Working with schools

It is clear that those who designed the National Curriculum in Art wanted pupils to emulate the working practices of artists. They have recognised that, in order to make art, there needs to be a process of research, including looking at other artists' work or artefacts, developing ideas and trying out materials before a final piece is made, or solution found. This way of working is reflected in the GCSE in which pupils are examined on a project which consists of units, showing evidence of all the research, development of ideas and references to other sources, as well as a final piece.

You can work with schools in a variety of ways which can help enrich the delivery of the National Curriculum. Here are some examples of different approaches. You can:-

• exhibit your work and give talks about it to pupils and teachers
• demonstrate specific skills and techniques to pupils and teachers
• make your own work at the school over a period of time in a temporary 'studio' base
• work alongside pupils on specific collaborative projects
• teach pupils directly
• lead staff training sessions (Inset)
• make a specially commissioned piece of work for the school.

Depending on your individual skills, experience and working methods, you could offer a combination of the above areas. Other factors which influence the way in which you can work in a school will be:-

• the type of school: infant, primary, middle, secondary, special needs(physical or behavioural)
• the ages of pupils in the range 4-18 years
• the abilities or requirements of pupils: exam groups (GCSE, A-Level, NVQ): mixed age groups, special needs (those with learning difficulties, special abilities or physical disabilities)
• the school's requirements.

When deciding what to offer, it is important to consider what pupils, teachers and, indeed, the whole school community will learn by coming into contact with you. The two main questions to address are:-

How will pupils, teachers and the whole school community broaden their perception of contemporary art practice as a result of the residency?

What will be the long-term as well as the short-term benefits of having the residency?

The following examples show what pupils and teachers could learn about your work as a professional artist:-

• Exhibiting your work shows the high standard of display and presentation necessary
• Demonstrating skills can help teachers develop new areas of the art curriculum or help pupils try new materials or approaches
• Showing evidence of research methods (sketchbooks, cuttings, maquettes) can demonstrate how you approach new work
• Seeing a piece evolve over a period of time can help pupils to identify with it, especially if they see evidence of the need to constantly review and modify
• Working with small groups of pupils or teachers on specific projects provides opportunities for them to achieve high standards
• Discussing other artists' work, both historical and contemporary, can open the way for understanding the context in which artists operate
• Discussing the content of work may raise issues such as race, gender, pollution, multi-culturism, feminism, religion, etc., and give teachers and pupils the opportunity to explore issues though art and its meaning.

As well as learning about the practical side of making art, pupils and teachers can discover other aspects of professional practice. Older pupils in particular may be interested in finding out about your career path and training, or about marketing and selling work.

The nature of your art practice will, to some extent, define how you can work most effectively in a school. For example:-

• if you regularly carry out commissions, you could offer to set a typical brief and help pupils think through the process of designing and executing an individual piece
• if you have an interest in community work, you could offer to make a collaborative piece alongside pupils
• if people are your subject matter, you could offer to make a new piece using the school community as your stimulus or, similarly, if you work in the context of the environment, you could make a new piece in the school grounds
• if you have an interest in historical art or artefacts you could offer to link a project to a visit to a local museum or gallery
• if you are knowledgeable about specific subjects (myths and legends, literature, Roman pottery, geology, Oriental textiles, The Day of the Dead) you could suggest a project theme drawing on your expertise.