Craft unlocks the curriculum in our ambitious two-year primary school project in Dundee.
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Primary schools across DundeeMAKE with the Knit Shop is a two-year CLPL (Career Long Professional Learning) project designed to embed craft approaches in schools. Together with partners the Knit Shop and Dundee Creative Learning Network, the project will explore the value and potential of teaching craft across the curriculum and equip teachers with the skills, knowledge, confidence and experience, to provide quality education and impactful learning through the arts.
Working with six primary schools in Dundee (Ancrum Road, Claypotts Castle, Fintry, Rosebank, St Mary’s and Downfield) it will introduce teachers and pupils in P5 and P6 to new craft-based approaches to developing numeracy skills using the Dundee Progression Pathways for Numeracy. For example, measuring the length of a seam, or calculating the number of stitches in a row of knitting, will be used to consolidate a pupil’s understanding of adding and subtracting.
Over the two year period, teachers will attend a residency at the Knit Shop which is an independent knit factory in Dundee, owned by award-winning Scottish textile and product designer Donna Wilson.
They will also have the opportunity to visit the studios of three independent textile makers (each working with a different textile expertise), be able to involve their classes in an introductory workshop, and have access to practical guides, films, and resource packs to encourage exploration of traditional and contemporary craft processes.
These will include an introduction to textile practice and approaches to decolonising its history in Dundee, an understanding of materials and their connection to place and to the natural world, and an understanding of the circular economy, sustainability and textiles.
MAKE with the Knit Shop is a partnership between MAKE, Knit Shop and Dundee Creative Learning Network, led by Craft Scotland and Panel. It is funded by Paul Hamlyn Foundation’s Teacher Development Fund, with additional support from Creative Scotland as part of their targeted funding to strengthen the craft sector in Scotland.
