Minutes

Minutes of meeting

19th January 2010

Present: John Riches, KH, TWT, Chenai, Raihan, Billy, Matthew, Seb, JN, MST, RO, DL

1. HW - Sydney Thornbury will visit the ARG 2nd Feb to talk about Web ‘n’ Play and the prospect of working on a project with primary schools to develop new technology and drama skills this summer.

2. Establishing a Student Commissioning Group

Desire to use an SCG to get students to engage with and experience creative learning/experiences

JR invited people to consider challenges and potential problems:

Forming the group of students. How could we form the group?

Suggestion that the ARG students help form a commissioning group

Important to get some more people involved especially lower school

Need to recruit new members quite soon in order to complete one round of the commissioning process

Benefits of being involved: power to influence whole school development, UCAS statements, spending money,

Could approach year heads and tutors for nominations

Could we use assemblies to promote and recruit for the SCG?

Need students who are actively interested in the arts and who are already keen on pursuing a career in the arts

Should anyone be able to apply or do they need to demonstrate some kind of skills/commitment? Could we organise some kind of activity to help us select the most creative thinkers?

Could we work with the Tangled Feet group from last year as the core of a new group?

What should be the size of the SCG? Think about a range of roles for the individuals in the group.

If the ARG can devise a promotion strategy, could John organise an activity that would help us select the best people for the group? John agreed.

Do we need representation from each year group? Should there be a core group and a larger group of activists?

Responsibilities

Promoting SCG Committee - Matthew, Mr Hawes, Chenai, Raihan (Tallis TV)

Activity Committee - Ms Hawkins, Seb, Mike, Mr O’Brien, John

Documentation committee - JN, Billy, TWT, DL

Date: 1 March 3:30-4:30 Venue: Drama Studio (tbc)

Student Commissioning Group

As the Creative Agent for Thomas Tallis’ School of Creativity, I’ve been very interested in the idea that students want to set up a Student Commissioning Group – it could be a really exciting and unique approach for the school to undertake.

In developing ideas about who to commission, you should consider:

• What are you trying to achieve? (this should include the artistic ‘outcomes’, as well as whether there are particular individuals/groups either within or outside the school that you want to ‘target’ for participation, or whether the project is open to all?)
• Which artists would most effectively fulfil the brief?
• How would you go about contacting and contracting them?
• Who within the SCG is responsible for what?
• Who else within the school needs to be involved?
• Timescales? Budget?
• How will you evaluate the effectiveness of the project?

As I have many years experience in commissioning, managing and evaluating artists and arts projects, I thought that you might want to consider using me as a ‘Consultant’ for the SCG; I could attend some meetings with you to establish a brief, and/or consult via e-mail/blog throughout the project.

Also, as I am an Arts Award Trainer and Moderator, I would be able to assist you in focusing your work in order to achieve your Silver Arts Award, should you want to do it. (Indeed, the Award can, in my experience, help students to think about and structure a successful project – you can find out more here – but of course there has to be a commitment from you to undertake some extra work, so it’s up to you as to whether you want to go down this route).

I am attending the ARG on Tuesday 1^st December, so if it’s OK with you I’d like to put this up as an item for discussion at that meeting.

The Vertical Grouping Experience

This short film captures the views of staff and students about the vertical tutor group experiment that took place recently. We are engaging in a detailed piece of research about the potential value of a vertical pastoral system and the film contains a full spectrum of views which will help inform debate.