As well as being an experienced Creative Practitioner, Sian Hughes has extensive experience working as a freelance Creative Agent, during which time she has helped manage and guide creative learning projects across schools in Wales, all the while supporting the Arts Council of Wales’s Lead Creative Schools Scheme to achieve its aims.
Sian Hughes said: “Being a Creative Agent is a privilege, as it allows you to work closely with other creative professionals at an early stage in the genesis of a project. It’s exciting to be able to use your own experience of creativity, and creative practice, to help support the development of a creative learning project, whilst at the same time making sure that projects respond to the development needs and priorities of individual schools and their learners.”
Projects so far include the design and construction of a willow circle and outdoor pizza oven by Year 2 and 3 learners at Ysgol y Bannau as part of a literacy and wellbeing project, an animated film celebrating local history made by learners at Ysgol Penalltau to support literacy and ICT skills, and a cycle of original songs and stories composed by learners at Ysgol y Bannau to mark the school’s 50th anniversary, aimed at supporting oracy.
Sian Hughes said: “I enjoy every aspect of being a Creative Agent, but perhaps the most rewarding aspect is seeing how quickly learners rise to the challenge of a creative learning project, witnessing first-hand how creative approaches make learning more engaging and effective, in turn helping to embed creative learning within the culture of a school.”
