Paul Hamlyn Foundation: Teacher Development Fund

Overview

• Amount: Up to £165,000 per application
• Deadline: 12 November 2025 at 12 noon 
• Duration: Projects should last for two academic years

Aim of the fund

They envision a more equitable school system where high-quality arts-based learning is a core part of all children’s education. They believe that arts-based teaching and learning can add value and help schools achieve their aspirations for pupils. This fund achieves this by:

• focusing on pupils who experience systemic inequity and enabling them to access and make progress in their learning;
• supporting arts organisations and schools working in equal partnerships to exchange and enrich their expertise;
• recognising teachers are critical to pupils’ outcomes;
• creating high-quality inspiring professional learning for teachers;
• enabling teachers and artist practitioners to learn and work together in the classroom;
• building a body of evidence and practice and understanding how the work improves equity for pupils; and
• generating sustainable changes in teaching and learning in schools for the long-term.

Who they want to support

Either a primary school or an arts/cultural organisation may be the lead applicant.

• All applications must have solid partnerships in place
• Each partnership must include one or more arts/cultural organisations
• A minimum of six and a maximum of ten schools should be involved in each project, regardless of whether the lead applicant is either an arts/cultural organisation or a school
• Each participating school should commit at least two teachers and one senior leader to the project, though flexibility can be offered to small, rural schools
• Arts organisations can be charities, community organisations, social enterprises and not-for-profit companies active in the arts and culture sector
• Participating schools can be mainstream, SEND or Alternative Provision settings, working with primary-age children
• Projects may include teachers of Nursery and Reception classes in primary schools
• All schools must be operating in the state sector

What you will work on

• Equity
  • All projects should focus on how arts-based approaches can build equity in schools so that pupils who experience systemic inequity can access and make progress in their learning.
• A two-year professional learning programme for teachers
  • This will be co-constructed with your partners drawing on evidence about how effective professional learning makes as difference for pupils as well as teachers. For more information, please see Developing Great Teaching, the Department for Education’s Standard for Teachers’ Professional Development and guidance from Education Endowment Foundation.
• Arts-based approaches
  • These are learning experiences which use arts-based content and/or approaches to teach the curriculum. These can involve the following art forms: crafts; creative writing, including poetry and spoken word; dance; design; film; music; opera; photography; digital arts and media; theatre and drama; the visual arts; and cross-arts practices.
• Curriculum
  • PHF understands ‘curriculum’ as all the learning experiences schools offer to their pupils. Much of the work they fund focuses on particular subject areas and they welcome applications supporting arts-based approaches in all subjects, from literacy, to humanities, to STEM. Some funded work has a broader focus, for example critical thinking; speech language and communication skills; or mental health and well-being. PHF does not prioritise, or have a preference for, any curriculum area or artform over another.
• Formative evaluation and support
  • TDF partnerships undertake a detailed evaluation of their work, looking to explore and understand the effectiveness of professional learning and its impact on teachers’ practice and on outcomes for pupils’ learning. Formative evaluations enable projects to develop and adapt throughout. Support with evaluation is provided.
• Spreading practice
  • Teachers, senior leaders and arts partners will collaborate to disseminate practice more widely in the schools, beyond the participating teachers, to embed the approaches in colleagues’ practice and the curriculum.
• Cohort learning programme
  • A series of learning sessions throughout the two years offers an opportunity for projects to come together regularly to learn and share practice.
• Community of practice
  • Over 400 schools have already taken part in the TDF. Their thriving community of practice is supported by the newsletter, events and other activities.

FAQs

For further guidance on who is eligible for this fund, please see their detailed FAQs. Read more