I am delighted to have joined the TALE project. What most attracted me to the research was the focus on teachers’ professional development. I am really looking forward to gaining a rich understanding of arts teachers’ creative practices and the way these impact on their students’ experiences of learning. After the impact of the EBacc I think many of us shared concerns about the drop in student numbers taking arts subjects at GCSE and the loss of colleagues and  their vast expertise from the professional arena –  we worried too about lack of continuity this can lead to in schools. I think the project’s timely focus on the impact of the professional development programmes of the RSC and the TATE will prove to be important nationally and internationally. I am lucky to be working from the new Jubilee Campus which is the home of the wonderful Centre for the Study of Art, Creativity, and Literacies https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/education/research/cracl/index.aspx or http://cracl.net

I am now busy contacting schools,  and arranging for visits and can’t wait to start the research process in November.