Cloud Chamber: connecting poets and teachers
Poet Toolkit
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Contents Introduction.............................................................................................................................. 4 Two guides to doing poet visits in schools ................................................................................... 7 Advice from Laura Mucha................................................................................................................................. 7 Advice from Cecilia Knapp................................................................................................................................ 9
Ideas for poetry exercises in the classroom ................................................................................ 12 Resources to use in the classroom............................................................................................. 13 Safeguarding notes for poet facilitators...................................................................................... 14 Appendix 1: Poets in Schools Terms of Agreement for poets......................................................... 16 Appendix 2: Ages/Stages across the UK.................................................................................... 17
Introduction This toolkit has been created by The Poetry Society’s Cloud Chamber, an online network where poets and teachers can meet to share ideas, resources, and best practice. Many of the poets we work with are experienced workshop facilitators, but we know that everyone has to start somewhere. Designed for emerging poets who are new to working in schools, this toolkit outlines some ways to get started, including advice from experienced poet-facilitators and resources you can explore. Please do also reach out to us for news about opportunities to take part in shadowing schemes and other training. A Cloud Chamber is a piece of scientific equipment that detects ionising particles by showing the condensation trails, or ‘cloud tracks’, they form when they collide with gaseous mixture in a sealed chamber. It’s a way of bringing to light tiny invisible particles, and tracing what happens when they connect and react. We’re fond of it as a metaphor. Any practising poet, teacher or youth worker is welcome to join Cloud Chamber. We meet quarterly on Zoom and focus on a different theme each session. In a typical session, an experienced facilitator shares ideas for poetry activities, before opening up to the floor for discussion. Supporting resources created around each theme are freely available to Cloud Chamber members. In its pilot year, Cloud Chamber is funded by UNBOXED: Creativity in the UK, as part of the About Us project, which explores the intersection between the arts and STEM subjects.
About the contributors to this toolkit We are grateful to Laura Mucha and Cecilia Knapp for sharing their advice here. Laura Mucha is an award-winning poet, author and children’s advocate. Her writing has been featured on TV, radio and public transport, as well as in hospitals, hospices, prisons, books, magazines and newspapers around the world. Her books include Dear Ugly Sisters (winner of the 2021 NSTBA Award for Poetry), Rita’s Rabbit, Being Me (shortlisted for the CLiPPA Poetry Award 2022), and We Need to Talk About Love/Love Factually. Cecilia Knapp is a poet, playwright and novelist, and Young People’s Laureate for London 2020-21. She won the 2021 Ruth Rendell award and has been shortlisted for the 2022 Forward prize for best single poem, the Rebecca Swift Women’s prize and the Outspoken poetry prize. Her poems have been widely published and anthologised, and her debut collection Peach Pig was published in 2022. She was resident poet at Great Ormond Street Hospital for two years, is lead tutor for the Roundhouse’s prestigious poetry collective, and is an ambassador for mental health charity CALM.
The Poetry Society and Poets in Schools The Poetry Society runs a programme called Poets in Schools, where schools looking for a poet visit contact us and we match them up with a poet to suit their needs. In addition, we have many other education projects that involve sending poets into schools to deliver poetry workshops. These cover a wide range of ages, topics, and areas of the UK.
