Since the last NSEAD newsletter, the UK has lived through a truly historic fortnight. Whatever your feelings about the events of the last two weeks, the visual spectacle of the funeral was breathtaking - History unfolding in front of our eyes.

And of course, the late Queen embodied the phenomenon of a life lived through the lens. The most photographed woman on the planet, her life captured and curated through visual media.

Perhaps NSEAD should have invited her to be a patron?

If we delve back into our history, there is a precedent. In 1900, the Society celebrated royal patronage, the Prince of Wales was our honorary President, and we petitioned Queen Victoria to confer Royal status on the Society. In a beautiful illuminated petition, the Chairman pointed out that our members were qualified to teach ‘as a result of long and arduous training’. The fight for art teaching to be recognised as a graduate profession was perhaps the first on which the Society was founded.

Talking to PGCE students last week I was reminded of how far we have come. For those taking the post-graduate route, who may also have studied at Foundation level, the path to qualification is five years of study, followed by two years of induction into a career that demands continuing professional development.

So, in this most extraordinary month, let’s welcome all those who are embarking on a career in art education. Long? Yes. Arduous? Yes. The best job in the world? Definitely.

Welcome to you all.

Michele Gregson

General Secretary

There has been much recent commentary about the potential for future industrial action. We will be updating our Trade Union members via email and adding information to a FAQ page on the NSEAD website, where we will post all questions that you pose about industrial action, the pay award and how it affects you.

If you are able, why not virtually meet with the General Secretary and Principal Case Worker tomorrow on 22 September at the first of many NSEAD Trade Union Members drop-in sessions planned for this year. 

You may also want to listen to our General Secretary, Michele Gregson's video message about potential industrial action this autumn.

We're looking forward to welcoming a wide range of presenters to the conference, to discuss ways in which art and design education can transform our institutions, curriculums and pedagogies, to create a sense of belonging for all learners. 

If you have any queries or are uncertain about presenting, please get in touch with us through DMs or by emailing events@nsead.org, we'd be happy to answer your questions.

When: Wed, 5 October 17:45-18:15

Where: Primary Art: Ask NSEAD Facebook group

NSEAD's Sophie Leach will be joined by art consultant Paul Carney to discuss drawing in the primary phase.

This 30-minute session will provide practical guidance on drawing in the Primary phase from the Early Years to year 6 (up to age 11) .

Discussing how to balance the teaching of art knowledge and skills with creativity and expression, which can be daunting for many, especially non-specialists. The session will also include a practical follow along drawing workshop.

When: Registration opens on 3 October

This practical NSEAD session will be focussed on the use of photography and digital media in the art curriculum and beyond.

Packed full of learning ideas, this session will be suitable for Primary art subject leads, ICT leads, non-specialist teachers, curriculum leads and senior leaders.

When: Registration opens on 3 October

NSEAD is delighted to offer our members special discounted rates for the BEP National Seminars series for Primary Art, Design and Technology.

Featuring some of the most inspirational artists, practitioners and organisations from across the country, this series of online seminars will take place throughout the current academic year. 

Aimed at Primary Art and D&T Subject Leads, Curriculum Leads, Senior Leaders, NQT’s, students (ITT’s), artists, creative practitioners and cultural sector workers seeking to better understand and engage with the current primary education landscape.

When: Registration opens on 3 October

The essential Leading Primary Art and Design CPD course is back in a new accessible e-learning format for the new academic year. 

This course has been designed and will be delivered by Susan Ogier, a leading academic, author and expert in Primary Art and Design education. 

This online course is designed for primary subject leaders who are looking to develop the Art and Design curriculum area in their schools. It will offer strategies for building the foundations for developing confidence, enthusiasm, and key knowledge in this subject, as well as an understanding of how to plan for progression across the primary years.

This is an NSEAD e-learning course, delivered through a series of videos and resources available to study at your own pace at a time that works for you. The course includes downloadable resources and is supported by digital live sessions (through Zoom) hosted by the course facilitator. The live sessions will provide participants a chance to take part in workshops, share ideas and ask for advice. 

The Mind the Art Gap programme will provide a safe community space for ECT teachers, through a mixture of on demand content, digital live events and a social network to share ideas, research and practice. 

Themes covered include:

• Managing Behaviour
• Professional practice
• Examinations
• Curriculum and pedagogy
• The Big Landscape

The first session, titled The Virtual Staffroom will take place tomorrow (Thursday 22 September)

When: 24 September, 14.00-16.30

Where: Sir John Soane's Museum, London WC2A 3BP

Artist Educator Stephanie Farmer will introduce key ideas around art history - what is art, who is it for, why does it matter - through discussion, debate and activity - followed by exclusive behind-the-scene tours of the Sir John Soane's Museum.

Stephanie will look at what and who makes a museum - and how you can too - and how works from the Soane’s collection have inspired modern and contemporary artists, including David Hockney and Yinka Shonibare CBE. The afternoon will suit art students and anyone who is interested in widening the ways in which they look at the world.

The event is part of the Art History Festival organised by the Association for Art History.

When: 26 September 2022, 16:00-16:45

Where: Online

Designing for Opera - The Designer’s Perspective is an ideal twilight session for teachers of students learning at levels 2-4  wishing to support student designers’ understanding of design process in a ‘world of work’ context.

With a focus on design process and covering the research, exploration and development of original ideas to meet a design brief, this twilight session is led by ROH Design Challenge practitioners.

Teacher attendance can be used to enhance teaching practice whether participating in the Design Challenge or considering the content for future curriculum planning.

When: 7 October 2022, 15:45-16:30

Where: Online

As part of Oracy October, Voice 21, the UK’s oracy education charity, is offering a series of webinars and resources on the theme ‘Speaking like a Specialist’.

