by Dawn Foxall | Jan 8, 2025 | Articles, Events, News
WE ARE 10 YEARS OLD!!!
In June 2015 we held our first events for textiles teachers and since then run networking events and workshops nationally, bringing together teachers with a passion for textiles. We also started to manage the Textile Teachers Centre online community and built this amazing group, connecting teachers from all over the world.
Our original aim was to support textiles in schools and build a community which would help each other and we support with textiles specific CPD, networking groups and resources to both encourage and inspire teachers . Through textiles education, we want to build a better world together – empowering, educating and inspiring the next generation.
In the last 10 years we have
- Joining forces with the Food Teachers Centre, to run events in London, Liverpool, Birmingham, Dubai and Abu Dhabi,
- Hosted courses in schools to train over 1500 teachers
- Hosted 50+ online networking events with over 2000 attendees
- Developed 30+ different F2F workshops and CPD courses for both teachers, students and general public
- Since 2020 we have developed 40+ online courses
- We developed a Free Mentorship programme run by volunteers and which has mentored 100’s of teachers and technicians
- We have developed 100+ Free resources for teachers to download
- We set up our Youtube Channel which now holds 50+ videos for teachers to access
- Worked with various charities supporting in a variety of ways.
- With have work on curriculum advisory support with stakeholder groups and organisations
- We have engaged in and managed research projects considering textiles in education and published 2 reports used by curriculum influencers and stakeholders.
We will be celebrating with events, giveaways, competitions and a big In Person event in June this year, so watch this space for more news……….
by Dawn Foxall | Nov 10, 2024 | Articles, News, Research
DfE CALL FOR EVIDENCE
CURRICULUM AND ASSESSMENT REVIEW
DEADLINE 22nd NOVEMBER 2024
The government’s call for evidence invites US ALL to submit proposals on improving the current curriculum and assessment system.
This is the moment to have your say! – Complete the survey and save your subject and job!
The aim of the government survey is to review the current curriculum (both D&T and Art & Design)
We are encouraging teachers to contribute to the DfE’s request for evidence for this Curriculum Review. The more we shout about textiles the more likely they will listen!
The deadline is NOVEMBER 22nd so this needs to be done in next couple of weeks. You don’t need to answer all the questions as there are LOADS!!, just select a couple you can give evidence for.
We have done a bit of sorting through ourselves and created a quick answer/ideas document you might want to use as suggestions of what to write.
NB – YOU ONLY NEED ANSWER THE QUESTIONS YOU HAVE CONTRIBUTIONS FOR!
This is not about rewriting the curriculum; it’s about reviewing and refining the current offer. It’s an opportunity for us to get those changes made we have all been moaning about;)
They need evidence so, when answering the questions, please provide specific examples and evidence to illustrate and support your responses.
YOU CAN FIND THE FULL ONLINE SURVEY HERE
For PDF version of questions click HERE
REMEMBER YOU DON’T NEED TO ANSWER ALL THE QUESTIONS JUST THOSE YOU HAVE EVIDENCE FOR.
We have read the whole survey and selected relevant questions and added a few suggestions for answers – our suggestions may be similar to your comments/ideas, so all you need to do is add these with evidence.
Click here to see our suggestions: TSC SUGGESTIONS
Evidence can include anything curriculum related from issues arising in your school such as moving from D&T to Art & Design Textiles, to examples of where the curriculum has disadvantaged pupils over others.
We all need to contribute if we want to ensure textiles stays in the curriculum, so please do respond, even if you only answer one question🙂
Thank you in anticipation of your support 🙂
Dawn, Nicky and the TSC Associates
by Dawn Foxall | Sep 30, 2024 | Articles, Competitions, News
This is a GREAT competition for your students!!
Let your students’ creativity bloom with the Wool4School 2025 competition. Get your class inspired by plant-life with this year’s competition theme: BOTANICALS.
Help your students to create a design that celebrates Merino wool and the enchanting world of plants, where you and your students could win a selection of amazing prizes on offer
Whether your students are inspired by fashion, accessories, or interior design, help them to explore nature’s artistry with Wool4School’s Botanicals theme.
Students can draw on the diversity of the plant kingdom with 1 – 4 designs made from at least 70% wool and get creative with shape, scale, colour, texture and textile
techniques from prints to embroidery and beyond.
TO REGISTER
FREE SUPPORT RESOURCES
THE PRIZES
by Dawn Foxall | Sep 16, 2024 | Articles, Charity Work, News
Textiles Skills Centre has linked with Epsom and St Helier hospitals charity to make calico dolls, for Children’s wards.
Our first donations have arrived in the children’s ward, thanks to our amazing teachers who have started to make the calico dolls and to Nicky, who has made some sensory squares for babies in ICU, worn initially by their parents, so the babies recognise the smell and are comforted.
Thanks to DRYAD Education for their fabric donation.
The nurses send a huge thank-you, they were so pleased, and added they were really impressed with the sewing!
More info on getting involved go to: CHARITY DOLLS
by Dawn Foxall | Aug 17, 2024 | Articles, News
MAKE A DOLL FOR CHARITY!
Textiles Skills Centre has linked with Epsom and St Helier hospitals charity to make calico dolls, for Children’s wards.
The Hospital Children’s Ward are looking for volunteers to help them make some Calico Dolls for children spending time in hospital.
The dolls serve as a means of expression. By drawing, decorating, and coloring the doll, the child can convey their fears or unhappiness, providing a distraction from their hospital stay.