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Become a Poet in School When a school or organisation enquires about booking a poet to run a workshop or performance, our Education Team matches them with a suitable local poet. From our list of Poets in Schools, we contact a poet who has experience working with young people of that age, with their needs, and who can deliver work on the themes the school would like to explore. Our poet educators tend to be freelancers or part-time workers who combine facilitating paid poetry workshops with other projects and jobs; because Poets in Schools work is sporadic, it never makes up the majority of a poet’s income. We send poets into schools across the UK, but because many regional literature development agencies offer their own writers in schools programmes, most of our enquiries come from London and the South East of England, where The Poetry Society is based. We are always keen to widen our roster of Poets in Schools, but before we place a poet in a school we need to be sure they are confident facilitators with recent experience working with a range of young people. We would expect a Poet in School to: •
Have led at least three young people’s poetry workshops in the past two years, and have at least two references. If there’s a reason why you haven’t been able to run workshops recently, let us know
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Have had some poems published in magazines, anthologies or books in the past two years
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Have performed or read their poems at some events in the past two years
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Have had an Enhanced DBS check in the past two years, be on the DBS update service, or be willing to have an Enhanced DBS check through The Poetry Society, costing around £63.40 (subject to change)
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Be enthusiastic, adaptable and reliable
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Be a good communicator over email and in person
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Above all, enjoy working with young people
Poet Toolkit
If you are interested in becoming a Poet in School and you meet these criteria, email us at educationadmin@poetrysociety.org.uk and we’ll ask for your writer’s CV, references, and for you to complete a survey with more information about you. We will usually schedule an informal interview either in-person or over Zoom. Please do also check through our general terms of agreement for Poets in Schools visits, included towards the end of this pack. If you don’t have the experience yet but are interested in developing your facilitation experience, get in touch with us and we can let you know the next time we are able to offer training or shadowing. You may also be interested in becoming a member of The Poetry Society or joining a Stanza, to embed yourself further in the poetry community. Do also check out the National Association of Writers in Education (NAWE) website for more information and training opportunities. And if you are a children’s writer of colour, consider joining the BookTrust Represents network.
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*For advice about insurance, we recommend contacting the Society of Authors and/or NAWE.
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Two guides to doing poet visits in schools If you’re new to working in schools, Laura Mucha and Cecilia Knapp offer advice for getting started
Advice from Laura Mucha Starting out If you’ve never done a school visit before, it’s incredibly helpful to shadow some experienced poets. You get an idea of how they work with young people of different ages, and what different ages are capable of. I recommend working only with age groups you’re comfortable working with. There’s a huge disparity between reception (4-5 years old) and Year 9 (13-14 year olds), so think about who you write for. But keep in mind that every pupil and every school is different – so Year 1 can be very different from one school to another. Similarly, every author is different – there’s no one way to do school visits. Find out what works for you; becoming a member of the Cloud Chamber and meeting or shadowing other poets could help you figure this out.
Before a visit Factor in the correspondence and planning – while schools pay you for the day, a school visit actually takes up much more of your time. There are usually lots of emails before and after, and sometimes visits require you to stay the night. You’re probably trying to manage your writing time alongside school visits. Dealing with school visit correspondence can really take you out of the mindset of your writing and slow the process down, so it can be a good idea to have some uninterrupted and protected writing time. Put boundaries around your correspondence, e.g. some writers only read and respond to emails twice a day. While you might be able to do a workshop or talk you have done before, sometimes a school will request something particular, or you might fancy a change of topic or approach, or want to theme your visit according to the National Poetry Day theme, for example. I usually email schools outlining different options and let them choose. I then prepare everything in advance, and send the school any PowerPoint presentations in case I have any problems with a USB stick/wifi/laptop on the day. It helps reassure teachers I have thought about what I’m going to do. When preparing for a school visit, think about what age you’re working with, how many pupils you will have, what the physical space is like (e.g. sports hall/classroom?) and timings. Sometimes a school will outline workshop timings that feel too short or long
Poet Toolkit
for the age group, e.g. an hour for reception, or 20 minutes for Key Stage 2. I often reply suggesting any changes I think will help the pupils get the most out of the visit, e.g. can we merge the two KS2 classes and give them 40 minutes instead? If there’s no flexibility in a school timetable, I try to manage expectations, e.g. “I don’t think we will be able to get an entire poem written in that time, but we can get a good start…” Set your boundaries early on. School visits can be hugely energy consuming, so make sure you know what you need in terms of breaks, accessibility and equipment, and set that out at the start. Some schools will offer you lunch in the canteen – I know some authors who love that, and others who always leave the school so they can have downtime. Decide what works for you. Figure out what your maximum number of pupils in a class is – this is a very individual choice. I love working with large numbers but I know a lot of authors prefer to limit workshops to 30 pupils. You will only figure this out with experience. So as you get started, pay attention to what works for you and then set your boundaries moving forward. Ask teachers to attend your sessions – preferably class teachers who know the pupils – and ask them to be proactive. You won’t always get what you ask for (teachers are overworked and sometimes use an author visit as an opportunity to do some marking). But it’s worth asking. If the class teacher is present and proactive, it models to pupils that poetry is interesting and valuable. Whatever you do, be firm that you do need a teacher in the room at all times, as most professional liability insurance does not cover authors to be alone with pupils*. I usually ask teachers to share some of my work with pupils in advance to get them excited about having an author visit, and I send age-appropriate examples of work e.g. poems that might get Year 1 excited will probably put off Year 8. I’ve done a lot of visits where pupils think I’m a supply teacher and are shocked to find I actually write books! If you’re intending to sell books during your visit, ask the school well ahead of time if they can arrange a local bookseller. Alternatively, if you are happy to carry a wheelie, you could take and sell your
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own books. This has the advantage of your being able to buy books using your author discount from the publisher, then making a profit on each sale. But the disadvantages are lugging books around, admin and brainspace, and the fact that books you buy directly from your publisher don’t count towards Nielsen BookScan figures. Even when schools are organised and arrange local booksellers, sometimes things don’t go to plan – books don’t arrive or booksellers cancel. Try not to worry: it’s all an inescapable part of the process.
