Jaclyn Wiid

As many schools and colleges reach the end of another year, I wanted to say a huge thank you to all educators and everyone involved in arts education. 🎨✨

It's been another busy year of inspiring creativity, supporting students and championing the value of arts education.

I'd also like to thank the moderators, examiners and wider Pearson teams whose expertise and commitment help make our qualifications possible and recognise learners' achievements each year.

For many of you, this marks the start of a well-deserved break.

I hope you have the chance to switch off, recharge and take some time for yourself.

For those preparing for results days, I'll be sharing key reminders and support over the coming weeks.

Although many schools and colleges are now finishing for the year, we'll be here throughout the holiday period.

If you have any questions or would like to chat anything through, please get in touch 👉

📨 [email protected]

🔗 Pearson Support Portal https://support.pearson.com/uk/s/contactsupport

Thank you for everything you do for your students and for arts education.

Wishing you all the best for the weeks ahead. ☀️

🎨👯🎭🎶 Arts education develops more than creative skills.

The Cultural Learning Alliance's Arts Education Capabilities Framework highlights seven capabilities that arts education helps young people develop:

✨ Agency

✨ Wellbeing

✨ Collaboration

✨ Communication

✨ Empathy

✨ Creativity

✨ Interpretation

Together, these capabilities help young people become confident, resilient, thoughtful and connected individuals.

A useful framework for anyone advocating for the value of arts education and the impact it has on learners both in and beyond the classroom.

This and other vital evidence-informed practice regularly features in the training and events I host, and helps inform our qualification development at Pearson.

And this handy poster is a great conversation starter for classrooms, exhibitions and parents' evenings, helping make visible the wider benefits of arts education.

🌟

Download it here 👉 https://www.culturallearningalliance.org.uk/evidence/

🌟

🎨 A fantastic day at our Art MAT Network Event yesterday at Pearson HQ in London.

It was brilliant to bring together colleagues from across trusts to explore the opportunities and challenges facing Art & Design education, share ideas, and strengthen professional networks.

We were particularly pleased to welcome Suzanne Rodgers MCCT, who led an inspiring session on process-led learning, sparking thoughtful discussion and reflection.

The afternoon focused on the future of Art & Design, with rich conversations around the evolving education landscape, curriculum development, and how we can continue to champion high-quality creative education for all learners.

A huge thank you to everyone who attended and contributed so openly.

The insights, collaboration and passion in the room reinforced the vital role that Art & Design plays in helping young people develop creativity, confidence and critical thinking.

🎨 Art teachers and leaders in Hampshire – this is a fantastic professional development opportunity!

tinyurl.com/LearningZoneGuidance

Join the Secondary Annual Conference for Art, Craft and Design 2026 at the wonderful Southampton City Art Gallery on 16 November 2026.

The conference theme, 'Brilliance', will explore the latest developments in art education through keynote speakers, practical workshops, gallery exhibitions, classroom showcases and networking opportunities. Attendees will also have the chance to discuss qualification requirements with awarding organisations and connect with a range of resource providers.

We're delighted that Pearson will be there too, so please come and say hello if you have any questions about our Art & Design qualifications, assessments or support resources.

📅 16 November 2026
📍 Southampton City Art Gallery
🎨 Keynotes, workshops, exhibitions, networking and more

We look forward to seeing many of you there!

Have your say on the 2026 Art assessments 🎨

If your students completed our qualifications this year, we’d really value your insight. Your feedback goes directly to our senior moderators, examiners, and subject teams—helping shape future assessments.

✔ Takes just five minutes

✔ Makes a real difference for future learners

Share your feedback here:

👉 GCSE, International GCSE, and A Level: https://qualifications.pearson.com/en/support/feedback-and-complaints/general-qualifications-and-assessment-feedback.html

👉 BTEC and T Levels: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=1zTEjNCX00e1xRT-DjPjS0r8R_Ez_UNCuHcsmM9N5lhUQUNIQk9TNUpYMkRBUVpaRTVIQ0ExNkE1NSQlQCN0PWcu

✨

Thank you for your continued support—it genuinely helps us improve the experience for students and teachers alike.

