Creative Partnerships, Hungary

Working with Hungarian Partner Tarki Tudok, CCE established a pilot Creative Partnerships programme in a group of schools in Pécs, about 225 kilometres south of Budapest. The first stage of the pilot took place in the Spring semester of the 2013/2014 school year and involved all seven schools belonging to the Budai Városkapu School Centre.

The second stage of the programme was launched in the Spring semester of the 2014/2015 school year. After consultations with the heads of schools, three schools were selected with a Grade 5 class in each to serve as pilot sites. A Grade 5 class of another member school and one from a pilot school were chosen as control classes; the latter had never been involved in, and the teachers were not familiar with, the Creative Partnerships programme.

Training for teachers and creative practitioners was delivered at the Faculty of Music and Visual Arts of the University of Pécs from 26 – 28 January 2015. The practitioners had all participated in the first stage of the programme a year earlier. The training was particularly focussed on the delivery of maths. Activity began in schools in February and lasted until April. The programme evaluation recorded significant improvements in behaviour and attainment. In particular, the maths scores of the children in the pilot programme improved substantially, particularly when compared with similar children in the control classes. A full report on this project, with qualitative and quantitative analysis of the impact, can be found here.

The programme has been extended for a further year, expanding to seven schools, but again focussing on the delivery of maths.

Creative Partnerships Hungary Pilot Programme