Creativity in a Nutshell

Creativity, Enterprise and Employability: Skills for Learning, Life and Work CURRICULUM FOR EXCELLENCE IN A NUTSHELL The National Parent Forum of Scotland Guide to Creativity We all love the satisfaction of that moment when we have a good idea, find a solution to a problem or feel inspired to tackle old tasks in new ways. That’s what creativity is all about. Everyone has the potential to be creative and creativity skills are something that everyone can develop further. Creativity, combined with an enterprising outlook, enables our children and young people to learn, achieve and face challenges confidently throughout their lives. Schools are engaging enthusiastically with developing creativity skills. This guide will tell you about creativity and what it means for your child. At the National Parent Forum, we are really excited about the transformative power of creativity because we know it really does equip our children for learning, life and work.

We hope this guide will inspire your creativity too.

Yours in partnership, Joanna Murphy, Chair The National Parent Forum of Scotland www.parentforumscotland.org In the following pages, you will find • a diagram which illustrates the ways in which creativity enhances enterprise and employability skills as well as developing personal attributes or characteristics • information about the importance of creativity for learning, life and work • examples of young people gaining creativity, enterprise and employability skills • inspiring answers to the question: ‘what is creativity?’ • links to further information. Creative learners are: Curious Imaginative Open-minded Able to problem-solve creativity skills enterprise skills employability skills S K IL L S F O R LEARNING, LIF E

A N D

W O R K

Creativity is like oxygen… it is just there. BETH NIELSEN CHAPMAN Creativity is… Children and young people, business owners, thinkers and artists share their ideas about creativity.Creativity is the power to act. Creativity is the power to reject the past, to change the status quo and to seek new potential. AI WEIWEI To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong. JOSEPH CHILTON PEARCE There’s a creative mode in my computer game and it is the coolest because you don’t die and you can build whatever you like! JAMES, 2 Using imagination is being creative. Creativity changes depending on what subject you are doing. HOLLY, 20 Being creative is expanding your mind to its largest capabilities by being yourself and thinking outside the box. CHRIS, 20 Being creative is being open-minded and using your imagination to your advantage. FRASER, 20 Exams can sti2e creativity as you jump through hoops to get the best marks possible. S0 PUPIL Creativity for me means thinking of new ideas and not just in art and music. Everyone has creativity in them, it’s just 2nding it and expressing it that people struggle with. I feel even the simplest things can make you realise how creative and unique you are. JESSICA, 01 Creativity is in all of us. Everyone should have the skills, con2dence and opportunity to make their ideas a reality. MATTHEW TAYLOR Creativity is a continual surprise. RAY BRADBURY Creativity is intelligence having fun. ALBERT EINSTEIN Creativity is vital to success. Business is the discovery and sale of solutions to problems. Creativity to solve those problems is crucial. BUSINESS EMPLOYER Creativity develops very important essential life skills. It is enjoyable and gives pupils freedom to express their ideas. Being creative encourages pupils to be interested and curious about the world around them. S2 PUPIL

RESPONSIBLE CITIZENS In schools and in early years centres, children experience many opportunities to develop their creativity skills. Creativity spans all areas of the curriculum from maths and science subjects to the expressive arts and health and wellbeing. From the playground to the classroom, children and young people are constantly putting on their thinking caps, to puzzle out how to do an experiment, to make sense of new information or to use what they already know in a different context. Now they are learning to recognise and value creativity skills, so that they can extend and apply their skills confidently and deliberately. By developing their creativity skills and an enterprising mindset, our children will be: • confident, with a positive attitude towards change, challenges and unknowns • engaged and motivated in their learning • prepared to work independently or with others • flexible and open-minded about a wide range of solutions • ready to learn from their mistakes • able to recognise opportunities and to set goals • enthusiastic and excited about new experiences • curious, imaginative and innovative • resilient and committed to finding solutions • ready to self-manage their learning and their lives. I am... ™enterprising ™open-minded ™a leader ™positive I can... ™use my initiative ™think strategically ™take responsibility ™make decisions ™problem-solve STEP 1 Choose an idea to work on which might be • a solution to a problem • a business, project, performance or product • an improvement or change. STEP 5 Review and revise the idea by • measuring success against goals • analysing unexpected outcomes • learning from mistakes • making improvements and changes. Celebrate! Creating and delivering an idea results in • new skills • self-confidence • personal development • new experiences • fun! Skills for learning, life and work (creativity, enterprise, employability): ‘I can...’ Personal attributes or characteristics: ‘I am...’ Creativity Skills for Learning, Life and Work Creativity, Enterprise and Employability Skills in Action S5 Pupil Apps for Good project for a UK-wide competition ‘It was an amazing experience to go from developing an idea for an app to exploring what we were going to do, to the coding experience and then finally seeing all the interest in the app. Developing the app was very practical - we got to do a lot of things on computers, rather than just working from text books. We also learned how to speak up. It definitely helped us with our people skills.’ Headteacher, primary school Publishing company and Creativity Week ‘Every child in the school was published during the course of the year. The many projects included a book of short stories which was sold locally and online. We also had bloggers, movie makers, song writers and podcasters. Creativity Week was an opportunity to pull together lots of visiting artists and give pupils, staff and parents the chance to enjoy fantastic creative experiences.’ S3 Pupil School Stationery Shop social enterprise ‘We wanted to get a business with a social purpose going. We set up a shop to sell stationery to pupils in break-time. We give money that we make to a children’s hospital.

