Resources for Teachers at Nottingham City Schools

EYFS, KS1, KS2. Bring literacy to life with Lakeside Art’s storytelling sessions. Children are encouraged to join in the story using their imagination, props, and costumes. Using traditional oral storytelling skills pupils can explore themes, characters of traditional tales and myths. 

 KS2 and Year 7. An interactive performance/workshop for that can be experienced online or live in school.  Shhh...akespeare! excites intrigued minds to explore the characters, narrative and language of Britain's most celebrated writer and breaks down barriers to understanding and enjoying the Bard's brilliance.  

The Nottingham Poetry Festival  have four Bitesize 10-minute digital workshops for schools, created by local Nottinghamshire poets. The aim is to encourage children and young people to enjoy and create poetry. 

Primary and Secondary. First Story encourages and supports young people from all backgrounds to write creatively for pleasure and agency through a variety of events and programmes, including the First Story Year-Long Programme in schools.

Staff can also access dedicated creative writing CPD. 

Over the next nine months, Read On Nottingham will be working with schools and the wider community on this project, designed to support the wellbeing of children and young people and encourage them to read and write for pleasure. Activities include virtual author visits, creative writing competitions, book giveaways and more. To find out more and get involved please contact Michael Flynn – Connecting Stories Project Officer. 

Year 7 and 8. Secondary schools are still able to access this fun and effective catch up reading programme. Help students improve their reading, get them engaged and motivated and find their reason to read today. Skills  Academy costs £150. You can register an unlimited number of students on the programme throughout your 12-month subscription. When you sign up to the programme your school also receives a year's membership of the National Literacy Trust worth £100, which gives you access to all of their resources. 

Give your students the opportunity to see what it’s like behind the scenes of Nottingham Playhouse, to understand the various roles in theatre and see the teams at work. Led by a member of the Participation Team, students will hear from professionals about what they do day-to-day and how their role contributes towards the productions.  

Discounts on school bookings will be available for productions of ‘A Christmas Carol’, ‘Red Riding Hood’ and the pantomime shows from this Autumn. In Spring 2022.

‘Red Riding Hood’ will also be touring primary schools.. 

 Nottingham City Libraries have a wealth of resources for schools. The brand new website is packed with things to do for school classes: free ebooks and audio books, links to great free story/author sites, plus artist led sessions, theatre productions including related online resources and more.  They also hope to be able to welcome back class visits to the library soon. Children and staff are able to borrow reading books and non-fiction titles to take back to school and share stories, encouraging learning and reading for pleasure.   

Ages 3 to 11. A resource designed to support teaching art in primary school. It provides developmental guidelines and art lesson ideas across the 3 to 11 age range. 

The approach is based on a simple idea: THAT ART IS A VISUAL LANGUAGE.

Suitable for all ages and abilities.
Bring Nottingham Contemporary’s exhibitions into your classroom through Virtual Reality. Free resources explore activism and women’s role in protest, the foundations of art – colour, line, shape, pattern and light, as well as fashion and performance. Access VR versions of our exhibitions here. Please email for more information.   

 Nottingham Contemporary, Mondays, suitable for all ages and abilities
Visit Nottingham Contemporary on Mondays for an exclusive exploration of the new exhibitions combined with an Artist Experience workshop.  Find out more here or contact the Schools programmer for Secondary schools to book. 

Use these sessions as the perfect start to your students’ day to create a positive mindset, inspired and ready for the day of learning ahead. Motivational Mornings has had positive feedback from both students and teachers about the impact it’s had on confidence and motivation levels. The sessions are delivered through Freedom Foundations Lockdown Learning Hub - a safe space for students to access. 

Freedom Foundation deliver their 12 week Freedom Factory sessions in school time or as an after-school club. Using street dance and hip-hop, singing and song writing their 90 minute sessions with up to 30 children build confidence, resilience and aspiration, educate about the impact of social media on mental health and help children cope with common mental health problems such as anxiety, stress, depression and self-harm. 