During a visit It helps you focus on the creative side of things if the teacher can help with discipline. So it’s a good idea to briefly mention that to the teacher when you meet them as, even if you have communicated this by email in advance, the class teacher might not have seen the email. Carry a water bottle at all times! And snacks. Lots of snacks. I use up a HUGE amount of energy during school visits and need to keep myself fed and hydrated so I can keep my brain working. Be flexible. On one occasion, I had been told I’d be working with 100+ pupils so planned to do a presentation. When I turned up, there was a much smaller group so I ditched the presentation and ran a workshop instead, because I thought it would work better for the group in front of me. I’ve also made last minute decisions to change the workshop I had planned. For example, when I discovered that the classroom I was working in backed onto a field and the weather was lovely, I turned the workshop into an outdoor session. This gets easier to deal with the more school visits you do because you build a repertoire of ideas and become more confident. But even if it’s one of your first visits, you can still think on your feet and work with what you have.
Workshop ideas Reception – I usually read a picture book and perform some interactive poems. Most reception pupils can’t write much, so asking them to do a writing activity won’t work. I usually limit my sessions with reception pupils to 30 minutes. Don’t ask them questions that are too open-ended as you can get incredibly verbose responses and before you know it, your time is up! Years 1-2 – I usually co-write a poem together using a whiteboard or laptop and projector. At this age it’s essential the workshop is interactive and doesn’t require them to sit down the entire time. I emphasise onomatopoeic words that bring language to life and can be easier to spell e.g. CRASH BANG POP. You could take some small
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musical instruments and ask pupils to describe their sounds. If you haven’t worked with Years 1-2 before, I recommend reading How to Teach Poetry Writing at Key Stage 1 by Michaela Morgan (Routledge). Years 3-6 – I often use one of my poems as a model poem then get pupils to rewrite parts, or set the aim of co-writing a poem together during the session. I use multimedia, artwork, poems or objects to get pupils’ brains generating ideas. Do you have any poems pupils could rewrite? Or a poem with a structure pupils could copy to write their own? If you’re not sure what sort of poem would work for this age group, check out books like Poems for 7 Years Olds edited by AF Harrold and Poems for 8 Year Olds edited by Matt Goodfellow (Macmillan). How to Write Poems by Joseph Coelho (Bloomsbury) is also packed with ideas and writing prompts, aimed at 7-9 year olds. Years 7-9 – Here too, I often use a model poem or co-write something. By the time you get to Year 9, enthusiasm for poetry can wane slightly, so I offer the pupils a variety of themes to work on and let them vote. Writing on non-fiction subjects can work well because having to evaluate sources and assess who to trust when there is conflicting evidence will feed into their studies more generally. For all age groups, I do a lot of writing verbally. Asking people to share ideas by speaking encourages reluctant writers to grow their confidence, contribute and feel like creating poetry is something that is for them. I also go large on editing, which is necessarily very reactive to whatever comes up in class. If pupils complain it’s boring to write 230948093 alternatives for a line that isn’t working, I explain this is literally what I do as my job – except I usually do it sitting on my own at my desk… Above all, be fully present and treat the young people with respect and honesty. And be open to answering their questions (within reason).
