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Children's author Piers Torday reveals the secrets to keeping creativity alive in the classroom. Last week we welcomed a team of tremendous teachers through our secret door for an inspiring day of training. With talks from children's authors, experienced facilitators, poets and more, everyone left with lots of new ways to bring writing to life in the classroom. Award winning children's author Piers Torday led the first session and got the day off to a great start with some top tips on inspiring creativity in a classroom setting. Lucky for you, dear blog-reader, we jotted a few down: Take the pressure off - unlike diamonds, truly creative writing is never made under pressure. Creativity needs room to breathe. Whatever you can do to take the pressure off is worth a go, even changing the language around writing can be a real help! “I don’t talk about writing, I talk about making things up.” All you need is love - providing plenty of admiration and affirmation for young writers’ achievements is essential. This is what helps them to commit to their ideas! Praising them for the courageous act of taking a risk and getting an idea onto the page has an ENORMOUS positive effect. Choose choice - agency is key. Giving young writers’ the choice of what they want to write about is the best way to motivate them. It can be tempting to offer all sorts of guidelines to support them but if you can keep their agency at the heart of the planning, they’ll feel a real sense of ownership over what they create. Creative community - young writers who support, coach and create together are a force to be reckoned with. If they can support each other, they can support themselves. And remember, community is fostered through play. Games can be a fantastic way to help young writers build up trust in each other and develop a friendly creative community. This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to putting creativity at the heart of teaching. You can read more about our schools programme and CPD days on our schools page.

Schools

Top Tips for a Creative Classroom

Children’s author Piers Torday reveals the secrets to keeping creativity alive in the classroom. Last week...

Three primary aged children celerate with big smiles and arms in the air as they stand next to a Ministry writing mentor and a yellow school table

Schools

CPD: Unlock Children’s Creative Writing in the Classroom

Anthology of the Alps

Schools

Anthology of the Alps

Enter the icy wonderment of Shoreditch Park Primary School’s anthology Download the Anthology (PDF) This anthology...

School supplies including pencils, ruler and notebook are spread out over a white table

Schools

Story Spotlight: My school is alive!

Enjoy some fantastical extracts from Rushmore school’s anthology My School is Alive!  This spring term the...

Two hands lay on a bright yellow table holding a large strip of paper that reads 'it may please you to place words...'

Schools

How to microwave a ready meal from a hot air balloon

A young, primary ages boy with short dark hair grins at the camera. He holds a fake eye, that looks like a ping pong ball, up to his own eye. He wears a white polo shirt, with a school crest on the front.

Schools

Play, talk, write!

Get your students excited and ready to write before they’ve even picked up a pen.  ...

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