Sarah Eastaff, Director of Creative Learning, darts, offers insights into their Teacher Development Fund learning process. She highlights the team’s focus on iterative and responsive design, and reflects on the importance of fostering a culture of care in which confidence can be nurtured and sustained.
Inspiring Leaders, Creative Learners was a two-year creative partnership in all nine Rose Learning Trust primary schools in Doncaster. The programme, which finished in summer 2025, was led by Town Field Primary School and darts and explored how supporting teachers to embed drama techniques in the classroom could better support students’ academic and personal growth.
Our initial aim was to address the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on young children moving from early years into Year 1. We wanted to empower teachers to use creative techniques to engage students deeply across the curriculum, while developing key skills such as emotional literacy, communication and collaboration. We worked with a small team of expert drama facilitators collaborating closely with teachers, supported by regular professional learning days with and without participating teachers.
To make this work as effective as possible, we have adapted and responded to feedback. One adaptation was how we ran our professional learning days; originally, Head teachers from each school attended, but teachers fed back that it was crucial to have time without their leaders, to explore, play and fail together. This change informed how we planned our learning days and meant we utilised our time with Head teachers more effectively, too.
Senior leadership buy-in was also critical; through regular presentations to the Trust’s Leadership Network, classroom observations by Heads, and their attendance at professional learning days, senior leaders could see the impact of the work. This prompted commitment to half-termly Trust network meetings for these teachers and senior leaders to better utilise teachers’ creative skillsets.
Elements of our professional learning model have remained the same since our original application to the Teacher Development Fund; the crucial importance of play, a culture of care and normalising sharing – whether that be feedback, exercises or ideas. We also found real value in the same artist, where possible, working with the same school throughout. This led to deep, sustained collaborations and reflections on individual development, which spanned two years.
It was crucial to embed two further areas in our professional learning model: failing safely and creating a shared commitment to and comprehension of the work. We failed safely in our professional learning days together by utilising different art forms to highlight different people’s strengths and normalised trying new things.
One teacher told us, “I never thought I would be able to do that. I’m proud of myself and for everyone else here, giving it a go.”
We found a shared language around creativity through Anna Craft’s definition of “small c creativity” (Craft, 2005) and the key life skills creativity can build. 89% of participating teachers completed their evaluation forms every term, reflecting on individual students’ experiences. We believe this commitment was informed by their understanding of the research and their belief in the benefits for their students.
Artists experienced the complexity of the curriculum, and the thin line teachers are walking between assessment, care and a wide range of needs.
As one artist told us, “I have worked with schools for over ten years but never worked alongside teachers so deeply.” Here, we found ways of sharing our expertise to enable teachers as creative practitioners in their classrooms.
darts will continue to partner with the Rose Learning Trust. The Trust has committed time and budget to keep developing these creative champion teachers and will be sharing this learning further with a new cohort of teachers in partnership with us. Across Doncaster, we also aim to offer initiatives informed by Inspiring Leaders, Creative Learners, to improve teacher retention, outcomes for students and support a joyful and robust learning community for our city.
As one Head teacher told us, “Inspiring Leaders, Creative Learners hasn’t felt like something else to do, it’s changed the ways we do things for the better at our school.”
Louise Marshall, Project Coordinator for Everyone is an Artist (Eden Court, Inverness) shares their Teacher Development Fund learning journey so far and highlights the importance of trust and nurturing within their professional learning design.
Hannah Tyreman, Professional Learning Lead at the Teacher Development Trust and Advisory Group Member for our Teacher Development Fund (TDF), explores what we’re learning about the role of trust in teacher professional learning from TDF projects.
