Beach Haven is a primary school with approximately 350 students based in North Shore, New Zealand. The school has a high percentage of Maori families and prides itself on having strong links with the community. Beach Haven is classified as a decile 4 school (deciles range from 1-10 indicating the extent to which it draws its students from low socio-economic communities).
We approached Beach Haven via the back entrance, through a wooded walkway. The grounds were spacious and green. Entering the office, our eyes were instantly drawn to a photo of a suitcase in their field. As we looked closer, we noticed members of staff dressed as forensic scientists and an area taped off to the students.
The whole school approach to learning was intriguing and before we had time to process it, we were invited into The Principal’s (Stephanie Thompson) office.
During our meeting with the Principal, alongside their Deputy Principal (Judy Mathias), we were told about all the exciting provision and support that Beach Haven offer. What intrigued us most was our conversation around the word ‘creativity‘, which we will explore towards the end of this blog post. Following on from this meeting were were offered a tour of the school, not by the Principal, but by two students.
Student Voice and Participation
We were very impressed that the school encouraged the students to lead our tour. We were introduced to two very competent and confident house captains, who were able to effortlessly answer our questions and gave a detailed overview of Beach Haven. It is clear that student voice and participation is at the centre of the school’s philosophy. For example, the assemblies are not conducted in the usual way. Students plan and deliver all assemblies without teacher instruction. This is particularly interesting for us, as we had not heard this before, and it was refreshing to see students valued in leadership roles. We were also told by our tour guides that there are many opportunities for students to be actively involved in the running of their school, including leading community meetings, student inquiry groups and becoming cultural ambassadors. For more information please view Stephanie’s blog posts, ‘Inquiry Team‘ and ‘Cultural Ambassadors‘.
As we entered the classrooms we noticed that the atmosphere felt relaxed and students were completing their work in different spaces around the room. Some were completing their work at desks and some were laid on the floor. The students had a brief free-flow time and then were asked by the teacher to write a reflection on their morning. It appeared that the students enjoyed writing about their experiences, making us reflect on the importance of using students interests to engage writing. Before lunch the students were asked to read their work aloud into a microphone. At first we were a little apprehensive and felt that this could be intimidating for some students. However, we observed students confidently reading aloud their work, and they appeared to take great pride in their achievement. This continues our theory: when children are in an enabling environment they can express their thoughts and opinions openly.
Project-based Learning
Project-based learning is woven into Beach Haven’s philosophy and is central to how they learn. As well as a project-based approach to learning the classes share a whole school inquiry topic, which aims to ignite a sense of curiosity and wonder for the students. As we walked through the school we were particularly interested to see the range of different avenues each class explored.
One inquiry at the time of our visit was based around the history of Beach Haven. They provoked their students with a mystery ‘alien landing’ in the playground. The students were shown a video, created by a member of staff, of what appeared to be footage of an object crash landing. The school then went outside to explore the landing site. Members of staff were dressed as forensic detectives and the students were presented with a briefcase full of poppies and scrolls.
A project like this is risky: it requires hard work and collaboration from the children and staff. Some of these risks include lack of parent support, not covering the curriculum and disengagement from students. However, schools that take this risk and think outside of the box create opportunities for learning that students will not forget. We have both sat here and tried to think of an example from our schooling of lifelong learning – and have been unsuccessful. We are convinced that the children of Beach Haven will remember an ‘alien landing’ for the rest of their lives, and they are probably still talking about it now.
The school do not carry out their inquiries on a fixed timetable. Another important and innovative element to Beach Haven is the freedom the school experience. The teachers and students are in control of their individual timetables – meeting the personal needs of each class. We were told that the class would arrive at the beginning of the day and work out what they needed to finish and when to fit it in. This creates opportunities for individual students and classrooms to determine the end point in their discoveries. When students are able to take ownership over their learning (previously mentioned in our Melbourne Montessori post), they develop a sense of self-satisfaction and can determine the endpoint of their investigation.
Defining ‘Creativity’: Conclusion
After our visit to Beach Haven, we noticed that the Principal had written a blog post about our visit. It discusses the term ‘creativity’ and the Principal’s concerns on whether the school would be of use to our research project. The Principal explored the definition of creativity, as she had preconceived notions of it meaning ‘arty’ things. She reflects in her blog, after researching definitions of creativity, ‘I think of creative in terms of methodology but not ‘artsy’ creative.’ She came to the conclusion that Beach Haven are creative by providing innovative opportunities for their students. The Principal’s reflective blog was extremely important for us in confirming our philosophy on creativity in education. At this stage of our project, creativity means innovative and imaginative approaches to teaching and learning.
Beach Haven is a melting pot full of different ingredients, creating an innovative space for learning. Their willingness to take risks and think outside of the box is infectious and has inspired us greatly. The school value their students as able, competent and active members of their society – something we are very passionate about. We believe that Beach Haven’s approach to learning and the attitudes they share are essential for change in education.
We would like to thank Stephanie Thompson and all the staff at Beach Haven Primary School. If you would like more information on the setting please click here.
Light – Bulb Ideas:
– Microphone for children to read their writing aloud. We feel that this helps children to depict whether their work makes sense.
– Students leading assemblies
– Students giving tours of the school
– Displaying the whole school topic in the reception area
Kindling Creativity 
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