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Big Wide Talk is an independent uniquely skilled organisation that reaches out to and speaks with children, parents and practitioners where they live and work, strategically connecting them to government. We are committed to documenting debate about children’s lives, regardless of race, religion, politics or gender and to raising awareness about inequality and the ways in which it can be redressed.
We have developed a way of working which always involves doing exciting things with children, and enabling them, their parents, young people and practitioners in their communities to write stories about what they have learned using multimedia and web-assisted tools. We work in partnership with parents, community groups, local authorities, schools, and other public bodies to tackle the issues that confound existing solutions: the gap in educational achievement between the poorest and better off children; the reconciliation of family and employment; the inclusion of children with disabilities, and the eradication of child poverty. |
Click on the images to view the films and read the stories |
Theatres of Learning
Theatres of Learning are community events in which children demonstrate their creativity and learning themselves. Typically Big Wide Talk will set up an arena in which children can direct their own activity. Parents and teachers will take part as observers but also make themselves available for the children: answering questions, organising toilet trips and so on. Theatres of Learning address many of the issues that confront today’s child and adult learners. They are open-ended so that children and adults are not judged against national frameworks but rather are allowed to learn in their own ways. They can learn together or alone, in pairs or in crowds. We have run many of these events increasingly engaging local parents in the production and in every instance children have had a fantastic time. We have been stunned by the sheer excitement of the children and young people. From very young children through to the end of primary, and the secondary students who volunteer, the response has been extremely positive. With one voice these children and young people are saying "help us to do things our way and we’ll show you how much we can think and achieve for ourselves."
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Our New School (above)
Our New School is one example of what can be done. We were given a deserted secondary school, where we set up our six metre high Perspex climbing wall, turned the sports hall and drama studios into 'The Colourbox' (where it was possible to do larger than life experiments with light) turned the assembly hall into a cloth farmyard, the library into a cloth supermarket, laundrette and church and the school kitchen and dining room into a cloth kitchen and cafe. Our New School became 'Our Outstanding Children' as parents and practitioners saw the children in a new light. |
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 > Cloth Place Semin |
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Growing Up in MorecambeThe psychologist, Jerome Bruner, once said 'every place has its own spirit, its own past, its own aspirations' (June 1997) when talking about the ways in which children and families learn. Following the Morecambe Theatre of Learning children, parents and other family members are sharing their understanding of how children and young people tackle challenges, confront fears - fear of heights, fear of the dark, fear of embarrassment - and learn about themselves and their relationships with the world around them. Many of these conversations have been captured on film, while some families have written their comments into research story templates on our website. Â
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