How can the changing seasons help us to navigate the way we feel? How can being close to nature help us notice changes in ourselves and our landscapes?
Schools for All Seasons nourishes children with well-being activity and creativity rooted in our connections to the outdoors and our seasonal heritage.
By returning throughout the year to notice changes in our landscapes, children and teachers shape these seasonal experiences into poems, songs, artworks, stories and recipes, supported by Professional Artists based in Cornwall. Watch the video of Schools for all Seasons 2022 here.
Embracing rivers and sea, moorland and estuary, village and city, this programme takes the knowledge gained from our experiences of how to support children through change and challenge and our understanding of trauma and anxiety together to bring families together to share time outdoors.
Real Ideas has delivered this project, working with 11 Cornwall Schools, highly experienced Cornwall based and nationally recognised Artists and Creative Practitioners and key Cultural Partners. This project will have a legacy of unique resources to be shared with other schools and children as the seasons change and welcome new cohorts of schools in the future. It draws on our specialisms and leadership of high-quality Creative Education, knowledge of how this relates to the world around us and the challenges we face as a wider community.
Schools for All Seasons has been commissioned by Headstart Kernow and developed by Real Ideas in partnership with The Writers Block, The Eden Project, Cornwall Museums Partnership.
We have been working with Real Ideas team members Billy Trenerry and Leanne Llwelleyn to create ‘Feasts’ at our partners schools, foraging ingredients and sharing the food created with family and friends. Seasonal recipes are part of our learning resources with simple ideas for getting tasty celebrations going for all to share.
We have commissioned new music resources from Cornish based professional musicians and music producers, which are designed to encourage listening and immersive experiences of the changing seasons and nature around us. In a busy digital world, just having time to use music and. Sound, to encourage stillness, listening and imagination allows children space to slow down and reflect. The music was played live to families at the beautiful Newquay Orchard, with Sound Artist Jason Singh also creating a stunning soundscape of nature beatboxing for everyone to participate in and enjoy.
Jason’s workshops with the schools explore the power of the human voice, body and nature. Introducing the art of beatboxing through the creation of drums, percussion, the children use sound effects and nature soundscapes to help encourage a deeper connection between our bodies and the natural world. A whole heap of fun and experimentation!
Jason Singh is a sound artist, nature beatboxer, producer, DJ, facilitator and performer.
His work has been called “beautiful, strange, calming music” by celebrated writer @robgmacfarlane and is also referred to as “the human sampler” by @cerys6music (BBC6 Music).
Singh’s collaborations and commissions include a diverse range of organisations and artists including Sir David Attenborough, George Ezra, BBC, V&A Museum, Kew Gardens, Chester Zoo, BFI, Dartington Trust, Celtic Connections, RNLI, Music for Youth, National Trust, Tate Britain, Yazz Ahmed, Shabaka Hutchings, Sarathy Korwar, Nitin Sawhney, Talvin Singh, Rokia Traore to name but a few.
Schools from across Cornwall came together at the Eden Project on Monday 18th July to celebrate and showcase Schools for all Seasons. The first-of-its-kind in the UK, Schools for all Seasons is a collaborative and creative project, aimed at supporting and guiding children across Cornwall with their increasingly concerning mental health, post-COVID lockdown.
Schools for All Seasons comes at a time where a report released by the World Health Organisation (WHO) highlights a global mental health crisis in young children following the closure of schools during Covid-induced lockdowns.
School teachers and staff are witnessing a mental health crisis with young people post-Covid. As well as stress and anxiety brought about through lockdowns, it is estimated that 13,000 children across the UK have lost a parent to Covid, and those in poorer socio-economic backgrounds have been most affected.