Rosen takes poetry into the 21st century



Parklands Junior School - Year 6 pupils and Michael Rosen

On Friday 17^thJune, ten primary schools from the London Borough of Havering, took part in a Poetry Slam via Video Conference with Michael Rosen, former Children's Laureate and one of the best-known figures in the children's book world.

Parklands Infants, Parklands Juniors, Rise Park Infants, Rise Park Juniors, Scargill Infants, Ardleigh Green Juniors, Clockhouse Primary, Engayne Primary, Crownfield Juniors and Crownfield Infants all performed Michael Rosen poems to each other via Video conference. 

Scargill Infants - Year 2 pupils perform "Road" while Rise Park Infants,
Crownfield Infants and Parklands Infants watch.

Michael Rosen quoted “I thought today was a great example of what the future could look like: children, schools, writers, performers and experts talking together, sharing ideas, asking and answering questions. This is education as a dialogue. I really enjoyed it – and learnt a lot too”.

Led by their LA, the schools are all part of the Havering Video Conferencing Development Group.  They have been working together over the past year to form local, national and international partnerships, linking with VC content providers and experts to use VC technology to enhance curriculum and CPD opportunities. 
Scargill Infants School, Clockhouse Primary School and Engayne Primary School were the proud winners of the poetry slam judged by Rosen. Well done!

Clockhouse Primary, Rise Park Juniors  and  Ardleigh Green Juniors
watch eagerly as Parklands Juniors Perform "Broccoli"

Dave Smith, ICT Adviser, London Borough of Havering School Improvement Services says:
“Michael Rosen’s involvement in this event is a superb opportunity for pupils in Havering schools to further develop their poetry-writing skills. This is yet another example of the forward-thinking approaches to teaching and learning adopted by our schools in order to further raise standards through the use of new technologies. 10 different schools working with an author in a morning is a very efficient use of time and resources. We are very lucky to have Michael involved – he is a true giant in the world of children’s literature.”