Computers & IT systems need attention, Classrooms, corridors and spaces must be cleaned, cupboards tidied, stationery re-ordered, art & craft materials topped up and library stock and book-boxes sorted out for the year ahead. All the essential practical tasks.
And the ‘niggly’ tidying has to happen too: all those random items that need to be stored, shifted or even 'moved onwards'. A bags of spare socks, mostly odd? Coloured pages magazines, with the best images removed? Tangled sports day ribbons or unwanted certificates? Irrelevant stickers? Unclaimed papier-mache sculptures? A child's gift too sentimental to take home? Oh well . . .
Old material can have an emotional weight that persists, like the old printed paper file that has been getting one last long look this week. Time for tidying over the summer here, too. Inside is a generous collection of my own particularly 'favourite poems', as once used on primary school visits. At the back, among my 'poetry info' crib sheets, was a wonderfully inspirational quote.
The words came from the poet Pie Corbett, who has been a teacher, headteacher, lecturer & Ofsted Inspector, as well as a vocal critic of the government’s approach to testing in schools. His popular ‘Talk for Writing’ teacher training programmes influenced many schools and teachers, and he is the author of over two hundred books.
The quote I collected came from one of his earliest books: ‘Catapults & Kingfishers: Teaching Poetry In Primary Schools' which was a useful ‘how to’ book, full of ideas, poetic forms that children can enjoy and language games, and one that I worked with many times. What was clear was that, though Pie enjoyed the fun that went with writing poetry as an activity, he was also very sure about what he wanted children to experience during creative writing sessions. He did not want rote teaching or to see his advice become dull prescription. Nor did he want a silly sentimental approach. He wanted the children to feel they could play with language, that words were theirs to own and use.
What Pie Corbett wrote was this:
A SERIOUS GAME
“It is never easy to say what it is that creates an atmosphere where children write creatively, (where there is) an enjoyment of what each individual has to offer, a love of words, a rich and exciting use of language, an encouraging attitude so that children start to change their self-image, to feel that they can do it. Above all it is probably the ability of the teacher to turn the whole activity into a serious game. A game that is both fun and fulfilling. This will go a long way towards developing a love of writing and enhancing our children’s lives with a clearer expression of the true nature of themselves and their world.”
When I found this quote, printed ready for some long-ago INSET sessions, I paused in my tidying, sorting and shredding and thought for a while.
A SERIOUS GAME?
Words needed not only for the children? Maybe a reminder to me that, even in this summer’s exhausting heat, writing can be more than a trudge. A hint of playfulness, a touch of the serious game might make a more useful approach to my own writing projects. Think on't, Penny. A game of words, but a serious game indeed.
Meanwhile: Researching this post led me to Children'sPoetrySummit.com, a current, useful site about UK poetry for children, but which is linked to the work of Pie Corbett and Brian Moses and writing in schools. https://childrenspoetrysummit.com/
In particular, I'd recommend finding the page Fire Lit Eyes: Running a School Writing Club by Brian Moses for a powerful but nostalgic description of how they worked with children in schools back, as they say, 'in the day'. Seriously!
Penny Dolan
July 2026
1 comment:
A touch of playfulness sounds good, Penny!
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