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Jeremy Brown highlights creative approaches to developing basic skills at Sneyd Community School.
A year ago Katie was summoned in front of the school governors and told that her aggressive and disruptive behaviour made it impossible for her to continue in the mainstream at Sneyd Community School. Last week Katie was back in front of the governors with her mother being congratulated on her attitude, attendance and achievement in the learning support unit. For three years, Sneyd School has used the arts to re-engage year 11 pupils who find themselves on the margins of the education system. Katie is one of fifteen year 11 students who are being supported through a customised alternative curriculum designed to help her progress and succeed.

Carl Palmer who runs the unit explains, ?We are working with vulnerable and challenging young people who often bring complicated baggage with them to school. This may be due to home circumstances, behavioural issues or simply a level of disaffection with the school system. We talk to each pupil and develop an individual plan in response to their interests and aspirations. This often leads to vocational courses with the local FE college, and in Katie?s case a really successful placement with a local nursery school.?

As well as following their own negotiated timetable, the group spends Wednesdays working with local film-makers to create an original drama based on their ideas and their passion for popular cinema. Previous films have won awards at young people?s film festivals and this year?s story challenges the male gangster mentality on an estate not unlike the one alongside the school?s catchment. With professional support, Katie has created a central role for herself and this opportunity has brought with it a real application for key skills including literacy, group work and problem solving. With help from staff, the group have raised over £15,000 to realise their ideas and a film crew will spend a week on location in Walsall at the end of April working with a motivated team, stealing cars, staging a robbery at a casino, and being interrogated by the police.

Pupil Referral Units and Learning Support Units in the West Midlands region are being encouraged to use the arts to re-engage pupils and inspire learning through the ?Arts Included? network, funded by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and co-ordinated by aliss (artists and learning information and support service). For further details see the Arts Included section at w: http://www.aliss.org.uk or e: enquiries@aliss.org.uk.

Jeremy Brown, Dialogue Educational Media
e: jeremy@dialoguemedia.co.uk