Positive Primaries: Your 5 Step Journey
Positive Primaries rewards schools for engaging with photography and implementing our creative well-being approaches across their curriculum. It is founded on the basis of embedding positive change within the school environment, helping to build a future generation of people who are confident, resilient, connected, kind and ready. By participating in the 5 steps below, your school will have completed your Positive Primary Journey and earned each one of our well-being medals.
Step 1: Register your school & Creative Well-being Committee
To begin your Positive Primary Journey, you must first register your school with us to participate in the INSPA’s. You can do this on the home page of our website. Once you register your school, you will receive your school’s account details by email to the school’s official email address. Once you login to your school account, you will be asked to activate it by confirming the details of your school and your Creative Well-being Committee i.e. School Principal, Creative Well-being Coach (Teacher) and 2-4 Creative Well-being Champions [Pupils].
Step 2: Download and complete our Creative Well-being Activities in your classroom [Complete your Positive Portfolio’s]
To help you integrate the camera into the classroom and open discussion around the annual theme we have supplied a series of free Creative Well-being Activities for you and your classroom. These consist of three sections: Exploring the Visual, Mindful Moments and Therapeutic Photography. They are easy to follow and a creative way to explore your curriculum through the medium of photography. You can also show us your classroom activities via your school account at the INSPA Academy or on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram by using the following tags #PositivePrimaries #INSPAsmiles #PositivePortraits
Step 3: Enter your pupils photographs into the INSPA’s
Once you have opened discussion in your classroom around the INSPA theme and delivered INSPA’s Creative Well-being Activities, your pupils are now ready to participate. At this stage, your pupils may have already taken a number of wonderful photographs, however, if not they will now be well equipped to do so. Let the pupils lead the way and when you feel they are ready you can upload their entries via your school account.
Step 4: Participate in the Finalist Summer-Expo
All finalist and winning schools will have their photographs exhibited at our Finalist Summer Exhibition. This exhibition is a fantastic platform for pupils to receive national recognition for their creative work while having it on public display. It is also great for schools to show their achievements in implementing positive change within their school environment.
Step 5: Host your #INSPAsmiles School Photography Fundraising Day & Positive Primaries Experience at your school
Hosting your #INSPAsmiles School Photography Fundraising Day & Positive Primaries Experience is the final step in your #PositivePrimaries Journey. INSPA are delighted to collaborate with all finalist and winning schools each year to help raise funds for both your school and our Positive Primaries Programme.
We set up a full photographic studio and your whole school community will have the opportunity to have their individual ‘Positive Portrait’ taken by our Creative Professionals. This is what keeps our programme developing and free for school communities of all abilities and backgrounds. The experience also gives us the opportunity of awarding your school with your Positive Primaries Flag and all your finalists/winners with their framed photographs and certificates.
As part of this, your school can choose whether you would like your incoming Junior Infants or outgoing 6th Class to receive a free #INSPAsmiles School Photo.