Making MPSM Work in Wales...and beyond: 7 excellent ideas from EDAU.

1.Create opportunities for teachers and schools to meet up and hear about the potentials and pitfalls of the project on March 6th 2019 EDAU invited teachers and cultural practitioners to Wrexham to meet and discover shared purposes. Teachers supply costs were covered and the event was free. Swansea teacher Laura Luxton was a speaker at the event. “Teachers listen to teachers’ voices most” says Iwan, “These opportunities create the chance to make connections and be inspired and think “I can do that!”

Read Laura's words about the benefits of the MPSTM mode for teachers and children. (This link is no longer live)

2. Think beyond the museum: My Primary School is at the Castle North Wales has some great museums, but it also has fantastic castles, historic houses and art galleries. Iwan believes there is great potential for heritage venues and arts venues to work collaboratively with schools and co-create extended residencies in the MPSTM model more meaningful than the typical “one off” school trip.

3.Location, Location, Location Iwan talks about the importance of ‘Easy Gains’. He is realistic that residencies are most likely to be successful where schools are close to the venue so that travel time between the two organisations is as short as possible and where venues have space to allocate to a class of children.

4. Mini pilots The idea of re-locating a primary school class for a whole term can seem daunting. Iwan recommends a flexible approach to the length of the first residency. The initial spark could be created by a 2-3 day residency. Then as confidence builds, the residency could grow in length over time with the goal of the partnership becoming embedded into the school and cultural organisations long term planning

5. Be brave and make progress Iwan advises schools and cultural organisations to embrace the risk involved in taking part in a residency and see it as an opportunity for active learning and professional development. Be honest about the things that have gone right and gone wrong. Mistakes may happen and it is about reflecting on those and learning from them to make progress.

6. Encourage the cultural venue to lead on getting funding Iwan sees dialogue between the school and cultural organisation as vital to the success of a residency but suggests that cultural organisations are in the best position to lead on getting arts funding for the residencies. For example, The National Museum of Wales - National Slate Museum (NSM) at Llanberis in North Wales is currently looking for funding to make a suitable part of the facility fit-for-purpose.

7. Create a Database for match making schools and museums “We’d like to make more of those ‘Cilla Black’ moments happen”. Iwan’s comparison between Cilla Black’s role in Blind Date, facilitating an initial relationship and then letting it develop, and EDAU’s ideas for how to “match make” schools and cultural venues make sense. EDAU and MPSM visionary, Wendy James, are busy working on a self-assessment checklist that schools and venues can complete and input online. EDAU aims to create a database of this information which organisations can use to find their perfect match to “cut out the middle man” and make residencies happen.

EDAU's Iwan’s enthusiasm for making My Primary School is at the Museum happen in North Wales is inspiring. The New curriculum for Wales aims for children to become active, creative thinking citizens. The potential of collaborating with the school’s nearest cultural venue seems rich in possibilities for giving children creative learning opportunities and an understanding and ownership of the spaces and places they are growing up in.

Embrace the power of learning through objects EDAU advocates for the power of creative learning through objects in the classroom, increasing observation and analytical skills. See the PDF below: