What is Experiment?
Experiment is designed for primary, secondary, and special schools ready to rethink teaching and learning. It invites teachers to collaborate with a Creative Learning Partner to bring the curriculum to life through enquiry-led approaches that are rooted in real-world relevance and creative thinking.
This is your chance to break the mould, deepen learner engagement, and create learning experiences that reflect your school’s unique goal. Whether your focus is literacy, health and wellbeing, or Creative Learning across the curriculum, you’ll collaborate with your Creative Learning Partner to co-design and deliver dynamic, high-impact classroom experiences. Rooted in Creative Learning pedagogy and aligned with your school’s development plan, these experiences are crafted to be meaningful, relevant, and genuinely transformative.
Why Take Part?
- Make a real impact - Tackle the issues that matter most to your school through authentic, meaningful enquiries.
- Reignite your passion for teaching – Discover how creative approaches to curriculum design can energise your practice and support learner agency, wellbeing, and deeper engagement.
- Feel supported, not stretched – Work side-by-side with experienced Creative Learning Partners who bring fresh perspectives and practical strategies.
- Be bold – Take creative risks in a safe, supported environment where experimentation is not only encouraged but celebrated.
- Connect with the community – Create learning experiences that are outward-looking and community-rooted.
How It Works
Your enquiry will be tailored to your school’s development priorities. Together with your Creative Learning Partner and your learners, you will co-create and trial new ideas that can be embedded into classroom life. Your enquiry will evolve organically from a ‘blank piece of paper’ in terms of focus and direction. Your Creative Learning Partner will work with you to explore ideas and themes which take account of and are informed by authentic learner voice and relevant school development priorities.
Your Creative Learning Partner will work with you to identify one of the following three areas to focus on:
- Literacy Development
- Health and Wellbeing
- Creative Learning across the curriculum
And together you will also consider, authentic, real-world learning; learner voice and enquiry-led approaches; creative risk-taking and innovation; integrating wellbeing throughout; collaborative and reflective practice.
This is a genuine experiment in teaching and learning — providing space to explore, adapt, reflect and grow.
Who can apply?
Experiment is open to all local authority maintained and voluntary-aided primary, secondary, special schools, and specialist teaching facilities.
Each school will need to identify a designated teacher and their corresponding class of learners to take part. This does not need to be a teacher with Expressive Arts knowledge or experience. Creativity is an essential skill for life aligned with the 4 Core Purposes and cuts across all Areas of Learning and Experience. Creative learning pedagogy is relevant and useful in devising innovative, authentic and engaging experiences for all learners and teaching practitioners.
Experiment welcomes both new and returning schools.
What’s Included?
- 10 days of support from a Creative Learning Partner who will be assigned to you by Arts Council of Wales.
- A £2,000 grant for additional creative practitioners, resources, and related trips to support the enquiry.
- One-day compulsory training day for the designated teacher, plus ongoing professional learning.
- Ongoing support and guidance throughout the enquiry.
Important Details
Before submitting an application, each school must designate a specific teacher to lead the process.
This designated teacher is required to attend mandatory training and participate in supporting conversations.
Please note, only one class or learner group—consisting of up to 30 learners—may participate per school. If you have any questions or circumstances that fall outside these guidelines, please reach out to a Project Lead for assistance.
No prior Creative Learning experience required.
Your enquiry should be a fresh idea developed with your Creative Learning Partner, not a pre-existing one or something that is already happening in your school.
Experiment supports Curriculum for Wales and aligns with its goals.
Timeline
| 12pm 16 October 2025 | Application deadline – spaces are limited! |
| w/c 10 November 2025 | Decisions sent to applicants |
| 14 January 2026 (North Wales venue tbc) 20 January 2026 (Mid Wales venue tbc) 22 January 2026 (South Wales venue tbc) | Training for designated teacher Schools must attend one training day as a condition of grant |
| February 26 - June 2026 | Working side by side with your Creative Learning Partner to plan and experiment |
| 26 June 2026 | Reflection Narrative Deadline |
Find out more
To find out more and ask questions, please join one of our online briefing sessions:
24 September 12:30 – 13:15
Meeting ID: 857 1654 6352
Passcode: 028460
8 October 12:30 – 13:15
Meeting ID: 844 5802 7506
Passcode: 500247
All local authority maintained and voluntary-aided primary, secondary, special schools, and specialist teaching facilities.
No. Your Creative Learning Partner will help develop your enquiry. The Experiment grant cannot be used to fund a pre-existing idea or an activity that has already begun (or is planned).
£2,000 for additional creative practitioners, resources, and related trips to support the enquiry. Plus 10 days of Creative Learning Partner support.
No. Whether you're new to Creative Learning or looking to go deeper, this programme is for you.
Absolutely! This is a new programme of work that is open to all eligible schools regardless of whether you have worked with us or have been awarded funding from us before.
Yes. Having an open Go and See or Have a Go grant does not affect your eligibility.
Yes. Attending an Explore session does not affect your eligibility.
If the individuals taking part are different, the school can be part of Experiment and the Creative Leadership Programme.
Yes. Experiment aligns with Curriculum for Wales, supports the four core purposes of education, learner agency, and developing innovative pedagogy.
Each school must identify a proactive teacher directly involved with the participating learners that will lead the enquiry within your school. If you wish to be the designated teacher, you should ensure that you are available for planning conversations, you are a keen advocate for driving forward change in relation to diversifying the curriculum and are able to create flexibility in your timetable.
We caution against giving this opportunity to a teaching colleague who is new to your school and advise that it is not suitable for an NQT.
A Creative Learning Partner is a creative professional who has experience of collaborating with teachers and learners. They have a background working in the arts or creative industries and have been trained by Arts Council of Wales in Creative Learning pedagogy, to support you with your enquiry. They will work in close collaboration with you and your learners to research, co-construct and deliver the enquiry.
Yes. The designated teacher must attend a one-day training course delivered by Arts Council of Wales and engage in professional learning opportunities. It is compulsory for the designated teacher to attend and is a condition of your grant acceptance. It ensures you get the most out of your experience and your school fully benefits from the opportunity. More information will be sent if you are successful.
No. Your school will need to meet the cost of any supply cover or travel expenses required.
Absolutely. You will be assigned a Project Lead from within the Creative Learning team at the Arts Council of Wales as well as your own Creative Learning Partner. Your Creative Learning Partner will support you in all aspects of planning, delivery and evaluation of your enquiry. Your Project Lead will approve the proposal and budget submission from the Creative Learning Partner and will also be responsible for quality assurance of your enquiry, to ensure you’re getting everything you need from the collaboration and your experience on the programme
Please see here for a copy of the application questions.
For more questions or to discuss your school’s suitability, contact:
Apply now! Deadline 12pm 16 October – spaces are limited!
To access the application form you will need to have registered on the online portal.
We recommend that you register at least 5 working days before you wish to start your application. Once you have received your login details, you can use these to access all Creative Learning Cymru application forms and will not need to re-register when you want to apply again.
If you require further assistance in accessing the online portal, please contact our Grants and Information team: grants@arts.wales