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SCHOOL/LIBRARY BOOKINGS
I am
available for school visits – wherever they may be!
Having visited around 2,000 schools, I have a broad understanding
of schools / library- based work (see Biography).
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INFANT AND
JUNIOR / PRIMARY SCHOOLS Most days begin with a performance to the whole school (KS 1 & 2). If you have a particularly large school (400 plus) it may be that there would have to be two performances – one for KS1 and one for KS2. The performance would usually last at least an hour – sometimes longer with KS2 – and would include lots of audience participation, laughter, fun as well as introducing a wide variety of poetic styles, moods and subjects. Usually, I will follow the performance with three one-hour sessions with individual classes in KS2. In these there will be an opportunity for the pupils to ask questions as well as undertake a poetry-based exercise. This may take the form of a written poem, a group poem or a performance poem. There will be follow-up work required to complete this and the class teacher should be present for the duration of the workshop. Follow up guidelines will be given as part of the session. In KS1 workshops are usually 30-40 minutes. They can involve one class and often it’s useful to put a couple of classes together. I would usually begin the session by drawing a few cartoons of the characters from the poems and then lead the children into a performance poetry workshop where we would pool ideas and turn them into a group performance. Again, there would be follow-up work available. It is not usually possible to fit more than three workshops in the day, following the performance.
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SECONDARY
SCHOOLS Performances can be for year groups and usually last an hour. If there is opportunity for this session to be longer then this is advantageous as it may give chance for questions and answers. Workshops will be in lesson times and I would normally expect to do three workshops in addition to one performance (or four sessions maximum ) during the day. It is important that the English teacher is present with their own class so that follow-up work can be undertaken. Again, a wide variety of workshops are available from individual to group work.
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INSET AND
TEACHERS’ CONFERENCES I am also available for performance and workshops for teachers to give practical guidelines about writing and performing poetry. A wide variety of approaches is available. Appropriate fees can be negotiated in these cases.
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Once a booking has been made, I will write to you to confirm this and send you a contract and some guidelines. These can be found left, for your information. You will receive an invoice, so that payment can be arranged for the day of the visit. It is your responsibility to talk to your secretary/bursar about financial matters. I have experienced some difficulty with this since being VAT registered but it is also my experience that with sufficient notice schools can arrange payment for the day. If payment cannot be arranged for the day, a small additional charge has to added to compensate for the waiting time for County cheques to arrive.
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