Creative arts – How they can transform a school’s entire outlook
A new approach to the arts has not only opened up creative opportunities for children – it’s transformed a school’s entire outlook…
- by Becky Jackson
- Headteacher of Cragside Primary School in Newcastle
Our vision at Cragside Primary is to provide children with an education that empowers them to change the world for the better. A fundamental part of this is making sure all our pupils have access to high-quality creative arts.
This focus was inspired by the words of Durham University academic Professor Stephen Gorard. He said: “Schools, in their structure and organisation, can do more than simply reflect the society we have; they can be the precursor of the kind of society we wish to have.”
This belief drives our commitment to ensuring that every child, regardless of socio-economic background, additional needs, or English as an additional language, should have equal access to meaningful creative arts experiences.
For us, this means removing barriers, so that every child, whatever their background, can realise their potential.
Forging links
In order to give creative arts access to as many pupils as possible, it was important for us to begin forging links across our region.
We began by getting involved in the North-East Creativity Collaborative. This was a three-year initiative launched in 2021 to foster creative teaching approaches across all subjects. It was funded by Arts Council England.
This involved us working in close collaboration with other schools. As part of this collaboration, we embedded a new way of working. This centred on explicitly identifying and teaching creative habits in every classroom.
To ensure consistency and shared understanding, staff meetings were led by the Creativity Team. This is one of the three school development teams to which every teacher at Cragside belongs.
These teams regularly take turns leading staff meetings, focusing on practical, hands-on explorations of what the approach will look like in day-to-day teaching. They ensure all staff actively engage in shaping and implementing meaningful change.
Variety is the spice of life
We don’t limit experiences to the creative subjects, either. Year 1 pupils have collaborated with architecture students from Newcastle University to explore the science of materials. Meanwhile, Year 6 used video production to capture their learning about the circulatory system.
Every child experiences live theatre at least once a year, too. Year 6 joins other local pupils on the stage to perform Shakespeare at an annual festival. The school also has a thriving music provision.
We designed the curriculum to offer children a comprehensive understanding of various art mediums and styles. This includes textiles, sculpture and printing. They also study the works of a wide range of artists and designers.
Every child at Cragside now keeps a personal sketchbook that accompanies them throughout their school journey. This creates a lasting record of the child’s evolving skills, techniques, and creative ideas over time. (We don’t throw full sketchbooks away, but keep them as records of the artistic process).
We don’t treat these sketchbooks as pristine or untouchable. Instead, we encourage children to use them as working tools – authentic spaces for experimentation, practice, and artistic growth.
Learning outcomes
We’ve found that the creative arts not only open doors for pupils in subjects like music, but that they enhance academic success, too.
Our summer 2024 Key Stage 2 SATs were significantly above the national average in maths, reading, writing, and SPaG.
Our approach has also improved pupil voice at Cragside. We actively gather feedback through discussions and initiatives led by our Art Ambassadors (a group of eight children from Years 3 to 6) and Creativity Champions (a group of 14 children from Reception to Year 6), ensuring that student perspectives shape our arts provision.
Art Ambassadors meet regularly with the Year 4 teacher and art lead, Julie Westwood, to discuss how to improve the art offer across the school.
Their input led to a school exhibition at a local arts venue, as well as the introduction of our own annual show, where we open our doors for a couple of hours after school so that the community can see all of the great work that has been created during the year – a wonderful way to celebrate pupils’ hard work and creativity.
Becky Jackson is headteacher of Cragside Primary School in Newcastle. She is a Fellow of the Chartered College of Teaching and a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts. Cragside Primary was awarded the Excellence in Creative Arts award at the 2025 Tes Schools Awards