Additionally, the child can indicate their injury or pain on the doll, facilitating more objective discussions with adults about their concerns. NHS staff also use the doll to demonstrate procedures, helping the child understand what to expect and reducing their fear and uncertainty. This often enables even very young children, as young as 2 or 3 years old, to undergo medical procedures more calmly.
This is a great project for after School Clubs, if you are running one. Each school receives a certificate. If you’d like more info and a pattern please contact nicky@textileskillscentre.com
A BIG CONGRATULATIONS and THANK YOU to BERNIE TRODDEN who is the first volunteer to make 10 dolls
by Dawn Foxall | May 19, 2024 | Articles, News
STUDENT ARTIST COMPETITION 2024
THE RESULTS!!!
*WINNERS ANNOUNCED*
We are thrilled to announce the winners of our STUDENT TEXTILES ARTIST COMPETITION 2024.
This year we were overwhelmed at the response, receiving over 600 entries this year!! Literally the inbox broke!!!
The judges said they were astonished at the quality of the work they had to choose from, one saying: ‘All of the entries were wonderful; it was so difficult to choose! Please let all of the finalists know I’m very, very proud that we have such amazing talent emerging in the world of textiles today,’ Jon Dunn-Ballam
This year’s competition was sponsored by JANOME UK & IRELAND Sewing Machines and DRYAD EDUCATION (formerly Specialist Crafts/Heart Education).
JANOME UK have kindly given a 725S sewing machine for each of the 2 winners.
DRYAD EDUCATION (formerly Specialist Crafts/Heart Education) are giving a £50 voucher to the 2 winners teachers and a goody bag to the first 3 places in each category.
Each winner will also receive a TEXTILES SKILLS CENTRE TROPHY and each teacher will get a free online TSC course.
JUDGES 2024
Janome UK – Deborah Shepherd, Creative Director
Dryad Education – Fleur Neal, Head of Sales and Marketing
Jon Dunn-Ballam – Textile Artist
Sally Denton – Executive director at the University of Lincoln
Nikki Parmenter – Textile Artist
And our amazing student winners are:
KS 5 / A Level Category:
1st Place: GEORGIA DONE – Sir John Deane’s Sixth Form College, Cheshire
Teacher: Emma Johnson
2nd Place: AMY WHITE – Sir John Deane’s Sixth Form College, Cheshire
Teacher: Emma Johnson
Joint 3rd Place: SEVVAL ALMACA – The Worthgate School, Canterbury
Teacher: Sarah Jane Mulcahy
Joint 3rd Place: JACK BETTEY – The Highfield School, Hertfordshire
Teacher: Cara Burnham
A-Level Category Winner Georgia Done & 2nd Place Amy White with Teacher Emma Johnson from Sir John Deane’s Sixth Form College, Cheshire
3rd Place Jack Bettey
1st Place: NEVE SCOTT – Boston Spa Academy, Leeds
Teacher: Gemma Hibbard
2nd Place: WILF BLACKMORE – Bristol Cathedral Choir School
Teacher: Eve Walmsley
3rd Place: CARA BAILEY – Bristol Cathedral Choir School
Teacher: Eve Walmsley
GCSE Category Winner Neve Scott with teacher Gemma Hibbard
FINALISTS FROM EACH CATEGORY
Highly Commendable students that reached the final selection in each category. There were many other highly commended students, as we had so many great entries.
KS5 / A LEVEL Highly Commended Final Selection
ARTIST Myla Heather-Frost & TEACHER Ashleigh Lynch from Peterborough
ARTIST Hakima Sabri & TEACHER Sarah Jane Mulcahy from Canterbury
ARTIST Clodagh Bekusch & TEACHER Leah Holliday from Jersey
ARTIST Yeva Revenko & TEACHER Sarah Jane Mulcahy from Canterbury
ARTIST Elsa Van Der Horst & TEACHER Sharon Porteous Parton from Shrewsbury
ARTIST Rosa Wood & TEACHER Sharon Porteous Parton from Shrewsbury
ARTIST Marysa Robinson & TEACHER Leah Holliday from Jersey
ARTIST Connie White & TEACHER Shana Leather from Hampshire
ARTIST Bethany Saunders & TEACHER Sophia Wrona from Swindon
KS4 / GCSE Highly Commended Final Selection
ARTIST Emma Drinkwater & TEACHER Eve Walmsley from Bristol
ARTIST Hannah Thomas & TEACHER Gemma Curtin from Surrey
ARTIST Emily Green & TEACHER Abi Wakeham-Thomas from Wiltshire
ARTIST Ursula Jeffery & TEACHER Abi Wakeham-Thomas from Wiltshire
ARTIST Lily Mackenzie & TEACHER Sarah McCullagh from Oxford
ARTIST Grace Thresher & TEACHER Abi Wakeham-Thomas from Wiltshire
ARTIST Alice Turner & TEACHER Sophia Wrona from Swindon
ARTIST Myla Heather-Frost & TEACHER Ashleigh Lynch from Peterborough
ARTIST Hakima Sabri & TEACHER Sarah Jane Mulcahy from Canterbury
ARTIST Clodagh Bekusch & TEACHER Leah Holliday from Jersey
ARTIST Yeva Revenko & TEACHER Sarah Jane Mulcahy from Canterbury
ARTIST Elsa Van Der Horst & TEACHER Sharon Porteous Parton from Shrewsbury
ARTIST Rosa Wood & TEACHER Sharon Porteous Parton from Shrewsbury
ARTIST Marysa Robinson & TEACHER Leah Holliday from Jersey
ARTIST Connie White & TEACHER Shana Leather from Hampshire
ARTIST Bethany Saunders & TEACHER Sophia Wrona from Swindon