After a visit School visits can be exhausting. Think about what you’re doing afterwards, especially if you have another one planned the next day. If you have a burst of visits, e.g. around National Poetry Day or World Book Day, consider prepping for all of them in advance as you may be too tired to do it as you go along. I often have a document folder for NPD and WBD that includes the documents (including travel documents) I need for each school in separate folders so I can easily find everything. And if you’re just starting out, write to your contact at the school to ask for a testimonial.
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Advice from Cecilia Knapp Chat with the teacher before your session If possible, make sure you have some communication with whoever will be with you in the classroom on the day of the workshop delivery. They will be able to help you with the practical aspects of your session, such as room configuration and equipment. It’s important to know the environment you’ll be teaching in, ideally before you start planning. For example, if you can’t move tables and chairs, you won’t be able to deliver an activity that requires pupils to stand in a circle. If you need to show a video or some slides, you’ll need to ensure that the facilities are available. You can also ask for additional materials at this point such as coloured pens, flip chart paper and anything else you might need. Teachers are always super busy and overworked so make sure you do this way in advance if possible, so they don’t have unnecessary stress on the day. A teacher knows their class better than we do as external facilitators and may have some objectives in mind. I always ask teachers if they have any things they particularly want to achieve in the session and do my best to incorporate them. Most of the time, a teacher will leave you to run the session how you’d like, but sometimes they might like you to touch on something that will build on what they are working through on the curriculum. Perhaps they want their pupils to improve their confidence and their presentation skills by reading out their poems at the end of the session. Perhaps they would like you to talk about the editing process. Sometimes they suggest a Q&A segment of the workshop so pupils can ask about what it’s like being a writer. Many English teachers like to encourage this as a way to promote creative careers. A teacher also knows any specific needs a pupil or class might have. I always ask about this so I can make my workshops accommodating and accessible to all pupils. Are there some pupils who struggle with reading aloud or with their writing ability? Are there pupils who might need more regular breaks? Make sure you plan your session around the needs of the pupils. Make sure that the teacher you are working with will be in the room with you at all times. I like to encourage the teacher to join in with the writing too. Teachers work so incredibly hard for their pupils and it’s nice for them to be able to experience the freeing feeling of creative writing alongside their pupils and to be able to be an active participant, to share in that moment of fun and creative achievement with their class. Participating in an exercise also helps to teach it later on; they know how it feels to do the exercise and what is essential to explain.
Create a safe creative environment where pupils can try, play, write, fail and have fun A couple of years ago, I was standing outside St. Paul’s Cathedral in London about to step in for the very first time. I was delivering a poetry project there as part of my year as Young People’s Laureate, working with local schools. It struck me; despite living in London for over a decade, I had never even considered stepping a foot inside. I asked myself why. And then I realised – I was intimidated to step into a building so big. Would I look silly, go through the wrong entrance, conduct myself in the wrong way? The building was so old, so reverent. It wasn’t a space for me. I think poetry can be a bit like this. A huge, old, towering and very significant building with so much history, so many rules. It’s no wonder young people feel scared of stepping a foot inside, especially young people for whom writing is a bit more challenging, or who have never seen someone like themselves in a poem. A lot of what I do when I first get into the classroom is about making poetry seem less intimidating for young people so they can explore it on their own terms, in the way that feels right for them. I will often do some ‘myth busting.’ I will ask them things like: •
‘Does poetry have to rhyme? They will often say yes, and I’ll tell them that no, a poem doesn’t always have to rhyme. If rhyme is not your thing, you don’t have to adhere to it.
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‘Does a poem have to be factual? Does it have to be true?’ Of course, it doesn’t.
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‘Can you write about anything in a poem?’ Of course, you can.
