Even though October was only a three week month thanks to half term, the Sampad Learning Team still managed to pack in over 20 workshops, performances and training sessions. That’s more than one per day!
The month started with a tour of our popular early years show Lori. Based on South Asian lullabies, Lori is an interactive performance for 2-6 year olds using storytelling, dance and music to transport children into a world of imagination. The Lori team visited St Bernadette’s Primary school, as well as Birmingham Library, Ward End Library and Soho Children’s Centre and across the locations, received overwhelmingly positive feedback including:
This was a truly fantastic experience which had both the adults and children mesmerised from beginning to end!
Demonstrating the breadth of young people we work with, Our Voice Our Power came to a close, after a month long project with young women aged 14-18. Working with spoken word artists Aliyah Begum and Jasmine Gardosi, students from the three Birmingham girls’ schools took part in creative writing and performance workshops designed to help them express their thoughts, experiences and hopes for the future. The project engaged with 90 young women across the term and culminated in a spoken word performance attended by teachers, students, families and Sampad staff. One attendee said:
It was brilliant to see the young women’s confidence grow. The performers shone during the sharing and it was a real pleasure to hear the challenges and opportunities facing young women today.
Connecting Classrooms, our two year Paul Hamlyn Foundation funded project kicked off with a launch day, which introduced the eight primary schools involved to the project. Head Teachers used the day to explore how this project can support long term priorities for their schools. The launch was followed by two staff training days, where Mantle of the Expert drama specialist David Allen, drama Specialist Gillian Twaite and dance in education specialist Tori Drew led workshops on using dance and drama within history teaching. There was also a self care creative art session with Haseebah Ali, giving staff an opportunity to participate in a creative led session without needing to teach it to others afterwards.
The rest of the term brings with it plenty of Diwali events, including Ujala performances at Library of Birmingham, more Lori performances and the next phase of our Paul Hamlyn work. If you’d like to know more about our learning work, contact a member of the team here.
