UK schools

Hosted in a refugee school tent and to the sounds of east African music, this experience introduces participants to the challenging environment of going to school in a refugee camp.

Through a series of activities, we will highlight:

what is a refugee,
raise awareness of what it is like to go to school in a refugee camp,
simulate some of the daily activities that take place in Kakuma Refugee camp, Northern Kenya…home to over 189,000 people from 22 countries.
This interactive experience is designed for key stage 2 in primary schools and community organisations with children between 7 – 11 years old.

The Refugee Education Experience can be tailored to fit the needs of the group and involves the following elements:

• Life in a suitcase • Becoming a refugee • Refugee camp life • School feeding • Mud-brick school construction • Creating classroom resources • Graffiti wall

The culmination of the day engages pupils in making classroom resources that will be used in our on- going work in Kakuma refugee camp, Kenya.

Naked Teaching Day

Read an article about previous year event by TES here and see what happened at schools across the country at the bottom of this page.

Could You Teach Naked?

Every September it seems like there’s a new whole school initiative hitting the fan. As the Headteacher takes the podium on that first inset day, you hold your breath, waiting to find out what new, quirky trend will permeate your staff meetings for the year ahead…

But what if your headteacher stood up and told you that this month is all about Naked Teaching?…

What is Naked Teaching?

It’s nothing dodgy, honest! It’s just imagining – for a day – what it would be like to have to teach stripped bare of any resources. In other words like the schools we support through WWEP in areas where resources are scarce or non-existent. It’s about liberating yourself from physical ‘necessities’ of the classroom, unshackling yourself from the whiteboard, releasing the learners from desks and freeing the learning space of worksheets, textbooks, whiteboards… – everything!

So ask yourself: what would you teach and how would you teach it if, like teachers in impoverished communities around the world, you had no resources to rely on?

What is #NakedTeachingDay?

Naked Teaching Day is an opportunity for schools across the UK to raise awareness of the plight of children who attend makeshift schools in slums, under bridges, under trees, in refugee camps… It’s a chance for teachers to stick the supplies back in the store cupboard, unleash their inventiveness and undress their lessons. You could even take the kids outside and lose the walls and the chairs too!

And remember, like most activities that include the word “naked”, someone has to be the first to take the plunge! So don’t dither shyly waiting to find out if your colleague down the corridor is going to take part – set the ball rolling yourself. Let your colleagues know that #NakedTeachingDay is coming. Build up the tension and create some anticipation in your school. #NakedTeachingDay is the day to take some exciting risks and skip unfettered onto that cordoned-off section of the scholastic beach you’ve always wanted to try 😉

To kickstart your Naked Teaching escapades, try one of these 5-minute resource-free teaching strategies that can be adapted to teach just about anything: (But beware – as Naked Teaching goes, the following ideas are hardcore because they don’t even involve paper or pens.)

In pairs, learners sit facing each other and try to score points based on tennis scoring by coming up with words or ideas relating to a particular topic e.g. “features of persuasive writing” or “facts about the Tudors”. As soon as hesitation or repetition occurs the opponent gets the points. This can be used for revision or to establish what pupils already know.
Ask learners to choose a fact/quote/number/word/question/idea relating to the subject matter that they can repeat over and over out loud. Learners must get up, move around and speak their piece to as many of their classmates as possible. Each time they exchange an utterance, they must look for the links between what each of them has said. If they think carefully enough they will always find a way to link the two things together!
Call out statements and ask learners to sit down if they think the statement is false and remain standing if they believe it to be true. This can be used to test understanding and knowledge, but can also be used to encourage personal response. Ask learners to turn to the person next to them and justify which position they chose or explain how they “knew”.
In groups, learners make up a song/chant/rap to revise their learning in a topic so far. They should connect key ideas with catchy tunes and rhythms to make concepts doubly memorable. If the kids are brave enough, let them perform their Number 1 Hits to other classmates!
Create a Sound Collage by asking learners to bow their heads and close their eyes. As you circulate around the space, tap random learners on the shoulder. As each person is tapped (and you can revisit certain people!), they call out their “most interesting idea or question” about the topic. Once the sound collage is finished, learners open their eyes and are asked to consider and discuss some of the “anonymous” ideas and questions they heard.

By joining in with #NakedTeachingDay we’re hoping that your school can raise awareness and funds for the many impoverished children around the world that we are currently supporting. See here for how you can donate.

So, are you brave enough to strip down, boldly join in with #NakedTeaching and #NakedTeachingDay and share your pics and ideas with the waiting world?

You have nothing to lose except your inhibitions!

Read an article about previous years event by TES here and see what other schools did below by scrolling down the twitter feed: