council was at the celebration event and was impressed by the creativity of the children who had devised the characters, stories and dances themselves.
“Today’s performance at Churchstanton was brilliant! The artwork was amazing, especially the masks and the music and dance was fantastic too! I thoroughly enjoyed it and the children’s positive energy in terms of ownership and enjoyment was tangible. Thanks for inviting me to come along!” - Helen Reid, Music Education Hub Lead
"I cannot believe how lucky I have been to be involved in this project, I have learned a great deal from it." - Liz Selwood, Trainee Teacher
About Artsmark and Artsmark SPARK:
The scheme aims to support schools in developing their arts & cultural provision through Artsmark, and to provide a boost to teaching, learning, and broad creativity in schools, especially in these challenging times. Some of the support and resources available from Spaeda for schools on the scheme include a series of free artist-made, creative skills development videos for staff. There is also CPD and training for art coordinators, a creative leader's network for SENCos, and inspiring outdoor learning resources.
About the partners:
Spaeda are the arts education charity for Somerset, providing projects, CPD, training, and resources to support access to the arts & culture by young people, schools and families. The project forms part of Spaeda’s Artists in Schools Service which places creatives in schools in response to specific needs identified by school communities in Somerset.
You can find out more about GLADE and Sound Foundation Somerset here:
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