Academy trust heads to Finland for ideas

TEACHERS FROM a York-based academy trust have been visiting schools in Finland and in Plymouth as part of an initiative to develop creativity across the primary-school curriculum.

Finland has a reputation for innovative, creative education and the Plymouth School of Creative Arts focuses on ‘make, discover, perform’ learning.

The Ebor Academy Trust teachers, part of a curriculum development team, said the visit would help shape the upcoming Creative Arts Academy York and would be considered by headteachers across all trust schools.

Approval for the city’s new Creative Arts Academy, for five to 11-year-olds, was granted by central government in July 2016 and details of where it will be located and when it will open are expected soon.

“I have always believed creativity and the creative arts should be encouraged in our schools and the approval of our bid to set up a new type of school has given Ebor the opportunity to thoroughly research how we can plan a 21stcentury education,” said Richard Ludlow, chief executive of Ebor Academy Trust, which runs 15 schools across York, Selby, the East Riding and on the Yorkshire Coast.

Emma Langan, teacher at Hob Moor Oaks in York, said: “We saw how students in both settings are taught to apply their creative thinking to problem-solving across the curriculum.”

Importance placed on the need for meaningful free play during breaktimes and activities providing real exercise was also an observation made in Finland.