When 64-year-old Sue Cabourn began her career in the late 90s, the next generation of artists including Damien Hirst, Tracey Emin and Gillian Wearing were dominating the cultural agenda. All of them were state-educated but, had they attended school now, things might have panned out differently.
There has been an exodus of art teachers (a 27% drop in the number working in English state-secondary schools from 2011 to 2024), lower uptake (48% fewer students have taken on arts subjects at GCSE since 2010), and a reformed system that critics say has stifled creativity and prioritised Stem (science and technology) subjects over arts and humanities.
Even outside school, the arts have sustained heavy losses. Last year, the Campaign for the Arts said that culture spending by councils had been cut by more than 50% a person in England since 2010. It sounds like a grim time to be trying to inspire the next generation of would-be artists, but this hasn’t stopped 29-year-old Jasmine Pert from taking on her calling. In the following conversation, Cabourn and Pert talk about the reality of being an art teacher today, with all the challenges (and joys) that come along with the job.
How did you become art teachers?
Jasmine Pert: I wanted to get into the profession since I was a child; it was my favourite subject at school. My mum always jokes that, when I was about 14, I said: “I’m going to be an art teacher because you get to sit and drink coffee and listen to Radio 2 all day.” If only! I started my teacher training in lockdown and I’m coming into my fourth year on the job. I now work at a secondary school on the east coast of Scotland. I love it. I feel very fortunate that I’m getting to share the thing that I enjoy the most with other people.
Sue Cabourn: It sounds awful, but I became an art teacher purely because my husband had a back injury and I had three children. I thought: what job could I study for that would fit around everything? My first job in the late 90s was working with adults who had learning difficulties. Then, they started giving me classes with students who had been excluded from school. As you could imagine, they were quite disengaged. It was a baptism of fire. From there, I worked in a secondary school in Nottingham for about 20 years before semi-retiring. I moved to the Isle of Man but I still do cover lessons at the largest school on the island. There have been ups and downs but I have so many happy memories from my 27 years on the job.
When I started teaching, everything was much simpler. The students weren’t on their phones like they are now
Sue, can you take us back to the heyday of the profession?
SC: The peak time for me was probably around 2006 or 2007. There just seemed to be much more money in education. My school hired a technician to help out and we could afford good quality supplies. We were even doing pottery and ceramics. We also went on lots of trips. We went to London and visited all the big galleries, but it wasn’t just about seeing the amazing art. On the train down, some of the students were standing in the compartments between carriages and looking out of the window all excited because they’d never been on a train before. It was such a rich experience for them. We even went to Paris and visited the Louvre to see the Mona Lisa. Another success story was taking my class to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park. It’s such an amazing place. Usually when you go to a museum you can’t touch anything, but there they could run free and even climb up the sculptures. They loved it.
Sue Cabourn: ‘I’ve got a shoe-box full of thank you cards from students. It really makes a difference on a tough day.’ Photograph: Dave Kneale/The Guardian
How have things changed since?
SC: Right now, I feel a bit frustrated. The funding has changed. At some of the recent schools I’ve worked at, we didn’t really do 3D work and having a technician was rare. A lot of students say “I can’t draw”, but if you give a child a piece of clay they can create wonderful things. We had some students from Afghanistan about 15 years ago. There was a language barrier, which was a challenge, but their clay and textile work was so impressive. Things now seem more focused on results. Children’s sketchbooks seem very restrictive and, since Covid, we’ve had to adapt to remote learning and create lessons that can be accessed from home. To me, that doesn’t sit right.
Are these challenges you’ve come across, Jasmine?
JP: In my current school, I have my own classroom, art cupboard and even a big clay facility, which is great. But we’re pushing for more trips, though we have to be aware that going on lots of trips is not affordable for everyone. We are also pushing for more teaching and classroom time because a lot of the behind-the-scenes work is quite admin-focused, trying to get stuff done when the kids aren’t there. You do hear on the grapevine that these things weren’t done by teachers before. Was this the case for you, Sue?
SC: There wasn’t as much assessment as there is now; it feels like assessment for assessment’s sake. That’s why I stepped out of the game for a bit back in 2022. I thought: I’ve had enough of this now. During lockdown, I was doing all these spreadsheets at home. I remember one Saturday morning, I sat for eight hours doing paperwork and thought, “This isn’t what I signed up for”. It’s not teaching any more; it felt like admin. It stopped the joy of it for me.
What are students like today?
SC: When I started teaching, everything was much simpler. The students weren’t on their phones like they are now. Behaviour management was still tough but it was far less challenging than now. Some students also lack fairly simple skills. The other day, I was showing a year 8 student how to use a compass. That’s something that they should have learned in primary school. I also had a boy in year 10 who didn’t understand why his watercolours weren’t working – he hadn’t used any water. In your head, you think, what has happened to the basics? Homework has gone out of the window since Covid too. I hate to say it, but children are lazier now.
