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Primary education

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

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Original poster

Have your children ever had a writer in school?

130 replies

UnquietDad · 18/01/2008 12:59

Did your child find it worthwhile?
if they did - please tell the head/G&T person over and over and bang on about how much they got out of it.

I think I may have talked about this last year, before I did it. Very successfully became part of a small team last year, doing Writing In Schools sessions with Y5. The kids loved it and did some great writing.

The school paid out of its G&T budget although we didn't exclusively always work with G&T. The Children's & Young People's Directorate of the LA helped us out with admin and getting schools involved. This year, they have not, so it's been up to us to contact the schools we want to work with, including those we have worked with before. I'm currently feeling like a double-glazing salesman and it's all going down like a cup of cold vomit.

I emailed 4 schools and have been making follow-up phone calls this week.

School A's G&T person wasn't there but I left my number and asked for a call back.

School B said straight away that they couldn't afford it. But budget comes in April so they will let me know if there is a change. Rrrright...

School C responded as if I were speaking in Serbo-Croat and their secretary seemed to display excessive dimness, not having any recollection at all of my email. I have sent the info again.

School D's secretary was a dragon - very short with me and said "if it came through I would have sent it to the relevant person." She VERY grudgingly acceded to my request for the head to get back to me.

What is it with these people??!

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Threadworm · 18/01/2008 13:05

Our primary had a writer in a few terms ago -- it was because a pupil from the school had won a writing comp (My ds1! proud proud.

Ds2 was one of the beneficiaries, and he enjoyed it though didn't rave about it.

Our school also laid on a trip to local library to meet Anne Fine, which was good.

Enid · 18/01/2008 13:05

yes and he took every opportunity to flog his books

Original poster

UnquietDad · 18/01/2008 13:06

Enid

Someone's got to! I doubt his publishers were making much of an effort...

OP posts:

MorocconOil · 18/01/2008 13:10

A poet comes twice a year and works with all the classes. The children love it.
I have heard some schools have writers in residence. We (PTA) were thinking about funding this but have no idea about the cost of it. Have you any idea UQD?

Polgara2 · 18/01/2008 13:11

Yes we have had a writer come into school for the past few years. Ok so he flogged his books - but why not - you can always say no! My dc absolutely love it and do get a lot from it. How can it not be a good idea?

coppertop · 18/01/2008 13:14

Our primary school had a visit from a writer last year. My 7yr-old really enjoyed it and conned talked me into buying some of the books afterwards.

BecauseImWorthIt · 18/01/2008 13:17

My dcs primary school had a visit from a writer (some years ago now). It turned out to be an ex boyfriend of mine from University who I hadn't seen since then!

Sorry to hijack this post, but I got a lot more out of this than my kids as it was great to see him again some 20 years later.

Good luck UD.

Original poster

UnquietDad · 18/01/2008 13:18

mimizan - our group has always charged the standard Arts Council/Creative Partnership rate for workshops which is £100 for a half-day session.

Writer in Residence - not sure, but work out how long you want them for and work out a proportion of a "reasonable salary" rate. The Society of Authors will advise: site here

But good luck with it - great idea. Which area are you in?

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Original poster

UnquietDad · 18/01/2008 13:20

By the way, some schools/LAs think it's OK to ask writers to come in for nothing, which is pretty cheeky.

That's known as "giving up a day to do voluntary work", which is something else entirely.

How many of you who work or your working DH/DPs would do the same?...

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Iklboo · 18/01/2008 13:23

I think it's a good idea. When I was at school a few of us (swotty) kids got to spend an afternoon with Roger McGough doing poetry seminar thingy. It was great

Threadworm · 18/01/2008 13:23

Giving up a day's pay to do voluntary work is fine in general, but not for writers, who have already given up a lifetime's pay to do voluntary work.

frogs · 18/01/2008 13:24

Authors do this as part of book promotion tours, don't they?

My dc's current primary schools are v. geared up on this: over the past year ds (Y4) has had Chris Riddell, Michael Morpurgo and Anthony Horowitz. For MM the kids were queuing out of the door. There was a lot of book flogging going on, but the authors were also signing old copies brought from home and chatting to the kids.

I [heart] the (male, gorgeous) literacy co-ordinator at ds's school.

Twiglett · 18/01/2008 13:27

this guy is amazing

marina · 18/01/2008 13:29

Yes, regularly UQD - and the children always have a ball
Er, I do reside in the loathesome fee-paying sector, though

marina · 18/01/2008 13:30

We had Jeremy Strong most recently frogs and everyone adored him
Your Literacy Coordinator sounds enviable

Original poster

UnquietDad · 18/01/2008 13:31

There's a difference between promotion and coming into schools to work. A promotional visit should only really be a reading and questions. The kind of work I am talking about is working with the kids on their writing.

It's a tough call but I have done odd things - radio is one - without pay in the hope that they will be part of generally enticing people to buy my books.

Don't forget you the writer has to get there - travel costs are sometimes not even paid. And every day he is out promoting his work is another writing day lost.

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MorocconOil · 18/01/2008 13:33

UQD- Thanks for the site. We are in Manchester. Do you think 8-10 half-day sessions would be ample? It would be great for all the pupils to benefit.

Do you know how we could go about finding someone appropriate?

I agree completely about the need to pay people. It gives an important message to the pupils about jobs in the arts being important IMO.

frogs · 18/01/2008 13:35

He is delightful. And cool. All the boys adore him, and ds and one of his mates are writing a novel of their own, Anthony Horowitz-style. Lots of gizmos and baddies being killed.

UQD, ours have all been promotional visits, then. But I think in a way I would prefer to have authors there to inspire the kids, and leave the teachers, who know the children and know how to teach, to improve the children's prose styles.

Not sure how much use a one-off workshop is to the children really, particularly since the author would only be able to work with a very few of the kids.

Original poster

UnquietDad · 18/01/2008 13:37

mimizan - it depends what you want. A "residency" implies something a bit longer, to be honest - implies working throughout the school on different projects. But a lot could be done with the same group over 8-10 sessions if you were thinking in terms of a smaller-scale project!

As for finding someone - well, I could do it, travel/timing permitting...! (I'm just across the Pennines...)

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Original poster

UnquietDad · 18/01/2008 13:38

frogs - no, that's right, which is why we've always done 5-6 sessions with the same group.

Even if the writer is just there to "inspire" (s)he should be paid!

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marina · 18/01/2008 13:39

It would be marvellous for every school to have a chance of experiencing "Writer in Residence" for a term, or whatever.
Agree that while promotional visits are fun, they tend only to inspire the children who already enjoy writing and are primed to go off and get their own ideas on paper. Ideally, as UQD says, this is about getting all children in a class/school expressing themselves in writing and discovering how much fun it is, in these days of worksheets and spelling lists

Original poster

UnquietDad · 18/01/2008 13:40

marina - that's it, and the teachers are always so pleased too to be able to do something which is non-National-Curriculum.

OP posts:

mrspink27 · 18/01/2008 13:41

Twiglett - We have had Anthony Lishak to and he was fab!

We have also had Ian Beck and James Mayhew.

frogs · 18/01/2008 13:41

Oh yes, I have no issues with writers being paid! I just assumed that it was set up by the publishers as part of the promotional tours the authors have to do in their contract, so not sure whether the writer would get paid directly for the 'inspiration' session. But judging by the number of books being flogged on the Michael Morpurgo visit, it would pay for itself quite nicely.

TooTicky · 18/01/2008 13:43

UQD, now I'm curious to know who you are

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