Case Study: Leighton Primary School

We taught the children about rivers and their features, and we spent a day in Nene Park doing a range of activities close to and connected to the River Nene.

The following day we began our Art project, led by artist Stuart Payn, which took place over three days. On the first day the children experimented with mark-making and spray-painting with stencils. The outcomes were used on the second day to make individual collaged fish, and then on the final day to produce a final group collage of a river scene. These collages were photographed and combined digitally to produce a permanent river tableau which will be mounted on a wall by the main entrance of the school.

Alongside the art project, we have also written descriptive river poems and have learnt about the plastic crisis, its impact on river and marine life and potential solutions.

Moving forward, we have incorporated the Rivers of the World units of work into the Geography curriculum for each year group in Key Stage Two, and we plan for our classes once they move into Year 4 to learn about our partner school's country, Morocco and to conduct an art project based on their local river.

The children have really enjoyed working with a professional artist, and have learnt many new skills from Stuart. Already an artistic class, he has inspired many of the children to pursue their artwork. The children have also begun a learning journey which will continue over the next four years which will make them much more aware of the Global Goals for Sustainable Development and of their own impact on climate and the environment.