‘Art Teachers Connect’ is committed to inspiring, invigorating, diversifying and enhancing the teaching of secondary school art teachers through a combination of a 3-day residential, a growing network of over 230 art and art history teachers supported by a bespoke website (atcuk.org) and online continued professional development (CPD). It's an opportunity for professional growth and creative development in the field of art education.
The challenge
The challenges faced by art in higher education are multifaceted and significant. The decline in the number of young people studying art at GCSE/A Level is a concerning trend, particularly when contrasted with the robust enrolment figures for STEM subjects. This disparity between enrolment for art and STEM is highlighted in government reports and has implications for the cultural and creative diversity of future generations. The University of Leeds has made strides in improving the ratio of POLAR Quintile 1 to POLAR Quintile 5 students in our School of Fine Art, History of Arts and Cultural Studies (FAHACS) undergraduate courses, yet it still falls short of our Access and Participation Plan targets. This underscores the need for continued efforts to bridge the gap in educational attainment and access among different socio-economic groups.
Our approach
Our (ATC) initiative represents a strategic approach to addressing the decline in art students at higher education level by bolstering support for secondary school art teachers. By offering a comprehensive programme that includes a 3-day residential course complemented by online sessions, ATC equips art educators with the tools they need to enhance and diversify their teaching methods, build confidence and foster student engagement. This initiative, in collaboration with the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art, provides critical advice, insight, and experience from professionals, which is essential for teachers, especially those from smaller departments who may lack peer support.
Sue Gibbons, a secondary school art teacher based in Wiltshire, first got involved with ATC in 2019 after finding out about the programme online: “I first spotted the Art Teachers Connect residential on Facebook. I saw the initiative was linked to Leeds University and, as I had completed my first master’s degree there in 2000, I was very interested in finding out more. I dug a bit deeper and found that Anne-Louise Quinton was one of the tutors on the course. I had worked with her when I taught in Bradford and knew what an inspirational artist-teacher she is. Intrigued by this, I decided to apply, and I was lucky enough to get a place.”
“I now live and work nowhere near Leeds, in Stroud, so I was delighted to be given a place. I originally applied because it just sounded amazing. During that time Art was not in a great place in my school – we felt undervalued by senior management, and it felt like something needed to happen to change the situation.”
“I first attended the residential for Art Teachers Connect in 2019, the year before the first COVID lockdown in the UK. It was the end of a tough year, and I had driven up to Leeds, so I was exhausted but also really excited about the chance to meet other art teachers. It was quite the whirlwind of a few days – a lot happened! There were lots of talks but plenty of practical workshops too. One exercise saw us doing a ‘Discovery Day’ leading to group presentations. This was quite scary, but it pushed us to collaborate and work together. What stood out to me was the opportunity to look at artwork and archive collections together, share information, discuss ideas and offload.”
Educator Anna Wallace has spent the last 20 years teaching and working in secondary schools across West Yorkshire, but prior to taking part in Art Teachers Connect, Anna was at a bit of a crossroads in her career, particularly following the COVID-19 pandemic: “Improving their lives and supporting young people has been the driver for me in my career. But somewhere along the way my confidence had declined, not as a teacher but as someone who could stand up (in front of peers) to share activism and challenge imbedded ways of working – who do I think I am? Perhaps this was due to my working-class guilt, I have always internalised social-biases and doubted my potential. As someone once described me – like a duck floating across the water, with its legs paddling furiously beneath. Or perhaps I had finally felt deflated from spending so many years seeing societies most vulnerable, and most precious, stuck in the cycle of deprivation (particularly after COVID). The opportunity to apply for the Art Teachers Connect residential came at just the right time for me in my career – Gosh this is all a bit bleak! Things can only get better...”
Amanda Davies, an art teacher based in Leicester, also first came across ATC via Facebook, but her first experience of the residential in 2020 was a bit different due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She explains: “The residential was transformed into an online version of ATC via Zoom to which all applicants were invited. It was a very strange version (in retrospect) of what ATC does. But it was so fantastic to be reached out to in that COVID period by people who were excited about everything that we were all trying to do. And it was a fantastic way of communicating with other art teachers that were in the horrible position where we were all flying by the seat of our pants just to get through each day.”
Amanda’s first experience of ATC was entirely online, however, she still found it incredibly useful and applied again the following year where she was able to participate in-person: “This was summer 2021 and we were just beginning to emerge out of lockdown. That July, we were just back in school. This was one of the first events back on campus too and we all had to be meters apart – it was hilarious really and we sat with masks on. But, during ATC, we went outside and took masks off and that experience, at that time, was transformational in my thinking.
