SCOTTISH kids are in danger of losing fine motor skills and manual dexterity because of a lack of craft and making education, MSPs will be warned this week.
They will be lobbied at the Scottish Parliament as part of a campaign for primary school children to have a 10-hour entitlement to craft and making activities in the classroom a year.
Campaigners also want craft and making education to be made explicit in the curriculum.
The call comes after a report found Scotland’s craft heritage is “critically endangered” following the Covid-19 pandemic.
The study, commissioned by MAKE, discovered that teachers are increasingly spending their own money to buy materials and tools as well as access professional development opportunities.
The Making Education in Scotland Today report pointed out that creative careers, STEM careers, green jobs of the future and skills to preserve Scotland’s built heritage are all developed through access to craft and making education.
The report indicated that this form of education can also protect Scotland’s unique craft heritage by increasing appreciation for craft and by developing the talented, skilled makers of the future.
However, although craft and making education can contribute to learning and attainment across the curriculum, as well as improve mental health and wellbeing, the infrastructure in schools does not yet exist to realise this potential, researcher Rosemary James-Beith found.
Access to craft and making education is patchy and depends on individual teachers and schools in many cases, with children in the most deprived areas often missing out.
“Broadly speaking, we are seeing inconsistency and a loss of skills in terms of craft activity being delivered in the classroom,” said MAKE’s Lucy McEachan.
“Yet craft is also a really good vehicle for understanding culture and heritage. We are arguing that it connects many aspects of people’s lives, and in schools, it connects across all areas of curriculum as well as having wellbeing and emotional benefits.
“Craft education can help develop fine motor skills, problem-solving skills and life skills but craft teaching can vary depending on where you are in Scotland. We want to raise perception of craft as a positive contributor to attainment and employability and we feel strongly that there needs to be a clear strategy around craft education.”
To show how improvements can be made, a pilot teacher development project is being launched in Dundee this month to offer a creative way for both teachers and young people to develop their numeracy skills through the world of textiles.
Over a two-year period, teachers will attend a residency at the Knit Shop, an independent knit factory owned by award-winning textile and product designer Donna Wilson.
They will also have the opportunity to work with three independent textile makers and be able to involve their classes in an introductory workshop as well as have access to practical guides, films and resource packs.
These will include an introduction to textile practice and approaches to decolonising its history in Dundee, an understanding of materials and their connection to place and to the natural world and an understanding of the circular economy, sustainability and textiles.
Wilson said: “These skills are more than just making things – they’re about creativity, patience, critical thinking and connecting with our heritage. By supporting this, we are ensuring that valuable craft traditions continue to thrive, as well as introducing skills that will be carried on through into everyday lifen.”
The initiative has been welcomed by Dundee City councillor Stewart Hunter. “Dundee has a strong historical connection to textiles and it’s great that this legacy is continuing today in some of our schools,” he said.
Michael Marra, MSP for North East Scotland, who will host the MAKE team at the Scottish Parliament, added: “We know that learning through crafts can help develop problem-solving skills, team-working and communication skills.
"I am delighted to see such an ambitious, forward-thinking partnership launching in Dundee. By equipping teachers with the skills, knowledge, confidence and experience to deliver craft-based teaching, we can support the teachers’ personal development and see the benefits in our young people.”
MAKE with the Knit Shop is a partnership between MAKE, Knit Shop and Dundee Creative Learning Network, led by Craft Scotland and Panel. It is funded by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation’s Teacher Development Fund, with additional support from Creative Scotland as part of their targeted funding to strengthen the craft sector in Scotland.
