What is an arts rich school?

Primary schools can potentially offer a broad and balanced curriculum where students experience the full range of arts subjects taught by qualified and well-resourced teachers, and can see the arts as integral to their organisational identity and thus offer a range of extra-curricular arts opportunities and an ongoing programme of performances and exhibitions. They could also support community arts and build and sustain a wide range of partnerships with artists and cultural organisations. To what degree are schools doing these things, and what is the impact on their students when they do?

Professor Patricia Thomson of the University of Nottingham is Convenor of the Centre for Research in Arts, Creativity and Literacies, and a Director of the Researching the Arts in Primary Schools (RAPS) project. For this webinar she will be joined by Dr Liam Maloy, a musician and educator who is also working on this study. They have recently concluded a massive investigation involving 40 school visits and over 80 surveys, including children, teachers and parents/carers, determining the impact and benefits of a school that sustains a creative learning environment.

Together, they will show us some of the exciting case studies from their latest research, and share their conclusions about the benefits for children of being in an arts rich school.

Discover more about the Researching the Arts in Primary Schools project here.