Learning

We are all learning and we love learning together. We collaborate with schools, usually in long term partnerships, to help them serve their students better. This work is usually made bespoke but there are favourite projects that continue to be in demand. We also help train teachers and share our experiences with university students. A small fraction of these projects are highlighted here, many more can be found in the archive.

The Classroom Stage

Teachers learn how to use Stan’s Cafe’s rehearsal room techniques to improve their teaching of English in Primary Classrooms. Supported by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation’s Teacher Development Fund.

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All Our Money

Our new show explains in a fun and fast way how Birmingham City Council’s budget works. It maps onto the Key Stage 3 & 4 curriculm and can be performed without any special kit in a school hall.

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Creative Collaboratives

Working with nine primary schools from the Elliot Foundation to effect school improvement through artistic collaborations. An Arts Council England Creative Collaboratives project.

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Precious Emily

Ten Birmingham primary schools each make their own play about the iconic weightlifters Precious McKenzie and Emily Campbell for the Birmingham2022 Festival.

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Billesley Primary School

A journey from ‘Special Measures’ to ‘Outstanding’ via a host of artistic learning collaborations in a long term partnership.

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Saltley Academy

A long term collaboration with a secondary school that includes minor light touch interventions and projects with whole school impact.

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Maths in schools

We enjoy the challenge of collaborating with schools addressing non-arts areas of their curriculum. Maths is one of our favourite subjects to tackle.

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  A Tour Of The Indus
  We’re coming to the culmination of our first Schools River Tours project with St. Matthews Primary School. Children have been exploring The Indus and learning about its people, its history […]
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  The View From The Stage

  The Classroom Stage has been a two-year programme with have run supported by the Paul Hamlyn Teacher Development Fund. One of the fund’s priorities is that “all those involved are positioned as learners”. This includes Stan’s Cafe Associate Artists who were partnered one to each of our ten schools.

  Here Carys Jones reflects on her own journey working as an Artist on The Classroom Stage with Years 3, 5 and 6 at St Gerard’s Catholic Primary School.

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  Birmingham Blitz: A Creative Collaboratives Project
  Year 4 have just made and performed Birmingham Blitz, a theatre show about World War 2 with an eye to local history, involving some design technology skills and a bit […]
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  A Teacher For Our Friends
  We are looking for a talented teacher/theatre maker who is excited by the chance to teach two or three terms of drama with our friends at Saltley Academy in East […]
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  Creative Learning Review 2022
  Here Dave Howard, our Creative Learning Producer talks you through the projects Stan’s Cafe has worked on with schools this year (2022). We gave him a 5 minute challenge but […]