Dr. Nasreen Majid (Associate Professor of Education, University of Reading) has worked with Mr. Jim Dees (Headteacher of West Lodge Primary School) to write a successful research funding bid for a school-led research project, titled ‘Nature connectedness through the Arts: Co-creating a curriculum to support pupil wellbeing in primary schools’ . The funding of £3,500 is part of the Curriculum Investigation funding award funded by the British Educational Research Association (BERA) and the British Curriculum Forum (BCF).
The project will work with a group of Year 5 pupils and support them to design a curriculum, encompassing the schools’ estate and local park to enable nature connections to enhance and support pupil wellbeing and the wellbeing of the wider school community.
The Curriculum Investigation funding award is intended to support research led by schools and colleges with a focus on curriculum inquiry and investigation.
Dr. Majid commented that: “I am delighted to support West lodge school in developing this innovative project. This partnership will further strengthen the work with the school and the project will highlight the power of young people driving curriculum development to support wellbeing and sustainability skills”.
Mr. Jim Dees says: “We are very excited to get the BERA funding and work with Dr. Nasreen Majid to develop this project. We feel that this project will empower our Year 5 pupils to take action to create a curriculum which will enable pupils across the school to feel more connected to nature, enhancing pupil wellbeing and embedding a culture of sustainability in the process.”
The project starts in September 2022 and ends in July 2023.
You can find more about Dr. Majid’s research interests here. She tweets at @DrMajid_nasreen.