And then I ask them if a poem has to ‘make sense.’ Which of course, it doesn’t! Poetry is a dream world where we can leap from image to image, without the need to explain ourselves. Metaphors can be wild and exaggerated. We can travel through time. We could be a bird. We could summon a door in a poem that opens onto a staircase down into the sea where our memories live. This leads to an interesting discussion about poetry. We are so often bogged down in what a poem ‘means’ that we forget to think about how it makes us feel. When we reframe our analysis of a poem to think about the sensations, memories, thoughts and feeling it activates in us, and how the poet chooses to achieve that, it’s a much more expansive conversation with much more potential for discussion. After all, a poem never just means one thing: it is different for every reader. Framing its effect as a subjective one can be more productive and help us get deeper into how a poem operates.
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I think pupils need to feel free to explore and just write about what they want, before they start thinking about formal tropes of poetry. So every workshop I teach begins with a discussion that centres these rules: 1.
There’s no wrong answer in poetry. Respond to the exercises in the way that feels right for you and no one else. That can never be ‘incorrect.’
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Have fun and let go while you write; don’t think about what you should do or say, just allow your own voice to take you to where you need to be.
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Trust your story, your voice and your life. So many pupils think their own lives aren’t interesting or worthy of a poem, but encouraging more young people to write is so important. It’s about widening the lens of what stories we choose to tell. Sometimes I share this Steve McQueen quote to show them that everyone’s story matters, not just the poets of the past: ‘We can only learn about the world if we look through the eyes of everyone concerned.’
Once pupils are empowered and free to write with no pressure hanging over them, they can produce really interesting work. Of course, then you can go on to talk about editing, craft, form and improving their work through specificity, improved choice of language or metaphor or simile, but they need to be uninhibited in the first instance, to just create. I also talk about how there are certain rules and constraints in poetry, and we can try them out if we want to (for example, writing sonnets or Golden Shovels) but that poetry belongs to the people: we can break the rules and invent new rules if we want to. This democratises poetry and makes us active in it. A fun exercise is to try to invent a form together as a class. What would our rules be? Poetry, like language, is always evolving.
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Exercises to make poetry engaging Once you’ve established the foundation for pupils to write freely, I would do an icebreaker or a physical activity, something silly to elevate the mood and take the pressure off even more. It’s good to try something that allows you to hear from every voice in the room, such as distributing a few ‘conversation starters’ (for example, cats or dogs? Sweet or savoury?), which pupils can discuss in groups and share back. You can use this to discuss how we are all different, and our poems will be too. After this, try some fun and generative exercises listed below! A note on this: plan and time your whole session but be prepared for activities to take longer than anticipated; you may not get around to it all. You might have to skip some exercises to make sure you get onto the main writing task and so pupils get a good chance to write and share. It’s good if the warm up can lay the groundwork for your main writing task. For example, if your main writing task will explore identity, could the lead-up exercises involve finding interesting metaphors to describe yourself? Some classes might be smaller and quieter than anticipated, so I usually have back up exercises or games in case we whizz through what I have planned.
Free writing Let your pupils write freely for two minutes on a prompt of your choice (I remember, if I were a tree, I can’t believe, I am running towards…) without the pressure to be perfect or create a finished poem. Tell them not to hesitate, cross out or stop writing. Allow the ideas to flow without judgement. Allow them to be messy. Tell them they will not have to share with anyone. This is often where the best ideas come out. You can also free write to images or to music. You could take pupils on a walk and pause at various points to free write what they see and feel. There are endless variations.
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Cut up poems Make poems using lines from other poetry books or even newspapers. This takes the pressure off writing but is still incredibly creative and can lead to interesting combinations of language or image that might not have otherwise been reached, which can in turn lead to a discussion about how language can function differently when we are writing a poem.
