Welcome to
Cotswolds Arts Through Schools
Cotswolds Arts Through Schools (CATS) – administered by The Stockwell Charitable Trust (Reg. 284579) – is a partnership of local arts organisations, schools, arts practitioners and funders.
CATS delivers high-quality, arts based learning experiences to local primary schools.
Why?
The Cultural Learning Alliance has highlighted the dire state of arts in schools and the urgent need for children to access creative opportunities. The arts are not an optional extra: they are essential to a well-rounded education. They encourage children to dig deep, discover who they are, and learn how to relate to others. If pupils don’t develop a love of the arts when young, they often miss out for life.
While the decline in arts education is a national issue, it is most acute in deprived and rural areas. Small schools cut off by limited transport connections offer few chances for children to engage with the arts. In poorer towns, many families have never been to an art exhibition or concert, leaving children without the cultural background to understand how the arts can enrich life.
The OECD has emphasised that in an age of AI, the primary role of education must be to support human flourishing — developing each child’s unique gifts, nurturing collaboration, and preparing them to be responsible members of their communities. With absenteeism soaring and mental health issues on the rise, the arts are vital in making children want to attend school and feel part of a creative community.
CATS’ programmes span visual arts, dance, drama, opera, oracy, and cultural history. They are designed to bring joy and enthusiasm into classrooms, boost children’s self-esteem, improve engagement with learning, and develop essential life skills such as teamwork, communication, and creativity. Arts participation also supports children’s overall wellbeing and mental health.
Working with professional artists, musicians, and drama specialists, CATS provides memorable creative experiences while equipping teachers to embed arts-based learning into their practice. Together with partner schools we aim to create arts-rich environments in schools — proven by research and our own evidence to improve children’s enthusiasm for school, focus, attendance, and achievement across the curriculum.
The need:
The Cotswolds is often portrayed as one of the UK’s most affluent regions. Yet behind the postcard image of honey-stone villages lies a different reality. Many of the communities we serve are small, rural, and isolated. Public transport is patchy, school budgets are stretched, and in some villages more than one in ten children grow up in poverty. Families often struggle to afford even basic art materials, let alone music lessons or cultural activities outside school.
This mix of visible affluence and hidden deprivation means rural and small town inequality is frequently overlooked. The impact on children is real: without access to the arts, they miss out on opportunities to explore creativity, build confidence, and experience the wider world.
Cotswolds Arts Through Schools is working to change this picture — ensuring that every child, no matter where they live, has the chance to thrive in an arts-rich environment.
