Resources for Teachers at Nottingham City Schools

Nottingham UNESCO City of Literature are offering free copies of ‘Common People: An Anthology of Working-Class Writers’ to Nottingham city schools. Teachers can order free copies of the book by emailing leanne@nottmcityoflit.org with the quantity of copies required and an address for them to be delivered to, before Friday 16th April 2021.

Inspired by Winifred Nicholson’s ‘Violas in the Window’. Nottingham Castle are asking budding artists to send in their view from their window as a creative response. A selection of these WindowScapes will be part of the opening displays at Nottingham Castle this Spring. Find out more on the Castle website 

A great opportunity for schools to celebrate their best readers. The quiz is   for teams of four pupils aged between 10-14. The quiz takes place in May and online registration for a place in the East Midlands Regional heats open on 1 March. Contact henrietta.roberts@literacytrust.org.uk 

Forming part of the centenary celebrations of interwar feminist magazine Time and Tide, this competition encourages pupils to celebrate brilliant women. A 20-minute pre-recorded workshop developed and led by writer and educator Ioney Smallhorne will inspire participants to write profiles (600 words max) of brilliant women in the public sphere. Winning entries will be published on the Time and Tide: Connections and Legacies website. Find out more website or email the Project Officer, Dr Eleanor Reed Eleanor.Reed@ntu.ac.uk  Deadline for entries 22 March 2020. 

 7 March – 6 June. Free. Suitable for 9yrs+  A Digital Resource
We are all familiar with photos of the Holocaust, but who took these images? Using cutting-edge technologies, a mixed-reality experience enables students to enter an immersive, virtual environment to explore Nazi photography. Themes of the show link to current themes such as, Black Lives Matter and Fake News. Resources are available for a fully digital experience, which can be accessed by students learning from home. Contact louise.kay@nottingham.ac.uk  

Nottingham Music Hub have relaunched the fantastic MusiQuest Challenge on their website. It's a free, musical adventure for KS1 and 2 exploring many aspects of music including rhythm, pitch and tempo, and uses     a wide range of musical genres to lead you on a journey through questions and activities to find the mysterious Lost Chord. Featuring CBBC's intrepid explorer Andy Day, MusiQuest is an adventure that can be enjoyed either at     school or at home.  Join the fun by visiting the Nottingham Music Hub website. 

A series of free, short 5 to 15 minute videos and creative tasks which can be done in the classroom or at home. The MoveMore team also offer further support called ‘Beyond MoveMore’ which offers face to face sessions, virtual dance sessions and also CPD training for teachers. Contact   

The National Justice Museum’s expert facilitators bring the museum to your classroom with this online workshop. 

Watch this video to learn more. 

Duration: 1 hour, suitable for KS2

Nottingham Contemporary exhibitions can be experienced through virtual reality, and accessed online with whiteboards and tablets. If you are interested, please contact Amanda Spruyt, who can support with practical advice, planning and resources.     

The Nottingham Poetry Festival  have four Bitesize 10-minute digital workshops for schools, created by local Nottinghamshire poets. The aim is to encourage children and young people to enjoy and create poetry. 

 Votes for Schools is an award-winning platform giving your students a voice on the issues that affect them the most, as well as supporting you to consistently embed SMSC, British Values and Prevent across your school. 

Did you know that Nottingham City Schools can travel for free to events or activities using Nottingham City Transport?  Applications are made through the Aquinas Foundation.at least one week in advance by email to to the Aquinas Foundation nicola@aquinaseducation.co.uk Tel: 0115 9244788 

First Story encourages and supports young people from all backgrounds to write creatively for pleasure and agency through a variety of events and programmes, including the First Story Year-Long Programme in schools.

Staff can also access dedicated creative writing CPD. Find out more about First Story on the website here http://bit.ly/FirstStoryProg

The education loans service at Nottingham City Museums and Galleries, ‘Access Artefacts’, has a collection of over 11,000 museum objects, all suitable for handling and available to use in the classroom. The collection covers a wide range of themes including social history, archaeology, geology, industrial history, the natural sciences and many others. 

Use these sessions as the perfect start to your students’ day to create a positive mindset, inspired and ready for the day of learning ahead. Motivational Mornings has had positive feedback from both students and teachers about the impact it’s had on confidence and motivation levels. The sessions are delivered through Freedom Foundations Lockdown Learning Hub - a safe space for students to access. To find out more email info@freedomfoundationuk.org 

Over the next nine months, Read On Nottingham will be working with schools and the wider community on this project, designed to support the wellbeing of children and young people and encourage them to read and write for pleasure. Activities include virtual author visits, creative writing competitions, book giveaways and more. To find out more and get involved please contact Michael Flynn – Connecting Stories Project Officer 

michael.flynn@literacytrust.org.uk 

Secondary schools are still able to access this fun and effective catch up reading programme. Help your year 7 and 8 students improve their reading, get them engaged and motivated and find their reason to read today. Skills  Academy costs £150. You can register an unlimited number of students on the programme throughout your 12-month subscription. When you sign up to the programme your school also receives a year's membership of the National Literacy Trust worth £100, which gives you access to all of their resources. 

 A few of Nottingham’s galleries are working together to support an anti-racist and inclusive curriculum. They are keen to work with schools and partners in the community.  If you are a teacher in a Nottingham city school and are interested in working with them.

For more information, please email Ruth Lewis-Jones, at New Art Exchange, or Amanda Spruyt at Nottingham Contemporary,   

Explore the extensive variety of resources available for art and design teachers.

Find out about NSEAD courses, conferences and training opportunities.

The Mighty Creative work with education providers and cultural organisations in the East Midlands to support and develop ways of tackling inequality of access to creative opportunities.

Sir Ken Robinson makes an entertaining and profoundly moving case for creating an education system that nurtures (rather than undermines) creativity. 

The Cultural Learning Alliance champions a right to arts and culture for every child. They act as a backbone organisation for the arts and cultural education sector, and provide the analysis, evidence, and arguments that Alliance members and their wider sectors can use.