the challenge facing
​arts teachers

Teaching in the Arts is uniquely rewarding—and uniquely demanding.

In many schools, especially smaller or regional ones, Arts Teachers are asked to wear many hats. They might be the only teacher delivering multiple subjects, often in combined or composite classes with fluctuating student numbers, alongside significant co-curricular programmes. In some cases, they may be expected to lead a learning area while still in the early years of their career.

It's challenging work that requires remarkable adaptability, creativity, and resilience and too often it goes unrecognised. The result can be:
  • Feeling isolated or uncertain
  • Difficulty accessing subject-specific mentoring
  • Overload and burnout
  • Imposter syndrome, even when achieving great results

George has lived this reality. Teaching across Drama, Media, Music, Theatre Studies, and Art, Photography, and Design in both small regional and large metropolitan schools in Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia. He has built learning areas from the ground up, coordinated a broad range of co-curricular programmes from productions to film festivals, and worked in isolation as well as leading teams.

​George's breadth of experience reflects the kind of adaptive leadership that many Arts educators are required to develop.

How does mentoring work?

​Who benefits from mentoring?
From early-career teachers who may have found themselves picking up a subject for the first time or leading a single-teacher department to experienced educators managing broad or complex roles and teams, George offers practical, confidential, and supportive mentoring tailored to each person's goals, experience, and context.

Flexible options
Mentoring takes place via video call.
  • One-off sessions provide targeted advice and support for a current challenge
  • Ongoing sessions provide focused support, professional growth, and improved wellbeing

Not sure if mentoring is right for you?
Book a free, introductory appointment, with no obligation to continue. It's a chance to:
  • Walk through your current challenges or goals
  • Ask questions about how mentoring works
  • See if it feels right for you

Book your free introductory appointment to get a sense of how mentoring could support your work and wellbeing.

areas of support

Build confidence and protect wellbeing
  • Clarify your teaching style and what you bring to your students and your school
  • Avoid burnout or isolation
  • Reflect on challenges in a safe, supportive space
  • Develop sustainable teaching practices
  • Build relationships that support wellbeing and deliver improved outcomes

Strengthen curriculum and assessment
  • Design meaningful, effective assessments
  • Create marking tools that lead to sustainable workloads and consistent assessment judgements
  • Build cohesive units that develop skills and knowledge sequentially across multiple year levels
  • Adapt for multi-level or multi-subject classes to facilitate growth in subject areas
  • Explore formative assessment and ways to provide feedback to improve student results

Enhance co-curricular and classroom practice
  • Plan manageable, meaningful co-curricular programmes
  • Manage behaviour in busy, practical learning spaces
  • Resource and organise creative and inspirational learning spaces
  • Advocate for subject and learning areas in the broader school context

Mentoring stories

Each mentoring journey is individual and responsive to the teacher's needs and goals. Read some mentoring stories below.
​For privacy, the names of teachers has been changed.
Mentoring story - assessment
Aroha was finding assessment marking overwhelming. She regularly worked late into the night, second-guessing her decisions and producing inconsistent results. George worked with her to review the assessment rubrics in detail, identifying gaps, unclear criteria, and misalignment with the tasks, and then modelled evidence-based strategies for designing effective rubrics. They then collaborated to build task-specific rubrics, trial them with her classes, and refine them based on feedback. The result was faster, more confident marking, greater accuracy, and more consistent student feedback — saving Aroha hours each week and significantly improving her wellbeing.
mentoring story - behaviour
James was avoiding practical activities in his mixed-ability Year 10 class due to behaviour concerns, leading to disengagement and reduced learning opportunities. George supported him to analyse the structure of his lessons, pinpointing the specific points where behaviour was breaking down, and introduced low-escalation behaviour strategies tailored to those moments. Together, they developed and rehearsed clear routines for starting lessons, transitioning between activities, and addressing off-task behaviour in ways that de-escalated rather than heightened tension. Over time, behaviour improved, more practical work was reintroduced, and James’s relationships with students strengthened, leading to more engaged, productive lessons.
mentoring story - curriculum​
Ananya was leading a subject where students often arrived in their final years without the skills needed for success. George guided her through a process of mapping the essential skills for senior study and breaking them down into progressive, accessible steps for Years 7–10. They built a coherent sequence of units and assessment points, created shared resources for the teaching team, and aligned the content with both student interests and external assessment requirements. The result was a stronger foundation for students, a clearer sense of purpose for teachers, and improved continuity between junior and senior years.
mentoring story - co-curriuclar
Tom was responsible for his school’s annual production, but the workload was becoming unsustainable and ticket sales were declining. George helped him develop a case for additional support, restructure the production calendar to spread the load across the year, and introduce efficient rehearsal planning systems. They also rethought the promotional approach, developing high-quality posters, marketing materials, and targeted communications that reached both the school and the wider community. The changes resulted in a smoother production process, reduced burnout, and a noticeable boost in ticket sales and community engagement.

What next?