“I referred a young Year 9 boy as he was increasingly isolating himself from the rest of his peers because of extreme behaviour. Things at both home and school were at breaking point and he was feeling extremely vulnerable; pushing everyone away and trying his hardest to convince everyone that he did not care.

When I would visit him in The Art room he was content and hardworking, he was focussed and busy and best of all proud of what he had created. The Art Room provided him with the space to be himself and somewhere he seemed happy to show others that he was capable and did care.

I am sure he will treasure the work he created in the Artroom along with memories of a happy time.”

Karen Dix, Head of Year 7
Oxford Spires Academy

Independent evaluation

Teacher with student

An independent evaluation of The Art Room was carried out in 2005 by Dr Tony Eaude, who was associated with the Department of Educational Studies, University of Oxford, supported by Sue Matthew. Both had previously been headteachers of local primary schools. The evaluation was based mainly on observation and semi-structured discussions with staff and children to best capture how The Art Room operates.

How successful is The Art Room?

The evaluation looked at how successful The Art Room has been in relation to different areas such as:

confidence and self-esteem and;
school attendance and prevention of exclusion.

These questions and answers summarise the main points:

Download the report

You can download a copy of the full report, Making Space for Re-engagement, from www.edperspectives.org.uk/objects/edp/arfinalreport.pdf