We were very pleased to award Kingsway Junior School (Watford) an award to purchase a whole range of Djembe drums to enhance their music curriculum offering. Kingsway will also tie the drums in with geography, history, art, dram and English with such activities as a visit from Bigfoot theatre to celebrate black history month. As Jo Beale (Music Coordinator) wrote in her application:
The vision is for each year group to learn an instrument each year. Within the last year, we have purchased glockenspiels and ukuleles. We offered an after-school Ukulele club. Fitting into our Music scheme, the Djembe drums would contribute to our national curriculum aims of "perform, listen to, review and evaluate music across a range of historical periods, genres, styles and traditions, including the works of the great composers and musicians".
Jo also explained how drumming has, in her experience, been particularly effective at motivating boys which is a focus at Kingsway at the moment. The drums will also be used in a PPG nurture group and be showcased at a performance for parents.
Top-Up Bid – Terrific Textiles!
We were very happy to give Kingsway Junior their second grant this year to take their award total to the maximum £1,000. This top-up grant was for textiles equipment to introduce the subject to the school.
Amanda Akers (Teacher) made a strong case for the project where she looked at many cross-curricular benefits for children of all ages.
“Giving pupils the opportunity to physically examine a range of fabrics in order to make an informed choice of what is most suitable for their product
Moving away from stereotypical outcomes where pupils all make the same product led by the teacher. Working from contexts, pupils can come up with their own design brief and work towards solving it – what other subjects aside from D&T give them the opportunity to develop such strong analytical problem-solving skills?
Creating a PowerPoint to help plan what they are going to design
Not just in the practical aspect of sewing, but also in the development of the transferable skills of analytical thinking, problem solving, accuracy, planning and evaluation
Science
• Understanding the principles of polymerisation to manufacture synthetic and regenerated fibres
• Knowing the chemical reactions that take place when colouring fibres and fabrics, in order to get the desired outcomes
• Testing properties of fabrics – for example, tensile strength
Maths
• Drafting the pattern – measurement, scale, tolerances
• Colouring fabric – ratios”
Amanda also applied the bid’s benefits to the current lockdown with an excellent first project to make PPE equipment:
“Some children have been in school from the start of the lockdown, throughout the Easter holidays and will continue to do so as their parents are vital in fighting the virus. In getting the textile equipment, not only can they learn vital life skills linked to Science and Maths, they can make PPE equipment, design products for their parents and be proud of what they have achieved in this time. This is a way of thanking them for coming in everyday so their parents can work.”