Modelling through contemporary poems There is an abundance of poetry out there that responds to our current moment. Pupils might engage with this more deeply because it connects with their own lives and they might see themselves reflected. Showing a poem like this is one of the best ways to get pupils excited about poetry but also practically create a template through which to generate a poem. Show pupil poems you have found, either printed out or via video. Discuss the poem (how does it make you feel? What image stands out? What is the poet passionate about? What is the mood of the poem?) Ask pupils how it functions and how it does its work (is it through storytelling? Do the images stack together to create a feeling or transport us somewhere? Are there any poetic techniques like metaphor and why might the poet be using that?) Then use the poem as a template on which to transpose their own individual ideas or use one of the lines as a starting point with the class. Some poems I use in the classroom: •
And if I speak of Paradise by Roger Robinson
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Glory Be to the Gang Gang Gang by Momtaza Mehri
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My Heart by Kim Addonizzio
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Here Too Spring Comes to Us With Open Arms by Caleb Femi
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Rookie by Caroline Bird
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This YouTube Channel from Apples and Snakes with a huge range of spoken word videos
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Ideas for poetry exercises in the classroom Each school visit will vary, depending on the age group you work with and the specific brief. You’ll want to plan each visit in consultation with the teacher, taking into account the theme, the structure of the school day, the layout of the space, what resources you’ll have, and any learning requirements the group might have. Sometimes you’ll work with the same group for a whole day or even a more sustained period, e.g. a writing residency, but sometimes you’ll move from one class to the next over the course of a day. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to planning but it always helps to have a few warm-up exercises to hand. Here are a couple of ideas for poetry exercises.
Playing with metaphor Metaphor is one of the most powerful poetic tools out there but it can be tricky for pupils to get their head around until they see it in action. An easy way to get them used to metaphors is to encourage them to create their own. Start by asking them to think of items they might find in their kitchen or classroom, or in a fictional universe. Get them to write these separately on slips of paper and put them in a box at the front. Now, as a class, brainstorm a list of objects, ideas or people unconnected to the items they thought of before, e.g. celebrities, or abstract concepts like hope and love, or moments in the calendar. Write these on the board. Ask the pupils to choose one of the things written on the board and pick a slip of paper from the box at random. They should then put those things together to form a metaphor and try to come up with a way of elaborating. For instance, they might come up with:
List poems List poems can be a great way to ease pupils into writing poetry. The simple structure of a list makes the writing activity less daunting for pupils who may lack confidence. Begin by choosing a sentence starter that will form the basis of the list. This should be a phrase that every pupil can respond to, such as ‘I like…’, ‘I come from…’, or ‘I need…’. Ask the pupils to brainstorm ways to complete the phrase. You can help them out by suggesting categories. For instance, if you choose ‘I like…’, you might ask them to list a colour, a type of food, a hobby, a song, a family member or friend. Once they have assembled a generous list, ask them to select their favourite items and expand on them, e.g. by adding some description or a simile. They’ll quickly build up a poem that might look something like this: I like orange, the colour of autumn leaves, I like ice cream, so cold it freezes my brain, I like dancing, twirling like a sycamore seed, I like Aunty Jo, cuddly as a cushion. To stretch pupils, you could encourage them to think about how diverging from the structure might add a clever twist to their poem. For example, could they end with a line about something they don’t like? Is there anything surprising they can add to the list?
Hope is a frying pan – you can hear it sizzle. Birthdays are a lunchbox – they open to reveal delicious treats. Sometimes the metaphor won’t make sense, but that’s the fun of it – the more unexpected the metaphor, the more the pupils have to use their imagination!
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Resources to use in the classroom The Poetry Society has a wealth of free resources you can adapt for the classroom. In particular, if you’re working in Primary Schools check out Poetry Train, a collection of activities, poems, and advice for teaching poetry in primary schools. This was created by David Harmer and Roger Stevens. Poetryclass
Poetry and Science
Lots more resources covering a huge range of topics can be found on our website, Poetryclass. Most are in the format of lesson plans, which you’ll need to adapt when delivering live workshops, but there’s plenty of food for thought! Each resource has been designed by our team of expert Teacher Trailblazers and poets. You can search by Key Stage and by topic. Key Stages refer to England, but the activities will often be easily transferable to equivalent age groups in different nations. The final page of this pack shows how different ages and stages map across the UK.
Created for the About Us project, a collection of resources exploring the relationship between poetry and science, including topics like earth and space, the human body, the natural world and the climate crisis. Each resource contains at least one poem commissioned from an expert-poet or written by a young person, with accompanying activities.