Ages 8+

The Creating Connections learning activities have been designed by NAE Associate Artists Shamila Chady and Elaine Winter for for use at home or school. Creating Connections is designed to help young people make positive connections with others their age where there is a feeling of disconnectedness due to cultural and other differences. 

Primary.  A series of free, short 5 to 15 minute videos and creative tasks which can be done in the classroom or at home. The MoveMore team also offer further support called ‘Beyond MoveMore’ which offers face to face sessions, virtual dance sessions and also CPD training for teachers. Contact   

My Black Identity packs contain images and creative and educational media contents with hard copies, online and mobile device participation coupled with online based response and engagement platform. Fearless Youth Association are offering young people a chance to display their creativity in an online exhibit, celebrating what their blackness means to them. The aim of this exhibit is for them to share their thoughts and feelings around identity. 

We're pleased to bring you the second edition of our free creative activities pack designed for Nottingham’s children and young people. It’s filled with over 40 engaging and fun activities created by 20 of Nottingham’s arts organisations. 

Suitable for all Primary and Secondary Pupils
Pupils develop their own science investigations about the questions that matter to them, and work with scientists who specialise in that field to help work out the answers. This project is flexible for different ages, time-frames and the topics can be tailored to support curriculum teaching and extra-curricular activity in your school.. 

 Votes for Schools is an award-winning platform giving your students a voice on the issues that affect them the most, as well as supporting you to consistently embed SMSC, British Values and Prevent across your school. 

Did you know that Nottingham City Schools can travel for free to events or activities using Nottingham City Transport?  Applications are made through the Aquinas Foundation.at least one week in advance by email to to the Aquinas Foundation ncola@aquinaseducation.co.uk Tel: 0115 9244788 

Primary. Area Bands are beginner orchestral groups open to young people in city schools that have a Whole Class Ensemble or In Harmony programme in collaboration with Nottingham Music Hub. These bands are ideal for pupils (usually Year 5) who have completed one year of instrumental learning.  Rehearsals are currently online, and they would love to welcome new members.  

Our Black Identity packs contain images and creative and educational media contents with hard copies, online and mobile device participation coupled with online based response and engagement platform. Fearless Youth Association are offering young people a chance to display their creativity in an online exhibit, celebrating what their blackness means to them.  

Meet some of Wollaton’s magnificent trees, learn to identify them and take a closer look at their leaves, flowers, bark and seeds as well as the animal life that lives on and around them. Fun practical science activities including measuring trees, comparing leaf shapes and bark patterns and finding out what woodlice like. You’ll see species of trees whose ancestors lived at the same time as dinosaurs. 

Noise Academy can deliver weekly DJ lessons at your school or setting delivered by professional tutors. Students will work towards recording their own DJ mixes whilst gaining AQA accreditations.

The Creative Schools Network was developed to support East Midlands schools to share ideas and expertise, profile excellent practice, and offer free training and workshops for those with responsibility for ensuring arts and culture thrive in educational settings. It's FREE to join.

 A few of Nottingham’s galleries are working together to support an anti-racist and inclusive curriculum. They are keen to work with schools and partners in the community.  If you are a teacher in a Nottingham city school and are interested in working with them.

For more information, please email Ruth Lewis-Jones, at New Art Exchange, or Amanda Spruyt at Nottingham Contemporary,   

Explore the extensive variety of resources available for art and design teachers.

Find out about NSEAD courses, conferences and training opportunities.

The Mighty Creative work with education providers and cultural organisations in the East Midlands to support and develop ways of tackling inequality of access to creative opportunities.

The Cultural Learning Alliance champions a right to arts and culture for every child. They act as a backbone organisation for the arts and cultural education sector, and provide the analysis, evidence, and arguments that Alliance members and their wider sectors can use.

Sir Ken Robinson makes an entertaining and profoundly moving case for creating an education system that nurtures (rather than undermines) creativity.