Violence Reduction Unit - Greater London Authority

When you hear the words 'Violence Reduction Unit' you don't necessarily think of primary schools, but this project 'Talk Matters' set up by the GLA (Greater London Authority) is all about making education and learning as accessible as possible to help young children's literacy and articulation so that they get the most out of their education.

Helping them to speak.

I learnt a new word: Dialogic teaching is the process of using conversation or shared dialogue to explore the meaning of something. A powerful talk by Dr Kulvarn Atwal Executive Headteacher at Uphill Primary School.

This was a preparatory sketch I'd done to get into the zone and focus, as this was a relatively short job of a couple of hours:

And I know this is a bit silly, but I loved the graphic representation of their angular building on the doormat!

And the child bird sculpture facing the building seemed relevant to the emerging themes of isolation and alienation that some children feel when they don't get the support they need at school in the early years (and beyond...!).