Further activities Even more resources are available on The Poetry Society’s Learning from Home pages. Covering everything from abecedarius poems to poetry and mental health, there are video tutorials, themed activity sets, and reading recommendations for children and young people.
Page Fright An online resource that brings historical poetry to life with contemporary spoken word performances. In these videos, Benjamin Zephaniah, Joelle Taylor, Hollie McNish and Dizraeli perform their own work and explore historical works afresh. Sometimes teachers, particularly at secondary school, will ask you to explore historical poems or ask you to focus on spoken word – although this is an archived project, these videos are great for both those things!
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Further afield There are loads more great poetry teaching resources out there. We particularly recommend those created for National Poetry Day (on a different theme each year) and Poetry by Heart, a poetry speaking competition for schools in England. And for more interdisciplinary resources exploring the intersection between arts subjects and STEM subjects, check out the UNBOXED learning programme. Some schools will book a poet visit as part of their Artsmark journey. Artsmark is the creative quality standard for schools and education settings in England. Schools work towards Silver, Gold, or Platinum Artsmark and have to demonstrate that their arts provision meets certain criteria and quality principles. Find out how The Poetry Society’s activity maps onto these criteria here.
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Safeguarding notes for poet facilitators These notes are a brief overview of some of the safeguarding concerns you may need to be aware of when visiting schools. The Poetry Society has a longer and more comprehensive safeguarding policy, which is updated regularly. If you are working with young people on behalf of The Poetry Society, please email educationadmin@poetrysociety.org.uk to receive a copy of the full safeguarding policy. Everyone who comes into contact with children, and their families and carers, has a role to play in safeguarding children. A child is anyone who has not reached their 18th birthday yet.
Visiting schools as a facilitator Every school or organisation you visit where you will come into contact with children should have both a Child Protection Policy and a designated safeguarding lead (DSL). The safeguarding lead should provide support to staff members, including yourself as a facilitator, to carry out their safeguarding duties. If you have concerns about a child, you should ask for help and you must discuss your concerns with a designated member of staff, which will normally be the school’s or organisation’s DSL. This person then has responsibility for ensuring that the appropriate course of action is taken.
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If, for whatever reason, you do not have an opportunity to report a concern during the course of your visit, you should report your concern in writing, in as much detail as possible, to The Poetry Society at educationadmin@poetrysociety.org.uk. The Poetry Society will then contact the school to ensure that the appropriate action is taken, and to help manage any necessary further contact between yourself and the school. It is not your duty to investigate or to decide whether something is or isn’t abuse, only to share information. This is a legal responsibility for anyone working with children. It is best practice to gain the young person’s consent to share their disclosure, but even if they don’t consent, you must still share the information. You can also seek advice at any time from the NSPCC helpline – help@nspcc.org.uk or 0808 800 5000.
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What to do in case of a disclosure (i.e. if a child tells you that abuse or neglect has taken place, or that they are at risk of harm) Recognise: Be vigilant – watching and listening Respond:
Remove immediate risk of harm
Record:
Note down what you see, hear and do
Report:
Report to the designated safeguarding lead without delay
If a child has disclosed something in writing (for example in a poem), or if you have concerns about a child because of something you’ve seen or heard, report these to the designated safeguarding lead as soon as possible and record what you have done. If you would like to, you may follow up with the teacher or designated safeguarding lead, to find out what the outcome was. If you would like to speak with The Poetry Society’s Education Team, please don’t hesitate to contact us via email (educationadmin@poetrysociety.org.uk).
In a Poets in Schools context, you might take the following steps:
Further information
If a child discloses something verbally to you
You may wish to read more about different kinds of abuse and signs to look out for. The four main types of abuse are emotional abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse and neglect.
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Avoid reacting emotionally.
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Ensure they understand you believe them; take them seriously, and do not minimise or try to find other explanations.
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Listen carefully and non-judgmentally.
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Gather information if appropriate.
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Tell them you have a responsibility to share what they’re telling you – do not promise confidentiality. If possible, gain their consent to share their disclosure, and tell them who you’re going to tell.
