Insights into inspirational arts practice in schools: Nurturing the mind and feeding the soul at Netley Camden Primary School

The seed of an idea In 2013, our school had been judged by Ofsted to ‘require improvement’ and we were operating out of a building site. Pupils were taught in portacabins separated by a much reduced playground, and our staff was facing a rather uncertain and challenging future. We needed a strategy that would inspire, motivate and unite the school community during these trying times. The school’s 130th anniversary was around the corner and we thought that this would be the perfect opportunity to shape the year’s learning across the school. We wanted our students to explore the history of their school and its surroundings through storytelling, archival work and the arts. Some staff were skeptical about the idea, but we harnessed local intelligence in the form of former pupils, some of whom were current staff, and senior citizens in the community. Alumni began queuing up to speak to the pupils about their time at Netley; a chance for oral history to play an important role in