“I think it’s important for the residential that there is such good sculpture on the University of Leeds campus, and we were fortunate enough to go and visit the Barbara Hepworth. A conservator was cleaning it, including waxing it again and, because of this she said we could touch. The whole experience, being post COVID, felt wonderfully weird. It had been really difficult teaching in school.”
“The whole thing was joyous and celebratory. It was like a medical shot, like anti-COVID. It was just so clear how much being with other people that understood where you were and understood what you were trying to do – which is normally difficult and was magnified by COVID – was empowering.”
The impact
ATC’s impact on the teaching community is quantitatively significant. Evaluation surveys conducted before and after the programme have shown a 45% increase in participants feeling valued as a teacher, which speaks volumes about the programme's ability to enhance the perceived worth of educators.
Furthermore, there was a 57% increase in participants feeling confident in delivering the written element of the Art A Level, indicating a substantial boost in teacher self-assurance regarding curriculum delivery.
Additionally, there was a 30% increase in participants who felt enthusiastic or energised about their teaching practice, suggesting that the programme has successfully invigorated educators' passion for teaching. These statistics not only reflect the success of ATC in bolstering teacher morale and competence, but also underscore the potential for such programmes to make a lasting positive impact on educational practices.
Amanda reflects on her own experience of ATC: “For me personally, as somebody that has done 30 years’ teaching, it was partly about the academic challenge – it makes you think about how you teach and how your teaching has changed – but, the major benefit for me has more to do with the way ATC has helped evolve my approach to teaching art in a more holistic and broader sense that I wouldn’t necessarily have considered without that nudge.”
Sue agrees: “This boost means that I enter the classroom feeling relentlessly enthusiastic. The students sense this energy and reciprocate. The key outcome was the boost to my confidence. It validated what we are doing as Art teachers, pushing us to keep moving forward and to do what we think is important, even if other people do not necessarily support us. ATC showed us what we do is valid, has a purpose, and that there are other people who think the same. This was the beginning ofa huge shift in the way I felt about my job as an art teacher – the first steps to really enjoying being in the classroom, feeling valued, and having the confidence and ambition to really push it.”
Anna continues: “Participating in the art teachers residential and later the PGCert was, for me, a transformative experience. Having the opportunity to foster creativity and collaboration with a community of like-minded educators, firstly reignited my passion for teaching and the arts and secondly helped me to silence the voice of ‘imposter syndrome’ that haunts most of us.”
The success of Art Teachers Connect over the past seven years underscores the effectiveness of well-structured, long-term CPD programmes in invigorating educators. Such programmes can lead to a domino effect, where inspired teachers can, in turn, motivate students to pursue art and art history, potentially reversing the downward trend in student numbers. The Sutton Trust's research reinforces the impact that teacher experience and qualifications have on student outcomes, particularly for those from disadvantaged backgrounds, highlighting the significance of initiatives like ATC.
Looking to the future
The next steps for Art Teachers Connect (ATC), in collaboration with the Paul Mellon Centre, is a focus on enhancing diversity and inclusivity. A strategic review of the application process is essential to ensure broader representation, particularly from POLAR4 groups 1 to 3. This could involve revising selection criteria, outreach efforts, and partnerships with schools and community organisations.
Additionally, implementing a robust monitoring system to track progress towards the University's Access and Participation goals will be crucial. By taking these steps, ATC will continue to make significant strides in addressing educational inequality and fostering a more inclusive environment.
Amanda and Sue would wholeheartedly recommend ATC to other art teachers, Amanda says: “A lot of us attending ATC are struggling with our own value and worth. The lack of funding, support and connections make being an Art teacher exceedingly difficult, but the encouragement and passion you feel here reignites your professional fire. We are all so excited, it must be like herding cats when we turn up. If I could, I would camp out at every ATC event.”
To find out more about Art Teachers Connect, email the Student Success Team at studentsuccess@leeds.ac.uk or read our stories at the Art Teachers Connect website.
Please note, when ‘Art Teachers Connect’ was launched it was called ‘Plan, Prepare, Provide’ as we hoped we could convince leadership teams to release their art teachers from school on the promise that they would return with most of their planning complete for the next year. Having grown the programme and realised the vital role of the network we have built; we have recently rebranded to Art Teachers Connect.