CREATIVITY PARTNER

What’s on offer for Primary, Special Schools and Others?

As your Creativity Partner, Julie offers a confidential consultancy and support service for your senior leadership team without judgment or pressure. She acts as an encouraging sounding board, brainstormer, catalyst and ‘change agent’ to assist with:

• Stimulating creativity in the whole life of the school.
• Clarification of education ethos and methodology (the why and how).
• Curriculum planning (plus half-term planning sessions with teachers to encourage, inspire and boost ideas).
• Supporting and/or leading a particular creative project (any curriculum area).
• Creating school environments fit for learning with regard to layout, colour schemes, storage, user-friendliness, flow of movement, where and how to display, signage, stationery and web presence.

How is it delivered?

• On-site discussions with the Senior Leadership Team – individually or otherwise.
• One-to-one teacher/teacher team half-day planning sessions.
• Offsite visits at a location of your choice.
• On-site visit(s) to review school learning environment and collaborate on any potential improvement strategy.
• Zoom sessions. However, these can be less effective: face to face in your location is usually always best – at least at the outset. Zoom sessions might be better for some follow-up meetings.

Feedback/Testimonials:

“What can I say about Julie? Julie is really ‘out there’ – what’s in her head is amazing and she supports and challenges our staff and Associate Teachers to think creatively and outside of the box to make learning for children an exciting and relevant experience.” Steve Jevons Executive Headteacher (Holy Family Catholic MAT), Ignite Institute Director and ITT Strategic Lead.

“I feel empowered!” (After a curriculum planning session.) Nic Purslow, Class Teacher, St. Bernard’s RC Primary School.

“I have loved working with you during this project! You have inspired me and encouraged me to think outside the box. You have challenged my own beliefs about the role of a teacher in a classroom and convinced me of the importance of creativity in all that I do!” Hollie Davis, Woodlands Primary School, about Julie in her role as Specialist Leader in Cultural Education for the Arts Council’s Northwest bridge organisation ‘Curious Minds’.

“I have learnt so much from working with Julie . . . I feel that she has brought out my own creativity and inspired me to think outside the box and push the limits of my teaching.” Hayley Prydderch, Class Teacher, Winsford Primary School.

“Working with Julie has been a tremendously beneficial experience for both the children and teaching team in our Reception class. Thanks to her creative and innovative approaches and skills, there have been numerous and vast improvements in the clarity and flow of our educating environments and provision.” Robbie Fortune, EYFS practitioner, St. Bernard’s National Teaching School, Ellesmere Port.

“You were just on it! When you came in you moved us from having nice conversations to making decisions and setting things in stone; getting our ideas about talking for writing, which was important for relationship-building … I appreciated your decisiveness. You found a good balance – listening to everyone, pinning things down, challenging us about what we would actually be doing. You trusted us … You had the right amount of flexibility with the right amount of rigour, determination and direction, especially with so many people involved. You helped keep a balance amongst the relationships so everyone could keep ownership over the project … It helped me and Ruth step back and think about the schools’ objectives not just thinking it was our own project. We were able to be openly reflective, keeping a check on ourselves.” Leanne Cardill, Creative Director, Cheshire Dance, referring to Julie’s role as Specialist Leader in Cultural Education for the Arts Council’s Northwest bridge organisation ‘Curious Minds’.

“Julie is energetic and passionate about teaching. She strives for excellence within any and all roles she has in schools and is well equipped to take on the challenges. She will commit herself fully within the role being keen to ensure aims and objectives are met.

Julie has excellent organisational skills always using her time to maximum effect. She is able to prioritise her workload ensuring things are completed on or ahead of time. She has an exceptional sense of herself and she can reflect on her own performance accurately and on the performance of others with concern for both the requirements of the task and concern for the person or persons involved.

She demonstrates resilience and flexibility through her commitment and drive for improvement with her own personal qualities inspiring others to work effectively enthusing staff, children and parents alike.” Sue Davis-McCoy, Headteacher, Rossmore Primary School.

More Feedback:

Chester Art Beat

“Julie Mitchell and I are currently Directors of Chester Art Beat. I have worked with her from its creation and Julie has been the Project Manager for the pilot in 2018 as well as for the last Chester Art Beat in 2022.

Julie is highly organised, super-efficient and has brought an energetic enthusiasm into the role. The Chester Art Beat could not have taken place without Julie liaising directly and positively with artists and venues, appointing a photographer, an administrator and other roles to ensure everything operated smoothly.

I have thoroughly enjoyed working alongside Julie as a colleague and would recommend her very highly to work as a Project Manager in any capacity.”

Revd Canon Jane Brooke, Vice Dean Chester Cathedral

Thank you Julie: I truly appreciated your gentle but firm guiding hand, ability to give freedom to develop the role and bring my personal skill-sets, while keeping the focus of the main thing the main thing. You truly have both eyes for big picture and small details which is rare in a leader! A skill I really admire. I also truly appreciated how you always went above and beyond to serve, honour and respect every person and each role they had within the project with such an inspiring way of communicating it. I also witnessed you deal with a fair amount of expectation setting, and heading off potential conflict situations before they could become serious issues and appreciate the diplomacy, communication skills and true understanding of both people and the project required to do this with such elegance and finesse! I couldn’t have dreamed of working for a better director or project manager. Thank you personally for keeping my head on when the crazy hit. Your messages and support were invaluable to my ability to fulfil my brief and role! Elizabeth Biggs, Publicity Manager, Chester Art Beat 2022 – on Julie’s role as Director and Project Manager. Chester Art Beat is the biennial artist-in-residence walking trail in the City of Chester.