Visual Storytelling in Northumberland Schools: Creative Learning Through the Arts
“Creative Learning Through the Arts” is a short documentary I created for Maltings Visual Arts, exploring how visual storytelling can illuminate the power of creative education in rural Northumberland.
Through movement, music, and making, the film celebrates how schools, artists, and cultural partners collaborated to nurture emotional literacy, confidence, and imaginative learning among children from Early Years to Key Stage 3.
Filmed in and around Berwick-upon-Tweed, the documentary captures a year-long programme that brought dance, beatboxing, drama, and quilt-making into classrooms and galleries. These workshops, CPD sessions, and exhibitions formed part of The Maltings North Northumberland Schools Engagement Programme (2021–22)—a project designed to improve arts access for children in remote communities and empower teachers with new creative strategies.
As a filmmaker specialising in visual storytelling, I was struck by the authenticity and openness in these sessions. One teacher reflected:
“I’ve learned to change my mindset—starting something and not knowing where it’s going. It’s a bit scary but very exciting.”
This spirit of curiosity was everywhere. In one Reception class, children mimicked a dancer from a video, rolling in chalk-drawn circles and expressing joy through spontaneous movement. In another, pupils proudly demonstrated beatboxing skills learned through digital resources—one child even performing for their granny on the bus.
Teachers highlighted how the sessions gave children emotional tools as well as creative ones. “Whatever they do is the right thing,” said one, underlining how important it was to build confidence without fear of being wrong. These experiences weren’t limited to students: educators gained confidence too, learning how to use video resources and artist-led workshops to bring freedom and experimentation into their teaching.
Another major strand of the programme was quilt-making, inspired by the Quilt Resurgence exhibition at the Granary Gallery. Older pupils worked with a professional quilt maker to create their own small textile pieces, developing fine motor skills, spatial awareness, and resilience. One teacher said:
“Some of them don’t know how to use a needle and thread. You’re building their creative skills for life.”
Artist CPD sessions also played a key role, especially in supporting creative practitioners to engage meaningfully with the youngest learners—including babies and nursery-aged children. These sessions were more than professional development; they were spaces of reflection, exchange, and experimentation. Artists from different disciplines—dance, drama, textile, and performance—came together to explore what creativity looks like in early years contexts and how their own practices could adapt to support sensory-rich, play-based learning.
The conversations were thoughtful and wide-ranging, often touching on the emotional needs of very young children and how creative input can support attachment, attention, and early communication. For many artists, this was a rare chance to slow down and reimagine their work through the lens of early education. One participant remarked that the session gave them something “without any expectation of returning anything”—a comment that spoke volumes about the generosity and openness of the programme.
The feedback was clear: these experiences weren’t just inspiring—they were transformative. They enabled practitioners to connect more deeply with their purpose, encouraged collaboration across art forms, and planted seeds for future interdisciplinary work that prioritises inclusion and emotional wellbeing from the very start of a child’s learning journey.
By documenting this initiative, Creative Learning Through the Arts shows how visual storytelling can amplify the voices of educators, artists, and children alike. It’s a film shaped by visual storytelling—capturing growth mindsets, collaboration, and the power of the arts to reach every corner of the curriculum—and every corner of the classroom.
Filming in real classrooms and gallery spaces, I used visual storytelling to reveal how moments of creativity—whether through spontaneous movement, playful sound-making, or mindful quilting—became catalysts for emotional expression and joy. The project didn’t just enrich the curriculum; it redefined what a classroom could be. Instead of static learning environments, I saw spaces alive with imagination, experimentation, and trust. Children felt safe to take risks, teachers were empowered to try new approaches, and artists were welcomed as co-creators of knowledge.
This shift—from delivering lessons to fostering expression—was at the heart of the programme’s success. Visual storytelling became the perfect medium to capture these subtle but powerful dynamics. Through the camera lens, it was possible to reflect the tone of the sessions: calm yet playful, thoughtful yet full of energy. In sharing these stories through visual storytelling, the film offers a wider invitation—to reimagine education not just as instruction, but as an evolving, creative relationship between people, ideas, and place.
If you’d like to watch the film and see more of my work exploring community stories, creative resilience, and diverse subjects across arts, heritage, and the environment, you can explore all my films here: https://alanfentiman.co.uk/films-by-alan-fentiman/
More projects involving young people, education:
🔗 https://alanfentiman.co.uk/vimeo-videos/young-people/
🎥 Directed by Alan Fentiman | Commissioned by Maltings Visual Arts