Churwell Primary Art Week

In late September 2018 I visited Churwell Primary in Morley to do some CPD training for the staff at the school and we then embarked on a whole school art project based around their class names. Over the week I worked with each year group, learning about the meaning of their class name and we made pictures to represent that meaning. All the class names were based around ‘Light’ like Sunshine, Moonbeam, Iridescent, Kaleidoscope. We also had a parent’s gallery at the end of each day, so people could see the children’s work displayed in the hall. 

It was really good to engage at every level on this project. I was able to speak to teachers directly about art in the classroom and how they feel about it. I also got to work with the kids and the teachers in each class session. Some teachers commented on how they wished they could do more art in class as it was good to see how engaged the children were in what they were doing. I was able to also talk to parents too about their children and their interest in creation.

It was a very ambitious task and I admired the drive of the Head Teacher – Mrs Barson and Art Co-ordinator – Miss Mulqueen as they really wanted the school to embrace art. Despite the time and pressure constraints teachers have in school to get through all the requirements of the national curriculum, if each school did an arts week like this one, every year then the children would be able to leave the school understanding the basics of a visual language.