| By Sophie Galton |
Arts educators encounter important questions throughout the school year, often when practical ideas and informed conversation would be most valuable.
From September 2026, ISTA members will have access to one focused Professional Learning event every month. These events will take place in ISTA LIVE!, the live-events space within the ISTA Hub.
Formats will vary and may include workshops, practice shares, conversations and webinars. Depending on the format, events may offer opportunities to ask questions, hear from practitioners and fellow educators, and explore practical ideas that can be adapted to different contexts.
Each event will be recorded, allowing members to revisit it or catch up in their own time.
Questions worth exploring together
Arts educators work in many different contexts, but they often encounter similar challenges:
- How do you sustain a strong course when student numbers are small?
- What can assessment reports tell you about improving classroom practice?
- How do you make a convincing case for the arts to students, families and school leaders?
- What does the thoughtful use of artificial intelligence look like in a creative classroom?
The ISTA Hub places an international community of educators within reach throughout the school year. Professional Learning in the ISTA Hub creates opportunities to bring questions into the conversation, hear different perspectives and explore ideas with people working across a range of contexts.
What to expect
Each 45-minute event will offer a focused burst of inspiration, provocation or practical learning. Depending on the topic and format, an event may include:
- A conversation with an experienced educator or practitioner
- A walkthrough of a report, framework or teaching approach
- Examples from different schools and arts disciplines
- Questions, discussion and reflective activities
- Practical strategies that can be adapted to different contexts
Every event will be recorded and added to the Recordings area of ISTA LIVE! Members can take part live, revisit an event or watch it at a time that works for them.
Where possible, events will speak across arts disciplines while recognising that some subjects may require a more focused subject-specific approach.
Beyond the scheduled events
The monthly live events are at the heart of this new Professional Learning offer, but the opportunities to explore ideas and develop practice will not begin and end with the Events Calendar.
Keep the conversation going
Throughout the year, we will share questions, provocations and conversation starters connected to ideas in arts education.These conversations may begin with exploring a SCENE article, an idea shared by ISTA, a question from a fellow community member or something being discussed by arts educators around the world.
Think of it as an online space for the kinds of conversations that often happen over a coffee at an ISTA event. Members can reflect, ask questions, offer examples from their own contexts and respond to the experiences of others.
What questions are emerging in your department?
Which curriculum developments are influencing your teaching?
Where would practical support make the greatest difference?
If you have a question, post it. If another member shares a challenge, offer an idea or insight. These contributions will also help ISTA identify relevant topics and contributors for future Professional Learning events.
Explore practical resources
Members can also access a growing collection of digital resources designed to support their practice beyond the live experience.
Established resources are available within the Theatre Hub, while the wider resource offer will continue to evolve across other areas of the Hub, including Film. More information about this year’s resources will be shared as they are developed.
Learn by doing with Encore
For those looking to expand their learning beyond the professional learning included with ISTA membership, ISTA Encore offers an online learning programme that educators and students can access at a time and pace that suits them.
Encore combines slide-based learning about an art form with recorded demonstrations led by professional specialists. Students from international schools take part in the activities on screen, helping educators and learners see how the work can be explored in practice.
Encore can be used in three different ways:
- For educators’ own learning: Teachers can deepen their knowledge, develop their understanding and support their own professional growth.
- As a classroom teaching tool: Educators can use the slides within their lessons or let the specialist artist on screen guide an activity while their students participate alongside the demonstration.
- For independent student learning: Students can explore the materials, watch other students take part and try the activities themselves to support their learning and coursework.
Encore is not only something to read or watch. It invites educators and students to get up and try the activities and learn through doing, with the flexibility to engage whenever it suits their schedule.
Join our first Professional Learning event
Our first event, Professional Learning: Discover What’s Here and What’s Ahead, will take place in the ISTA Hub on Tuesday 8 September 2026 at 1:00pm UK time.
Led by ISTA’s Professional Learning Manager, Sophie Galton, this 45-minute event will introduce the professional-learning opportunities available throughout the year and explain the different ways members can engage with them.
Members will gain a clearer understanding of what is available, where to find it and how they can share ideas for future professional learning.
Come along and discover what professional learning could look like for you this year. Explore what is available, see what is ahead and find the opportunities that fit your interests and schedule.
Full details and joining instructions will be available in the Events Calendar in ISTA LIVE!, within the ISTA Hub. If you cannot attend live, the recording will be available in the Recordings area afterwards.
Need help accessing the ISTA Hub?
Sophie Galton
Sophie Galton is ISTA’s Professional Learning Manager. She holds a BA in Theatre Acting and a PGCE in Drama and has taught in drama schools in the United Kingdom and internationally, working with various curricula and examination boards.
At ISTA, Sophie develops resources and professional learning experiences for arts educators worldwide. She event manages ISTA’s accredited IB workshops and professional learning events, and curates teams of educators and practitioners from ISTA’s global network to support their delivery.