While most of our communication skills can be universally applied, talk in different subject areas and disciplines has varying purposes. Raising students’ awareness of these differences supports them to become flexible and resilient communicators.

NEATEN North East Art Teacher Educator Network

Skills Share Session on Printmaking

When: Thu 20 Oct 2022 16:30 - 18:30

Where: Framwellgate School, DH1 5BQ

NEATEN The Big Draw: Colour Rap

When: 22 Oct 2022, 13.00 - 16.00 

Where: Durham Sixth Form Centre, NE38 7HN

NEATEN Termly Meeting

When: Thurs 10 November 2022, 17.00 - 19.00

Where: BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Level 1.

Native Creatives is a series of online and live events for teachers that nurtures their practice and passion for the arts, to benefit personal creativity and professional knowledge.

Guest speakers will lead a creative workshop, there will be time for Q&A and networking, as well as wine, cheese, and nibbles. There are 30 in-person places available, priced at only £5. The event will also be live-streamed free.

When: Wed 12 Oct, 16:15 – 15:30.

Where: Norwich Guildhall, Norfolk

When: Mon 17 October, 18.00 -19.30

Where: Online       

Audience: Open to all with a small donation ticket fee (£1-10); all donations will go to Transition Together charity.

The programme offers a diverse range of 5-minute stories of hope, joy, curiosity and playful resistance with young people, elicited in response to Cambridge Curiosity and Imagination Call for Spaces of Liberated Learning.

Image: The Colour Palace, a temporary pavilion by Yinka Ilori and Price Gore at Dulwich Picture Gallery for London Design Festival 2019. Photo courtesy of Yinka Ilori

When: Sept 2022 - Mar 2023

Craft School: Yinka's Challenge is a nationwide competition to get primary and secondary school students to submit a craft project on one of three themes: play, storytelling, and empowerment. 

The programme is free for education provisions and learners from KS1 to KS4, and learners can participate individually or as collaborative groups.

To support teachers and learners through the challenge, the Crafts Council has developed digital resources, engaging video content and further specialist CPD sessions.

In spring 2023 the challenge will culminate in a prize-giving event at the Crafts Council Gallery in London. 

Image credit: Ruth Paton and William Chan, Design Challenge ©2022 ROH. Photograph by Rachel Cherry

This nation-wide competition is open to students of art and design from GCSE to foundation degree level and provides them with invaluable, practical insight into technical and production practice. 

It asks students to create their own original set, costume, hair and makeup and marketing campaign designs. There are free online CPDL sessions for tutors / teachers to inspire delivery of the programme with hints, tips and take away classroom activities from a professional stage designer. 

Have a look at last year's winners for inspiration here.

Image credit: dot-art Schools

Established in 2012, dot-art Schools is an inter-school art competition for children in Year 5 and Year 9 in the Liverpool City Region. The competition gives children the opportunity to develop their artistic side, have their skills recognised and envision a future career in the arts.  

The annual competition ends with an awards ceremony and winner's exhibition in Liverpool.

For most children the exhibition is the first time they can really show off their creativity to their parents and peers, giving them the confidence and drive to continue making art.  

Schools from the Liverpool City region can register from now until December, on the dot-art Schools website.

Deadline for applications: Tuesday 22 November 12pm

The Paul Hamlyn Foundation’s Teacher Development Fund supports teachers and school leaders to develop the skills, knowledge and confidence to deliver effective arts-based teaching and learning in the primary classroom.

Partnerships between schools and arts/cultural organisations can apply for grants of up to £150,000.

Join the mailing list to receive updates or apply now.

BBC Bitesize is about to restart a project to update its GCSE Art & Design guides, and they have asked us to let our members know about it.

The project is looking to conduct a small focus group to help clarify the direction for the Bitesize guides for GCSE Art & Design. After this, the team is looking to work with a number of art teachers, acting as educational consultants, who would write and review some new material for the guides.

If you are interested, please contact Assistant Producer, BBC Bitesize, Ben Train for more information. 

The International Art in Early Childhood Association has recently published some new CPD resources. International experts have contributed to five digital books full of advice, inspiration and visual exemplification. There are embedded videos with useful time markers for navigation. The content is applicable beyond the early years.

Themes include: 

Theories for Visual Arts Practice

Visual Arts Curriculum and Pedagogy

Working with Artists and Museums

Art for Cultural Connection

Research in the Visual Arts

Register and join the book authors for a live question and answer session about the eBooks on 24 and 25 of September, 2022.

Buckinghamshire New University 

BA (hons) Fashion Design and BA (Hons) Fashion Business degree programmes at their partnership college, Amsterdam Fashion Academy: Amsterdam

Teesside University

Art, Design and Technology PGCE

Newcastle College University Centre 

 BA (Hons) Illustration

Buckinghamshire New University (BNU) 

BA (Hons) Fine Art

The Northern School of Art 

BA (Hons) Animation

BA (Hons) Acting for Stage and Screen

BA (Hons) Fine Art

BA (Hons) Model Making & Visual FX

BA (Hons) Production Design for Stage & Screen

BA (Hons) Textiles & Surface Design

MA Arts Practice

MA Design Practice

This week's quote is inspired by the International Day for Peace and is taken from a paper in iJADE from 2000. The author, Tom Anderson, describes The Guernica Children’s Peace Mural Project, an art project that sees children create and exchange peace paintings on huge canvases the same size as Picasso's Guernica (3.5m ×7.8m) throughout the world.

Our members can access every past issue of iJADE by logging in to the NSEAD website and using the search tool on the iJADE page here.