Writers in Schools
Information about working with writers in schools
Bringing Writers Into Schools
Introduction
Bringing a writer into school to work with your pupils can be an inspiring and valuable experience for all involved. The prospect of organising a writer visit may seem daunting, but it needn't: follow this step by step guide to planning a writer visit at your school.
First, think about what you would like to get out of a writer visit: are you looking for increased enthusiasm for writing? Improved standards of writing? Think about what genre of writing you would like to focus on and what outcome you would like the visit to generate.
Next, you'll need to find a writer. Recommendations from colleagues and peers can be very helpful, but there are also a number of organisations which work to put writers in touch with schools.
Once you've found a writer and had an initial discussion about your plans or expectations, you'll need to agree a total fee for the writer, including VAT.
Having agreed a fee for the writer, you will now have to get authorisation for the fee from your Headteacher or School Bursar. Ask your Head or Bursar to confirm how and when the writer will be paid - for example, by cheque, within 30 days of the visit.
Next, you and the writer should agree a brief for the visit (Microsoft Word .doc download 29Kb). This brief will outline what the visit will entail and what the outcome will be, as well as the practical arrangements for the writer regarding travel, lunch and so on.
You are now ready to issue a letter of agreement between the school and the writer (Microsoft Word .doc download 29Kb). This letter should be written on school letterhead and should outline the date and format of the visit, the writer's fee, the agreed method of payment and so on.
This letter is signed by you, in your capacity as a representative of the school: it's important that the channel of communication between the school and writer as clear, so if at all possible, you should be the writer's sole point of contact with the school.
Back in the classroom, you may now want to undertake any preparatory work with pupils that has been suggested by the writer, for example researching a theme or genre of writing or reading other examples of the writer's work.
At last: the writer visit takes place. On completion of what has hopefully been a very successful visit, the writer will send an invoice to the school, addressed to you. You will pass this invoice on to the Head or Bursar; you may want to remind this person how and when you have agreed the writer will be paid, as outlined in the letter of agreement. The Headteacher or Bursar will then pay the writer.
Finally, you may wish to consider undertaking follow-up activities with your pupils or to evaluate the impact of the writer visit on your pupils. You may want to share with your colleagues your experience of the writer visit and your newfound expertise in organising writer visits.
Further reading
Want to know more about writer visits? You can access a variety of case studies on a wide range of innovative and engaging writer visits. You can download the brochure Bringing Writers into Schools: a practical guide (Adobe Acrobat .pdf download 1.4Mb) as a reference to keep in your staff room.
Writing Together
Writing Together is a partnership of literature organisations and government bodies, all working with shared aim of bringing writers into schools. Click on the links below to learn more about these organisations and their work.