My job is sales director. It’s really helped me with my confidence and with my public speaking skills. The most important thing is that it is all about us – we run the shop.’ S4 Pupil Creativity for Employability project ‘We were given the challenge of developing a product that would bring the people of our town together. We were helped by two creative entrepreneurs who talked to us about running a company, developing a new product and managing teams. We thought about our creativity skills and their importance in the workplace. I work better with others now, listening to ideas and giving them a try. I also have more confidence.

S4 Pupil Determined to Broadcast class project ‘We wanted to set up and manage a radio station. There were two roles: the sound engineer and the presenter who had to speak clearly and appropriately. It was great for my personal skills – I learned about presentation, communication, leadership and teamwork. I really loved it, learning about the equipment and the feeling that it is our radio station and that we have our own voice.’

Developing Creativity Skills We all use creativity skills to solve problems and make decisions every day. Sometimes we do this without realising; at other times, we consciously think creatively to help us tackle specific tasks or challenges. Creativity skills are essential skills for life, learning and for future jobs. These skills are crucial for enterprise and work: they are highly valued by employers and by international organisations such as the World Economic Forum. This is because creativity skills help children and young people to have a positive attitude and to be flexible and open to new challenges. Additional employability skills such as team-working, communication, leadership, critical thinking and problem-solving are developed. These skills will enable our children to succeed in their learning and future careers. The illustration below shows you how taking an idea or project through five steps can develop creativity skills (dark green leaves). Personal attributes or characteristics are also extended (light green leaves). You can help to encourage and expand your child’s creativity skills by using these five steps to deal with challenges, tasks or projects. By recognising and celebrating these skills and attributes in our children and young people, we can equip our children for the future. I can... ™reflect ™think critically ™learn from mistakes ™evaluate ™assess I am... ™flexible ™willing to learn ™determined ™positive Congratulations! You have fantastic skills and an enterprising outlook which you will use all of your life. STEP 2 Research the idea by identifying • who can help • the necessary information and resources • where these can be found. I can... ™research ™think analytically ™question effectively ™communicate ™focus I am... ™resilient ™a team-player ™ambitious for change STEP 3 Use creativity skills to develop an idea by • brainstorming alone or with others • thinking up options, solutions and ideas in depth • thinking critically or with a critical friend: what challenges are there? I can... ™negotiate ™think creatively ™apply knowledge ™make decisions ™collaborate I am... ™open to ideas ™hard-working ™enthusiastic ™able to motivate others I can... ™take risks ™make ideas happen ™stay focussed ™think ahead I am... ™reliable ™committed ™a good citizen ™self-disciplined ™persistent STEP 4

Make an idea a reality by • writing an action plan with achievable tasks, goals and deadlines • considering ethical issues • getting started! At its core, creativity is the ability to look at things with a fresh eye; examine problems with an open mind; make connections; learn from mistakes and use the imagination to explore new possibilities.

