Look and Learn - The Programme

Support the Look and Learn Schools Programme


ABOUT US

Since 1998, Foto8 has provided multiple platforms for photojournalism and documentary photography. Through its online and print publications, and its gallery premise from 2005-2012, the company has been at the forefront of innovative and inspiring photographic productions.

During 2012, co-founder Yasmin Keel and I delivered a pilot programme of 17 one-day workshops for primary schools at Foto8's gallery. We introducing the children and their teachers to photo stories and artists. Through exhibitions, projections, discussions and making their own pictures the sessions we held covered topics that reflected the class' curriculum. After these sessions finished in November, and Foto8 closed its doors on its gallery, we sat down with those teachers and head teachers and designed a new schedule of classes to continue this innitiative. With their great approval and enthusisam we will now be able to continue the sessions in their schools whilst also building the programme to be replicated in classrooms across the country.

Teaching Programme

Amongst the many children growing up in London, a overwhelming majority have little access or experience of the huge arts and cultural scene our city has to offer. The programme will introduce children to a photography-based activity learning that focuses on the curriculum class topics, thereby making the learning experience both fun, meaningful and accessible to children across a wide range of abilities and social backgrounds.

The programme itself is divided into three teaching modules:

>> Looking at and interpreting a photographic body of work

>> Learning class topics by applying visual tools

>> Hands-on workshops exploring creative techniques and individual expression

Whilste we are delivering classes to children in London, we will contribute to and maintain an online network of participating schoiols, artists and professionals.

Thanks to Foto8's large network of photographers and educators we look forward to making our courses available in areas all across the UK and in other partner countries.

Thanks to digital dissemination online we will share materials and provide class structures so that teachers and children can enjoy the creative learning experience and techniques that we want to give them.

In 2013 we will continue to work with established partner organisations such as the established advocacy and photography charity, PhotoVoice, and the innovative and exciting Brooklyn Photo organisation UPI. These respected organisations will provide monitoring, evaluation, exhibition and publishing expertise to our programme helping us to create Open Education Resources with our classwork material and network of educators.

The schools we have targeted to launch this programme are in three London boroughs: Hackney (St John and St James Primary School), Islington (Newington Green Primary School & St John Highbury Vale) and Tower Hamlets (Harry Gosling Primary School). These schools are in the 5% of the most deprived boroughs in England (Indices of Deprivation 2010).

The majority of the children who will benefit from our programme have limited or no access to art and photography outside their classroom and come from a wide range of cultural and ethnic backgrounds.

Classes in Years 4, 5 and 6 in each school will each enjoy four sessions of our programme, including participating in a creative workshop to make their own images and make their own personal photo stories.