Last month, education leaders, practitioners and advocates gathered at Ulster University in Belfast for a ‘Leading for Creative Thinking’ roundtable - part of a UK-wide series suppoting creativity in education.
This initiative, rooted in collaboration and a commitment to enhancing creativity in education, continues to spark conversations and connections across the UK.
Hosted in partnership with the Chartered College of Teaching (CCT) and Ulster University, and facilitated by the Centre for Creative Education (CCE), the event brought together school, system and industry leaders from across Northern Ireland.
The series builds on the Thinking in Schools: A Leadership Playbook and the accompanying Leading for Creative Thinking website.
From the outset, the goal has been to co-develop these resources with the profession and wider partners – an ethos clearly on display in Belfast.
Nia Richards, Director of CCE, said:
“Growing and building a community who are Leading for Creative Thinking begins by mobilising people, connecting the unseen dots, and realising the power of collaboration. Developing children’s creativity starts with us, but it thrives when everyone in the system thinks and works creatively together.”
Dame Alison Peacock, Chief Executive of the CCT, added:
“The joint CCE / Chartered College creative collective was inspiring, optimistic and full of promising energy for working in close future partnership. The art of the possible in action.”
The Belfast roundtable follows a successful meeting of leaders at the London gathering in October 2024, with similar events now being hosted in each of the UK’s nations. These roundtables aim to catalyse regional ecosystems of leadership, build connections, map existing activities and inform a forthcoming state-of-the-nation style report on creative thinking in education.
Dr Claire Woods, Interim Head of School of Education at Ulster University, described the event as “a chance to share experiences and explore new thinking,” while Beverley McCormick, Course Director for PGCE Primary, called it “a celebration of collaboration and the transformative power of creativity in education.”
More information can be found on the Leading for Creative Thinking website.
For further questions, please contact Beverley McCormick, by email to b.mccormick@ulster.ac.uk
