Our
Story so far......

Get to Know Arts In Action...
and our story ...... ( so far !)

Arts in Action was founded by me, Heidi, in the autumn of 2022, after 20 years in mainstream education for 11- to 18-year-olds. Most recently, I was part of a team that established a brand new school, where I developed a thriving and high-achieving department in a deprived area from scratch. In my department, I specialised in responsive teaching learning, creating a safe space where every child was valued. I aimed to tailor all teaching to individuals as much as possible, resulting in a space where boys achieved, disadvantaged students scored higher than their peers, and SEND students thrived, consistently attaining top grades far above national scores and their targets. I am now privileged to continue walking alongside several past students and have been able to employ several as they enter the workplace as artists.
However, despite the fantastic support from the head of the school I was in , I saw too many children falling through the gaps in the current educational system, massive increases of children with mental health issues / anxiety, large numbers of school refusers, and children who had SEND -who were highly creative but were unable to take subjects where they would achieve and thrive because someone in the 'System' decided they needed to take the EBACC! I decided I needed a change and wanted to work in a place where individuals were not just numbers or scores, but real people, with diverse skills, passions and stories and decided to jump away form my 'career' and focus instead on my passion for art and community engagement.
I was blessed to be awarded the first three commissions I applied for as a community artist, running projects funded by the council and other organisations. I was also approached by companies that had experienced my educational work and asked to produce content for galleries and educational/family programs.
Things took off more quickly than I expected when I was awarded several other tenders, leading to the formation of Arts in Action. During this time, I was approached by the home-ed community, as I had also de-registered my child. They were desperate for high-quality, responsive sessions for their children. It became apparent that home-ed children, many of whom had fallen through the gaps in the education system, faced challenges in attaining creative GCSEs or A levels in the creative subjects due to the need for a tutor and exam center. After months of research and conversations searching hight and low , I managed to linked with an exam center, launching the first GCSE sessions for home-educated children. Soon, a whole program of sessions for the home-ed community emerged, which became oversubscribed, leading to the addition of more GCSE sessions in Art, Graphic Design, Photography, and Textiles as requests came in. The first cohort of GCSE students excelled, achieving all 8s and 9s.
Alongside developing the educational strand, several community tenders have been won, and Arts in Action has collaborated with the Local Authority, Warwickshire Library Service NPO (Arts Council Funded), and various arts organizations, including Friction Arts (Children in Need funded project) and Arts Connect. I was awarded ACE (Arts Council England) funding for their DYCP program to develop my ceramics work.
Over the last 18 months, we have worked with people from all parts of society, often connecting with those on the fringes. We have engaged with individuals of all faiths and backgrounds, languages and ethnicities, from ages 2 to 92, including those with PhDs and those with severe disabilities. All are of equal importance to us. We aim to meet people where they are, truly see them, value and connect with them, while bringing new opportunities and creativity and hope.
In the last two years, I became increasingly aware that more free and accessible community sessions were needed. I could only personally fund so many from my paid sessions, and I required a larger, more accessible space to facilitate them and engage more artists and facilitators. To expand the free community provisions, we applied to register a sister Community Interest Company, which was successfully established in summer 2024, leading to the founding of Arts in Action CIC.
We are exploring the development of more groups around the country for those in need. Hayley from the East Coast (Norfolk/Suffolk), who is passionate about developing community sessions in literacy, creativity, and heritage, joined the board of the CIC in autumn 2024 and will be launching ' Books In Action ' a cross-circular learning project using classic novels as the base for cross-curricular links - finding cultural, societal, historical and current contextualisation and relating it to learning that can be completed throughout the week at home using all curriculm areas from geography to art, math to RE.
We are also in conversations about expanding much-needed provisions across the UK, so watch this space—the best is yet to come!
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Arts in Action
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Arts In Action CIC
Working together for GOOD!
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Arts In Action CIC : Not For Profit :
AIA provides free community and social action projects for communities, children and young people. The CIC was registerd Summer 2024 and will allow us to expand our FREE community programmes.
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Arts In Action CIC : Communities and Social Action
Freelance Community tenders & Commissions):​
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Socially engaged arts projects and commissions.
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Private commissions and community programs for Arts Organisations, County Council, Public Health, university community schemes, schools work, SEND organisations/ schools, charities and much more. Specialising in theme based projects, responsive projects and co-creation.
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Art and Faith workshops
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Arts In Action : Education (Freelance sessions By Heidi) :
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A full Home-Education Arts Program. Face to Face and online. Including thematic projects and skill building programs for 4-16. Including EYFS-KS2, Ks2-3, Pre-GCSE and Full GCSE'S / A-levels in Art, Photography , Graphics, Textiles and 3D design.
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Private 1-2-1 tutoring including level 1-3 courses.
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Private adult sessions
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Arts education consultations, resources, programs and schemes of learning for educational establishments, galleries and museums.
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Who's who?
Founder of Arts In Action . Director of Arts In Action CIC. Freelance Artist and Educator
Heidi Pendergrast
I am married to Don and we have 3 biological children, and brought up a 4th under a SGO.. Some of our children are currently home-educated and some are in school. I have a BA Hons Degree in Visual Studies (Multi-disciplinary) from The Norwich School of Art (NUA) and studied at Cambridge University for my Post-Graduate PGCE/MEd course in Arts Education at Homerton College and Faculty of Education. I have 20 years of teaching under my belt for 11-18's and was part of a small team that set up a successful new school. I have lots of SEND and LAC experience and specialise in socially engaged community arts. I am a lead artist for Friction Arts NPO and have recent commissions by Warwickshire Libraries NPO, Warwickshire Arts & Heritage ( Public Health funded) Arts Connect and The Reel Store.
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I am a mixed media artist, I like to get my hands dirty! I use ceramics, printmaking and mixed media and themes in my work encompass faith, human narrative, hidden stories, text and nature . My Socially engaged work is experimental often instillation , often co-created with the public and involves textiles, mixed media, archival elements and text. Recently I was awarded DYCP funding from Art Council England to develop a new portfolio of work based on the intersections of art and faith. My pilot collection pieces were recently exhibited and sold at The Herbert, and I won a little sculpture award. I am passionate about creativity, people, connections and my faith. I try to really. 'see' people, value their stories and what makes them - them, and encourage them to be brave and take sometimes 'scary' steps into their futures! I am Neuro-divergent and have an unseen disability, but try to see these things as super-powers and not hindrances, and try to empower other people with similar to do the same!

Don Pendergrast
on the Board of Directors for Arts In Action CIC
Is a internationally recognised Agricultural Scientist and Manager , Don has spoken in the European parliament , on BBC news and multiple international conferences. He has been on the board of several charities and helped set up several in the past for different groups he was connected with in the UK and in Africa. He served as Chair of Governors at a local school for several years.

Hayley Eaglen
on the Board of Directors for Arts In Action CIC
is Mum to a very creative and inquisitive Home-educated child. She began Bookworms East Coast and is passionate about accessible, fun, relevant creative education. She has a History and Religious Education degree and has worked as a teacher in 11-18 education and worked in the care industry. She is passionate about bringing more creative , cross curricular and holistic education opportunities to the East Coast area.
Support Artist
Bethany Sweatman
Workshop Assistant
Maarriyah Jamil
Workshop Assistant
Work experience
Reuben Pendergrast



Maya Evans
Kam
Super-cleaner
and sorter-outer-er
of my mess !
Support Artist
