I have been amazed at the interest in, and demand for, our SATs stars and letters (if you want to know what they are, click here.) I'm sad that they're needed, in all honesty, but I kind of see it as a protest. A positive protest. I like that idea; I hope it catches on. Positive action really, really makes a difference. Protesting against testing in education should be like a drop of water that keeps drip drip dripping on the government until it becomes so frustrating that they can ignore it no longer. I really, really want to be a part of that.
Dom and I are working hard, but we are 2 people with children of our own and only 24 hours in the day. Dom has machine sewn and cut out, and I have trimmed, cut through, turned out, stuffed and stitched shut 49 stars so far today. We have another 100 to tackle in front of the telly tonight. We are only going to produce a few hundred at most before the tests start. Since we shut our books last night I have received far, far too many messages from people whose children would benefit from a SATs star (we hope to open the books again later in the week, so keep checking back!) This has been a source of great sadness and frustration for us both.
Then a fab lady messaged me and made a suggestion. Could she make some of our SATs Stars for her child's class?
This got me thinking.
I'll be honest, I was a bit worried at first, but I could see the potential. This project will have most power if we all work collectively so, rather than it just being lots of small clusters of people making stars, we all link up together in the same online place to show how many children have been helped with a SATs Star and how many parts of the country have been covered. Together we make a bigger impact. We can start to make people listen if we link together.
However, this means giving away a part of our business. Our logo, our artwork, our name. To people we have never met. Dom and I have invested all of our savings and countless hours of hard work developing our little business. Its a family business and our only source of income. So, without it, we're stuffed. The stakes are high.
Scary.
Then I thought, you know what? I believe in people. Good people are contacting me. Good things are happening. I need to put my money where my mouth is, in the true spirit of "pay it forward." So, I hope you'll understand, I have written a few guidelines that I'd like you to read and sign if you want to make your own SATs Stars for groups of children (you don't have to do this if you only want to make one for your child.)
I'm dreaming, but: we could have school craft classes where children make SATs Stars for other children in their school. Parents and PTAs who make them for whole classes. Brownies and Guides and Cubs and Scouts who make them to support other children. Why not? It would totally rock, right?
So, I am going to publish my pattern on here in the form of a tutorial, absolutely in full, no copyright held back. I will publish it tomorrow, 5th May 2016. If you are only making one star, for your child, you don't need to read the next bit. Download your pattern tomorrow, read the instructions and off you go. Please comment and/or post on the FB group with a photo and let us know how you get on. Remember, together we have a bigger voice.
If you want to make a whole bunch of SATs Stars for lots of children, then please read on.
These guidelines may look a bit formal, but they are designed to ensure a few important things: quality, that the free "pay it forward" essence continues, data protection for parents whose children receive the stars, some protection of our business branding, transparency for anyone who encounters a SATs Star or the SATs Star project and safeguarding. I hope you agree that this is OK.
Please download a copy of the file "The SATs Stars Project Agreement" and sign it (digitally will do) then email it to the email address on the form.
We have also put together a handy cheat sheet for hand writing the notes of encouragement:
And here is a sample of a note we have written. They don't need to be long. The just need to be positive and full of impact. This is not the platform for grumbling about the tests or the government (not that you'd do that, I am sure)
If you have any questions, please get in touch (my social media links are at the top right of this blog). I will be making stars, but I'll do my very best to get to you quickly.
Keep smiling
Claire