EDUCATION SCOTLAND CONFIDENT INDIVIDUALS EFFECTIVE CONTRIBUTORS SUCCESSFUL LEARNERS

In schools and in early years centres, children experience many opportunities to develop their creativity skills. Creativity spans all areas of the curriculum from maths and science subjects to the expressive arts and health and wellbeing. From the playground to the classroom, children and young people are constantly putting on their thinking caps, to puzzle out how to do an experiment, to make sense of new information or to use what they already know in a different context. Now they are learning to recognise and value creativity skills, so that they can extend and apply their skills confidently and deliberately. By developing their creativity skills and an enterprising mindset, our children will be: • confident, with a positive attitude towards change, challenges and unknowns • engaged and motivated in their learning • prepared to work independently or with others • flexible and open-minded about a wide range of solutions • ready to learn from their mistakes • able to recognise opportunities and to set goals • enthusiastic and excited about new experiences • curious, imaginative and innovative • resilient and committed to finding solutions • ready to self-manage their learning and their lives. Creativity Skills for Learning, Life and Work Creativity, Enterprise and Employability Skills in Action

S5 Pupil Apps for Good project for a UK-wide competition ‘It was an amazing experience to go from developing an idea for an app to exploring what we were going to do, to the coding experience and then finally seeing all the interest in the app. Developing the app was very practical - we got to do a lot of things on computers, rather than just working from text books. We also learned how to speak up. It definitely helped us with our people skills.’ Headteacher, primary school Publishing company and Creativity Week ‘Every child in the school was published during the course of the year. The many projects included a book of short stories which was sold locally and online. We also had bloggers, movie makers, song writers and podcasters. Creativity Week was an opportunity to pull together lots of visiting artists and give pupils, staff and parents the chance to enjoy fantastic creative experiences.’ S3 Pupil School Stationery Shop social enterprise ‘We wanted to get a business with a social purpose going. We set up a shop to sell stationery to pupils in break-time. We give money that we make to a children’s hospital.

My job is sales director. It’s really helped me with my confidence and with my public speaking skills. The most important thing is that it is all about us – we run the shop.’ S4 Pupil Creativity for Employability project ‘We were given the challenge of developing a product that would bring the people of our town together. We were helped by two creative entrepreneurs who talked to us about running a company, developing a new product and managing teams. We thought about our creativity skills and their importance in the workplace. I work better with others now, listening to ideas and giving them a try. I also have more confidence.

S4 Pupil Determined to Broadcast class project ‘We wanted to set up and manage a radio station. There were two roles: the sound engineer and the presenter who had to speak clearly and appropriately. It was great for my personal skills – I learned about presentation, communication, leadership and teamwork. I really loved it, learning about the equipment and the feeling that it is our radio station and that we have our own voice.’

www.parentforumscotland.org enquiries@parentforumscotland.org

parentforumscotland

parentforumscot Further Information The National Parent Forum of Scotland • Skills in a Nutshell http://bit.ly/nutshell_skills • Career Education in a Nutshell http://bit.ly/NPFS_career_education • Career Conversations www.npfs.org.uk/career-conversations-in-a-nutshell/ • Creativity, Enterprise and Employability: Skills for Learning, Life and Work www.npfs.org.uk/creativity-in-a-nutshell/ • Digital Skills www.npfs.org.uk/digital-skills-in-a-nutshell/ Education Scotland: The National Improvement Hub https://education.gov.scot/improvement • Creativity and Infographics http://bit.ly/creativityNIH • Creativity across Learning 3-18 2013 http://bit.ly/Creativity3to18 • City of Edinburgh Council 3-18 Creative Skills: Progression Framework http://bit.ly/creativityplanning • Developing the Young Workforce http://bit.ly/developingyoungworkforce_resources • The Career Education Standard 3-18 http://bit.ly/career_education_standard • Developing Employability and Skills http://bit.ly/developing_employability_skills Scotland’s Enterprising Schools www.enterprisingschools.scot • Improving Enterprise in Education http://bit.ly/enterprise_in_education

Skills Development Scotland • www.myworldofwork.co.uk • www.skillsdevelopmentscotland.co.uk • www.apprenticeships.scot Creative Scotland • The Creative Learning Plan http://bit.ly/creative_learning_plan • The Creativity Portal http://creativityportal.org.uk The Scottish Government • Scotland’s Skills Strategy 2010 www.gov.scot/Topics/Education/skills-strategy/overview Further Resources • 21st Century Skills: World Economic Forum http://bit.ly/21century_skills • TED talk by Sir Ken Robinson on creativity and schools http://bit.ly/ted_kenrobinson • NESTA, the innovation foundation http://bit.ly/2lDHv8b • Apprenticeships in Scotland http://apprenticeshipsinscotland.com/ Created by infodesignhouse.scot

MAR 2017