Clem Studholme (Creative manager at One Day Creative): Creativity in education

EPISODE NOTES In this episode, Claire talks with Clem Studholme: National Creative Manager at One Day Creative Education. Clem comes from a performing arts background and, after spending some time teaching English in Italy, he developed his appreciation of using performance to provide a purpose for learning. Clem went on to work for a charity involved in youth work and explored social inclusion and bringing different communities together. Further work involved social action projects and outdoor education, whilst a period in recruitment enabled Clem to gain an insight into how social enterprises and larger businesses can support creative education. Clem talks about his firm belief that creativity in education is important for children’s wellbeing and academic abilities. Now, as national creative manager, he delivers drama, music and movement workshops in schools, supports teachers in their CPD and, in more recent times, has been developing the company’s digital learning platform.   KEY TAKEAWAYS Creativity, not just performing, is important in all subjects.The curriculum, as a whole, can be delivered in a creative way. It may involve a cultural change: a whole-school approach where everyone is involved. Creativity can happen in history, maths, science, geography - in all the subjects at primary and secondary level. The impact of drama on individual pupils.Drama, dance, music and art can reach out to pupils in a way other subjects can’t. Clem discusses feedback from the settings he works in and it often relates to individual pupils. The way some children, who perhaps have been less confident and shy, or reluctant to work in a group, or who haven’t actively contributed much in the past, can become so much more involved in sessions that focus on the arts. These pupils learn that it’s okay to participate, to speak, and to make mistakes. A more creative curriculum can contribute to societal changes.Clem discusses how the culture shaped within a school doesn’t just affect the staff, but the wider school community and the local area. He shares his belief that the arts are important for learning how to get along with others, learning how to problem solve, and to create and innovate. Clem also outlines that the importance of ‘play’, even for older children, should not be underestimated. Playfulness, he says, breeds empathetic humans, encourages teamwork and it’s learning different things in different ways.   BEST MOMENTS “I really believe that creativity in schools and performing arts and the way we teach, not just at One Day but across the sector, is immensely important and I feel strongly about that. It’s what I love to do.” “If we look at education systems in [other countries] where the focus, especially in the early years up until the age of seven, is how to get along with each other and how to work together… where their education system is focused on the human being. We need to be focusing on what can we do to support our children and ourselves and the wider community to become happier.” “This idea of performing isn’t just about a performance at the end of high-quality art, drama, dance [and] music. It weaves its way into our life. We are becoming a society where a lot of things are becoming mechanised and computerised and a lot of the facts can be regurgitated. But, actually, how we get along with each other, how we empathise with each other, how we solve problems and morals, spiritual, creative problems, how we innovate… this is becoming much more important not just in work but in our lives, in our personal development. So I think that performing and creativity, and learning how to do that… is immensely important, especially as the world changes.” “That idea of being able to make mistakes and it being okay; it’s alright. Sometimes we do need facts and we do need figures and we do need to learn what has happened. We need to learn context. But making mistakes is alright and, in drama, we’re allowed to make mistakes and that’s quite fun!” “On a wider level you see some schools who really embed the performing arts in their learning: performances and presentations and longer term creative projects. Creative education isn’t just performance. [It’s also] longer term creative projects. If they embed that in their curriculum, you see children who are willing to get on with each other, who are willing to own their learning and enjoy their learning.” “[Creative education facilitators] talk to children on a very real and honest level. Sometimes [adults] do need to let loose a little bit. Let them see us as human beings as well, having fun and making mistakes because, if we can make mistakes, they’re alright to make mistakes sometimes and they can build themselves up to be better next time.” “You can do so much with something really small and you can do whole programmes of work on a single page of a book, especially with drama. Not just for a performance but how we’re going to perform, how we’re going to create that freeze frame, get into the character a bit more, and allowing that time.” “We have to think about what education is for. Some people might say it’s for the world of work, so preparing children for the world of work. Whereas others say there’s a hidden curriculum where we’re building up children, how to get along and helping children, supporting children, do that.” “We need a different kind of work and a different way of living. So we need to learn how to get along and we need to learn how to innovate, problem-solve, rather than retain facts and just regurgitate them. So I hope education goes towards a more holistic, a more caring, and a better funded, model.” “It’s incredible to see how vast this set of skills that we learn in performance, and learn through creativity, can be applied. And, actually, you can have the best idea in the world, you could be the most intelligent scientist in the history of the world but, if you can’t communicate that, then there’s only so far it will go. We need a combination of maths, science, we need all these subjects, but they need to be on an equal footing… if we lose one, we lose the whole child.”   VALUABLE RESOURCES One Day Creative – Website: https://www.onedaycreative.com One Day Creative – Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/onedaycreative One Day Creative – Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/onedaycreative  One Day Creative – Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/one_day_creative_ed/ One Day Creative – LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/one-day-creative-ltd Classroom Secrets Kids: https://kids.classroomsecrets.co.uk The Teachers’ Podcast: https://www.facebook.com/groups/TheTeachersPodcast/ Classroom Secrets Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ClassroomSecretsLimited/ Classroom Secrets website: https://classroomsecrets.co.uk/ LIFE/work balance campaign: https://classroomsecrets.co.uk/lifeworkbalance-and-wellbeing-in-education-campaign-2019/   ABOUT THE HOST 'My mother is a teacher. I will never be a teacher.' - Claire Riley Claire arrived at the end of her performing arts degree with no firm plans to move into the entertainment industry. A fully funded secondary teaching course seemed like the perfect way to stall for a year on deciding what to do with her life. Turns out, teaching was her thing.  Three years in a challenging secondary school - check. Two years in primary schools with over 90% EAL children - check. Eight years doing day-to-day supply across 4-18 - check. If there's one thing she learnt, it was how to identity the best ideas from every school in terms of resources and use that knowledge to create something that would work for teachers far and wide. In 2013, Classroom Secrets was born. Claire had seen other resource sites and wanted to add something to the market that she felt was missing. More choice + More quality = Balance. Claire is a self-proclaimed personal development junkie and is always looking for ways to learn and improve. It's usually centred around business, her new-found passion. In 2019, Claire launched The Teachers' Podcast that hits the charts on launch and is listed in the top 200 educational podcasts most weeks. The Teachers’ Podcast is a series of interviews where Claire meets with a wide range of guests involved in the field of education. These podcasts provide exciting discussions and different perspectives and thoughts on a variety of themes which are both engaging and informative for anyone involved in education.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.