Impact10th September 2025

Inspiring creativity in the classroom

Ark Culture is providing high-quality training for teachers from some of the country’s leading arts organisations. This inspires teachers, so they feel competent in their own artistic skills and can create exciting lessons which engage and encourage our pupils’ creativity. Our Summer Network Day provided training for over 70 teachers in partnership with the National Theatre, National Gallery and The National Portrait Gallery.

Ark CultureArk Ayrton Primary Academy

Rachel Down, art lead at Ark Ayrton, explains how the school has been working with Ark Culture to inspire their students:

“Our work with Ark Culture this year has coincided with our ambitions as a school to evaluate our art offer, whereby we now deliver art projects from nursery through to year 6 as core curriculum delivery.

“We’ve had a brilliant session on portraits with support from the National Portrait Gallery and the artists that came to do CPD delivery. It’s really been an eye opener with the teachers that they’re able to do it and so that they can feel more confident delivering it to the children.”

“We’re hosting a whole school art exhibition from nursery and to year six. And because of that portrait workshop that the teachers did, teachers have really got that confidence in delivering and supporting the children. The work coming through is looking brilliant and we’ve made sure there’s a lot of diversity and representation sparking interesting conversation with our children.

“For me as Art Lead, it’s lifted my confidence. It makes me feel that art is valued in our school.”