✨

Pearson

🎨 My July Art & Design update is here https://bit.ly/4vVBGlu exploring:

🔹 2026 assessment surveys – have your say and help shape future developments

🔹 Results day dates and preparing for results support

🔹 Training opportunities for 2026–27

🔹 Teacher Facebook groups for Pearson Art & Design

🔹 BTEC quality assurance support and updated vocational funding guides

🔹 Inspiring opportunities, including: from Art UK and the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art, the free Art History Link-Up, a registered charity, no. 1172792 programme for UK state school students, a free curriculum diagnostic tool, and a free arts and culture platform from Bloomberg Connects

✨

I hope this update helps as you prepare for results season and plan for next year. Thank you, as always, for everything you do to support your students.

📨

Want these updates straight to your inbox? Sign up here https://bit.ly/3Rd0NkO

✨

Pearson

Brilliant day at ! The ultimate highlight was hearing the inspiring Dame Dr. Maggie Aderin speak.

And when I asked about the value of , she shared that she took GCSE Art! 🎨🚀

The arts and sciences complement each other perfectly.

​I also had a fantastic time supporting Pearson’s 'No Wrong Doors' session, discussing flexible pathways for learners and hearing from the brilliant and engaging Jade Bowler.

​Overall, it was the perfect day discussing all things education and connecting with so many incredible educators!

​ The Festival of Education UnJaded Jade

What a brilliant day for connection and creativity! ✨

​It started with the 3rd Pearson Online Schools Day at 80 Strand, connecting with colleagues from our online centres to share great practice and explore the unique pedagogical considerations of the online and hybrid education space.

​It was especially fantastic to meet in person with our fully remote International GCSE Art and Design centres.

🎨 If you’re interested in delivering Art and Design online, I’d love to chat:

​✉️ Email: [email protected]

​🗓️ Book a 1:1 via Teams: SubjectAdvisorCatchupArtDesignandMedia@pearsoneducationinc.onmicrosoft.com/bookings/" rel="ugc" target="_blank">https://outlook.office365.com/owa/calendar/SubjectAdvisorCatchupArtDesignandMedia@pearsoneducationinc.onmicrosoft.com/bookings/

You can also find all things Art at Pearson here, including my monthly updates and dedicated remote delivery guidance for International GCSE Art and Design:
https://qualifications.pearson.com/en/subjects/art-and-design.html

To round off a perfect day, I visited the Hepworth in Colour exhibition at The Courtauld.

Barbara Hepworth's work is incredibly soothing and mesmerising—I absolutely love the interplay between colour and medium, whether expressed through sculpture, drawing, or painting. 🏛️💙

And not a bad perk for another day at the office!

🌟 I'm looking forward to attending Festival of Education 2026 – will you be there? 🌟

If so, drop by our For Every Future Café at Stand C7 for a coffee, chat, and chance to share your thoughts with our team.

I'd love to connect with colleagues from across the education sector. I'll also be supporting No Wrong Doors: Designing Joined-up Pathways for Every Learner on 2 July.

Whether you're navigating qualification reform, supporting learners' next steps or thinking about the future of education, our sessions will offer practical ideas, fresh perspectives and evidence to support the journey ahead.

https://www.pearson.com/en-gb/news-and-policy/events/Festival-of-education-2026.html

Reforming GCSEs: Learning Lessons from Beyond Year 11 🗓️ 2 July | ⏰ 10:30–11:15

No Wrong Doors: Designing Joined-up Pathways For Every Learner 🗓️ 2 July | ⏰12:45–14:00

Students Take the Mic: Young Voices on The Future of Education 🗓️ 2 July | ⏰ 14:45–15:30

The Skills Olympics: Empowering Students to Reach Their Personal Best 🗓️ 3 July | ⏰ 10:30–11:15

50,000+ Voices, 5 Years, 1 Picture: Education Now and Next 🗓️ 3 July | ⏰ 11:45–12:30

Add it to your festival agenda – we'd love to see you there!


Pearson The Festival of Education

🎬 Film, TV and Media educators – check this out!

Free event for Film, TV and Media educators on 2 July at the English and Media Centre in Waterloo, London.

Sign up to take part in inspiring workshops, hear from industry speakers, connect with fellow educators and share ideas and best practice from across the screen education community.

✨

Places are free but limited https://ftveducators.net/events-log/frame-forward-2026-end-of-year-celebration

🎥

Frame Forward 2026: End of Year Celebration — The Film & TV Educators Network Join us to celebrate the end of the academic year with a FREE event structured around sharing ideas and best practice in screen education. This event is open to educators teaching all screen subjects and will run in two strands. You can choose between: Strand 1: A day of reflective pedagogy sess