Research Short: Opening the gates: how arts-rich primary schools open up to their parents and communities
28th October 2026
This week, I spoke with Professor Pat Thomson about her recent article ‘Opening the gates: how arts-rich primary schools open up to their parents and communities’ in Arts Education Policy Review. The paper looks at how forty arts-rich primary schools in England keep their doors open to parents and communities while still meeting the safeguarding rules that push schools to shut their gates: it comes from the Researching the Arts in Primary Schools project (https://artsprimary.com).
According to Pat, English primary schools are required to lock their gates, but arts-rich schools find ways to stay open to families and neighbourhoods without cutting corners on safety. Her study found five strategies: teaching lessons in museums, theatres and other venues rather than only in classrooms; turning school buildings into spaces the community can use, for performances or exhibitions; giving children real roles as cultural leaders, from curating displays to designing public artworks; building long-term partnerships with music, arts and cultural organisations, rather than one-off visits; and building curriculum around local history and families’ own knowledge.
Her paper draws on the Researching Arts-rich Primary Schools (RAPS) project, a three-year mixed-methods study of arts-rich primary schools in England (2021-2024), funded by the Freelands Foundation. From an initial pool of 168 schools identified through arts networks and awards, 76 completed a baseline survey, and 40 were selected for in-depth case study, chosen for a spread of location, size and community background. They interviewed headteachers and teachers, ran focus groups with children, and looked at curriculum documents, policies and photographs. The Covid-19 pandemic shortened some school visits, so parts of their evidence describe what staff and children told them rather than what they observed directly.
The research is relevant for music and arts educators, music hubs, and the community organisations and venues that partner with schools. It shows that reciprocal, sustained partnerships, of the kind many music hubs already build with schools, do more for children and teachers than one-off workshops or visiting days. It also shows that safeguarding and community engagement are not opposites: schools can risk-assess venues, set up joint-use agreements and vet visiting staff, and still teach whole units of work in concert halls, museums or theatres. Music hub leaders and cultural partners could use this to make the case for longer-term, co-planned partnerships with schools.
Pat is a semi-retired academic living in Australia. She was once a school principal in South Australian disadvantaged schools and her initial training was in liberal arts specialising in performance studies. Her research has covered three areas: the arts in schools, communities and galleries; academic writing and doctoral education; school change and leaders’ work.
Where can we find out more?
• Read the open access article in the Arts Education Policy Review
• Learn more about the RAPS project
• You can find out more on Pat’s academic writing blog ‘Patter’
Written by Kerry Bunkhall – Research Manager for Music Mark
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