Sigglesthorne Church of England Primary Academy is a small school based in Hull. Over the course of the 2018 Autumn Term, the school trialed now>press>play and documented and measured its impact as a creative writing stimulus in primary topic and foundation subjects.
Below is a selection of teacher feedback, comments from pupils, examples of work and even a few comments from parents.
Teachers’ feedback on now>press>play
“I was delighted to see the impact and the work that was created as a result of using now>press>play and that children have enjoyed the opportunities to extend their learning. They have directly used the Experiences within their writing resulting in improved outcomes and the Experiences have allowed children to step out of their comfort zones and experience new learning, new world, and new environments.”
Jacqui Grant, Headteacher
“now>press>play has been a useful tool to enhance children’s learning: increasing understanding, allowing children a chance to experience, express a range of emotions, and the enhanced feeling of being there. As a teacher I have really come to see now>press>play as a valuable resource particularly in the teaching of English. I have used EYFS Experiences as well as aimed at KS2 and they have been easily accessible for my year 1, 2 and 3 children. When possible, I now try to use a now>press>play Experience for each of the text types taught in English.”
KS1 teacher
A writing stimulus for EYFS
Following on from a now>press>play session of Three Little Pigs with Year 1/2 we did a writing activity based around the now>press>play story. The quality of writing was noticeably better, especially in children who struggle with imagination. Some children included quotes that they took from the now>press>play version indicating that they had been able to retain detail from the story.
The children’s confidence and attention to detail was outstanding. They loved it and played the story out at break time.
We used now>press>play Jack and the Beanstalk as a stimulus for our newspaper writing topic in English. We had been focussing on quotes so hearing the voices of the characters during the Experience allowed the children to be really successful at this.
“I spoke to a student’s parent to say how impressive his writing has been recently and she said that he has requested paper at home 3 times so that he can write the 3 little pigs story repeatedly.”
Teacher, Sigglesthorne Primary Academy
A writing stimulus for KS1
Through using now>press>play pupils were immersed in language relevant to their topic. This has helped to raise attainment by making learning meaningful and memorable and provided a platform for the children to develop emotional responses and discussion skills.
This was an amazing start to our topic work on Florence Nightingale. Although it was quite a long story the children got so much from the Experience I really thought it was worth the time. The children then remembered so much they brought that knowledge into the following lessons.
The children were really concerned about the character in the story and showed concern for him. They got a lot of information from the Experience and used this to reflect on their feelings.
Following the success of now>press>play on writing, I decided to base our non-chronological reports around Neil Armstrong as there is a now>press>play about him. The Experience added another dimension to the children’s research element which particularly supported weaker readers. Once again, the children were able to recall quite specific details from the Experience but more importantly were developing empathy towards Armstrong which was helping them to engage with their writing tasks.
When taking part in the World War Two Experience the less confident children who would normally giggle and stand back quickly joined in. Watching the children act out what they could hear was really interesting.
“I spoke with a parent who asked ‘what have you done with my child? She loves writing and the now>press>play stories! She won't stop saying how much she is enjoying it at school.’”
Teacher, Sigglesthorne Primary Academy
Below are some of the children’s views:
“It was really fun. I felt like I was actually there. It has taught me not just what happened but how they felt too. I feel like I will remember this a lot more than a normal lesson.”
“I loved it when we heard the bombs in London and you could really understand what emotions went through the children's minds in the war.”
“I really enjoyed the Experience and it made me really imagine what it could have been like. I think it really helped our writing and I hope to try it again.”
“It gave me an idea of what life was like in WW2.”
“I really enjoyed it. It made me feel like it was really happening. I loved the sound effects. It was a bit sad at times as you could really feel the emotions. Epic!”
When asked at the end of their trial if Sigglesthorne would like to continue using now>press>play, Jacqui’s response was a firm “yes” due to the noticeable impact on the student’s engagement and writing across the school.
We are thrilled to be working with staff and pupils at Sigglesthorne CofE Primary Academy and look forward to continuing to support their usage of now>press>play as a creative writing stimulus across the school.