Preparing for your poet visit If you’re thinking about booking a poet to visit your school, you might want to take some time to consider the following factors and discuss them with your colleagues first. When would you like the visit to take place? Will it be a one-off full day in the summer term, a half-day on a Monday morning, a regular after school club? A lot will depend on your budget but you might also have specific goals you’d like a poet to work towards with the pupils. Bear in mind that poets often get booked up around events such as National Poetry Day and World Book Day, so it’s useful to be flexible too.
Which year group(s) would you want the poet to work with? It is unlikely the poet will be able to cover every class in one day! Most poets are happy to do an introductory reading/assembly and then work in small workshop groups. The benefit to pupils is greatest when the poet is able to work with a group over a longer period; we strongly recommend that, where possible, the poet is able to spend a full morning/afternoon with each group.
How many pupils do you envisage being in a workshop with the poet at one time? We recommend not more than 25-30 pupils in one workshop. If it is possible to lower the numbers to 15-20, this ensures each pupil is able to feel the full benefits of a poet visit.
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Is there a particular theme that you would like to cover, or specific areas of learning you’d like the poet to address? What do you hope to get out of the visit? Is the poet’s visit leading up to the pupils’ exams; if so, can it be a different way to approach topics or texts on the syllabus? Do you want a mixture of reading and writing? Perhaps you want a performance element (by the poet or the pupils!). Do you want the poet to focus on wellbeing, teamwork, or the pure enjoyment of poetry? Poets can be flexible if you tell them what you need.
Could a digital Poets in Schools visit be an option, either as a first-choice or as a back-up (e.g. in case a poet contracts Covid-19 but is well enough to deliver a workshop online, etc.)? Consider that digital visits will need to be structured differently from in-person visits, to allow for different attention spans and the tech set up in the classroom. You might need to take a more active role as the poet will not be in the same room, and you’ll need to communicate to the poet in advance about which platforms you use to connect, and any safeguarding implications. Once you’ve thought about all the above, get in touch with us and we’ll help find you a poet!
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