Birmingham Summer Camps Training Birmingham Style Musings and
Birmingham Summer Camps – Training “Birmingham Style” Musings and Reflections
Birmingham Summer Camps – Training “Birmingham Style” Objectives: • Rationale • How the camps worked • Reflections: what went well and what went wrong! • Musings: how can we improve things / the future • Questions?
Rationale 1. Retention 2. Opportunity to intensively teach “well” 3. Fun!
Year 1 • Focus: new ringers (because we had a ready -made group through a local link with a Cathedral choir) – Thus recruitment was fairly easy…
Key ingredients… 1. Keen volunteers prepared to give up their time to help Use each individual’s skills, even if they do not want to teach.
Key ingredients… 2. Lots of good ideas – be creative! 3. An outing / variety of activities 4. Keen participants
- 2 X groups aided differentiation - Peer assessments - Visits to Cathedral - Ringing games: frisbee - Non-ringing games! - Lots of cake breaks - Handbells - Outing to 2 towers and bowling - Outing to Worcester Cathedral: the Ringing Centre
More than just a coloured sheet! Followed a set teaching pattern to ensure continuity between teachers
Success? Yes! Fantastic progress made All but one completed Group mixed in well and questionnaires were positive
Success? And no… 1 x continued ringing (bringing his whole family into ringing and now confidently ringing Stedman Cinques). But no others continued… A unique individual? In all, a lot of effort for one ringer… (though the others might come into it at a later date and it does help raise profile of ringing)
Overall reflections on 2012 • Better communication needed with parents over commitment • Greater variety of activities /less intense days
Year 2 Recruitment for new learners was less than successful… We haven’t solved this yet…
Year 2 • Focus: existing ringers • Skills-based and developing links
Various activities
Overall reflections on 2013 • Was very good for building up skills • Excellent progress made in quick time • Focus on theory and practise • No new ringers though…
Musings… • Recruitment remains key • Social media? • It is a lot of effort – what do we get back?
but… “Overall I really enjoyed the course and I learned a lot and I’d like to thank all the instructors for making it such a great and memorable week. ” “I think I am definitely a better ringer after this week” “It has been surprisingly fun. If it’s on next year, I’d sign up”
Potential obstacles which can be overcome! • Funding • Resources • Support • Organisation
Trickier obstacles … in Birmingham anyway • Recruitment • Long term gains (retention of new ringers)
Birmingham Summer Camps – Training “Birmingham Style” Overall conclusions… A lot of good fun Huge progress can be made in very little time It is certainly not impossible and worth the effort We have not got it perfect in Birmingham, but we are trying • The more we share good practise, the better! • •
Birmingham’s future Summer Camp 2014 Birmingham School of Ringing
Thank you for listening Any questions?
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