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Do not promise you can do anything other than support within your role.
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If they are at immediate risk, help to remove the danger if you can (for instance, if they are actively suicidal, call 999 and stay with them).
•
Report immediately to the designated safeguarding lead and teacher and make a record of what was said/heard, what you did, and the time and date. Do not paraphrase what was said, even if it seems inappropriate.
Poet Toolkit
If you have any more specific questions, do get in touch with The Poetry Society’s Education Team. If you’re interested in doing an online safeguarding course, we recommend those offered by NSPCC or Barnardo’s.
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Appendix 1:
Poets in Schools Terms of Agreement for poets When you go into a school on behalf of The Poetry Society, you must agree to the following terms: I will
A note on DBS certificates
•
Communicate with the nominated teacher/staff member in advance to clarify all matters pertaining to the visit and to plan a successful visit.
•
Inform the school/venue and The Poetry Society as soon as possible if there is any change in circumstances affecting the prospective visit. Organising a poet visit can be a significant undertaking for a school or organisation, and The Poetry Society asks poets only to commit to visits they know with all reasonable certainty they can carry out. If a poet is no longer able to conduct a physical visit to the school, but can facilitate a digital visit, The Poetry Society will explore a digital alternative with the school, but cannot guarantee that the school will be able to facilitate this.
We require all Poets in Schools to hold an Enhanced DBS certificate from the last two years, or to sign up to the DBS Update Service. Poets should be aware that a requirement to possess a DBS certificate, whatever the nature or duration of a visit, is at the discretion of the individual school/venue and its child protection policy.
•
Conduct the visit with all reasonable skill and care and to the best of my ability.
•
Adhere to the relevant school or venue’s child protection policy at all times. If the host venue does not have its own policy, adhere to The Poetry Society’s child protection policy.
•
Ensure that I am not left unsupervised with pupils, whether in a school or online.
•
Ensure that the data shared with me about pupils is kept to a minimum, and delete any data about pupils except their first name and their poems immediately after the visit.
•
Invoice The Poetry Society in full for fees and expenses as soon as possible after the event, supplying receipts for any expenses claimed.
•
Take responsibility for arranging any necessary travel and accommodation. We expect you to take standard class travel, and if you drive, fuel is calculated at 45p per mile.
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If you need to apply for or renew your DBS, then please contact us and we can arrange this for you for a minimal admin fee.
Cloud Chamber
Appendix 2:
Ages/Stages across the UK Different nations of the UK use different terminology to refer to educational stages. If you work across nations you’ll want to be aware of this. The tables below outline equivalent ages and stages. Primary Age
Year
Stage
England/ Wales
Northern Ireland
Scotland
England
Northern Ireland
Scotland
Wales
4-5
Reception
P1
P1
EYFS
Early level
Progression Step 1
5-6
Year 1
P2
P2
Key Stage 1
Foundation Stage
First level
Progression Step 2
6-7
Year 2
P3
P3
7-8
Year 3
P4
P4
8-9
Year 4
P5
P5
Key Stage 2
Second level
Progression Step 3
9-10
Year 5
P6
P6
10-11
Year 6
P7
P7
Northern Ireland
Scotland
Wales
Third/Fourth level
Progression Step 4
Key Stage 1 Key Stage 2
Secondary Age
Year
Stage
England/ Wales
Northern Ireland
Scotland
England
11-12
Year 7
Year 8
S1 (BGE)
Key Stage 3
12-13
Year 8
Year 9
S2 (BGE)
13-14
Year 9
Year 10
S3 (BGE)
14-15
Year 10
Year 11
S4
15-16
Year 11
Year 12
First level S1-3 widely known as BGE
Key Stage 4
Senior phase
GCSEs
National 5s
S5
Senior phase
Progression Step 5 GCSEs
Highers
16-17 17-18
Poet Toolkit
Year 12 Year 13
Year 13 Year 14
S6
Key Stage 5
Senior phase
A levels
A levels
Advanced Highers
BTEC
The Cambridge Pre-U
The Cambridge Pre-U
IB
IB
BTEC
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