Jasmine Pert: ‘Digital art is huge.’ Photograph: Murdo MacLeod/the Guardian
JP: I’ve seen a lot of changes since Covid, when it became nearly impossible to teach art because everything was taught remotely. As a result I’ve seen more and more children coming to school who aren’t at the level they should be for their age, which means we have to quickly fill in the gaps. I have had students I’m having to show how to hold a pencil, use a ruler or scissors. It’s becoming more rare, it feels, to come across students who have analogue hobbies.
How has technology changed the job?
SC: One of the biggest tasks I had to do when I started teaching was filling out the class register book by hand every morning, which included writing out the name of each student. This was before computers came in, so that’s one improvement, but for the most part it’s been negative. Before I left mainstream teaching, I was showing a year 11 class some beautiful art books in our school library. A lot of them had never stepped inside. I asked them to find some artists in these books but they didn’t know how to use the index; they were so used to going straight to Google. It made me feel quite sad. The task was about going through a beautiful art book and looking at the pages, not relying on the internet.
Jasmine Pert … ‘I feel very fortunate that I’m getting to share the thing that I enjoy the most with other people.’ Composite: Guardian Design; Dave Kneale; Murdo MacLeod for The Guardian
JP: I think technology definitely has its place in the classroom. Digital art is huge now and even things like Pinterest are a quick and easy way to show students something that might inspire them. Also, some students use how-to videos on YouTube to practise their drawing. However, the introduction of AI is scary territory. For other jobs in the sector it’s frightening, too. AI can create an entire children’s book within seconds that looks legitimate but there’s not any handcrafted quality. It almost feels throwaway to me. But I’m not an expert and some artists might find it useful.
SC: I don’t understand AI myself. I showed my husband a video of a monkey with a kitten and he said, “That’s AI.” If I don’t even know what’s real, how are you going to know in the future, when a student gives you a piece of work, that they haven’t been helped in some way? It’s bad enough when parents would help students out with homework. Now there’s the prospect of things being computer-aided. I’m glad I’m coming to the end of my career now.
I’ve got a class of six pupils with additional support needs. I love that they’re able to express themselves
Have your students gone on to pursue the arts further and what success have they had?
SC: One of the most heartwarming things is when I’ve got emails from students, or they come in to see me, to say thank you. You never expect it at all but I’ve got a shoe-box full of thank you cards. It really makes a difference on a tough day. I remember once, I was probably at your stage, Jasmine, I had a really awful class last thing on a Friday. They came in chanting football songs before they even sat down and then some lads started throwing crayons at each other. When they left the classroom, I cried. It was the first time I’d ever cried at work. It’s at those really low moments when you have to think of the positives, and hearing how well my former students have done is the perfect boost. One of my students is now a film-maker who has won awards and another works at a high-end agency. When you hear about those successes, it means everything.
JP: I agree, Sue. I have worked in a range of schools, some more affluent than others. Being able to create a space where a pupil can feel safe to express themselves is really important to me. So many influential artists come from working class roots, Grayson Perry and Tracey Emin to name a few. This is why it is really crucial to develop, fund and protect a student’s curiosity in the subject. When I hear about students who choose to take up art when they leave school or enter local competitions, it makes it worth those exhausting days.
Why is art important for students with additional needs?
SC: After working in a special needs school in Nottingham with autistic children and those with complex needs, I would say art was one of the most important things for them because it gave them a creative outlet. They would happily have a go at anything. If they were having a difficult day, their mood could be lifted by a lovely new pack of felt-tip pens or getting the paints out. I had one student who was painting a canvas blue. He was so fascinated with this blue paint; he started painting his hands blue and then he moved the brush up his arm. I didn’t stop him because, at this point, his clothes were covered in the paint. It was such an important experience for him to see the colour, the way it moved and the texture of the paint on himself.
Sue Cabourn … ‘Our subject is just as important as any other.’ Composite: Guardian Design; Dave Kneale; Murdo MacLeod for The Guardian
JS: In the past I’ve taught pupils with additional support needs, where some of the students have dexterity issues. This can make it difficult for them to draw, so, in these cases, I’ve had to work with them to find alternative ways to express themselves in the classroom, which is usually through craft work. Not every class is the same but I’ve found the process really rewarding and inspiring.
Jasmine, has being an art teacher lived up to expectations?
JP: Sometimes I do have time to drink coffee and, if I’m lucky, it’s quiet enough to hear my radio and listen to Radio 2. It’s definitely more full on than I had anticipated. On my very first day of being a student teacher, my mentor said to me, “Jasmine, you’ll be able to do the teaching part with your eyes shut. It’s everything else that goes with it that takes time and energy.” I feel like that comes into my head all the time. Overall, it has lived up to my expectation. When I’m actually teaching and able to be around the students, it’s my favourite thing.
Sue, have you got some words of wisdom for Jasmine?
SC: Our subject is just as important as any other. As art teachers, we have more skills and understanding about the wider world than people realise. We see, feel and understand things that others don’t see or value. Don’t second-guess yourself or feel you’re not worthy because of how some people see the subject. Also, when you come across a child who doesn’t like your subject, it’s not necessarily you. It’s often not personal. Some young people have got a lot going on in their lives and they only see you for that hour in the week. If you can make an impact in that short amount of time, you’re doing an amazing job.
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