A New Direction partner with Oscar ®-winning Aardman and leading educational film charity Into Film

3 June 2025

Photo © Shaun the Sheep courtesy of Aardman Animations

A New Direction’s Primary Arts programme offers free opportunities for pupils and staff in all London state primary and SEND settings and continues to make a positive impact. Since launching in September 2024, over 350 schools have registered to be part of Primary Arts. The Go & See strand of the programme gives schools the chance to bring a year group of children into arts and cultural venues across London to experience a range of high quality, inspiring shows and activities across film, theatre and visual arts.

Over 4,500 free tickets are being given to primary schools across London this academic year through the Primary Arts Go & See programme. Go & See is a fantastic free opportunity for teachers and their pupils to experience learning outside the classroom and explore themes relatable across all primary year groups in mainstream and SEND settings. The full Primary Arts programme, including Go & See tickets for the 2025/26 academic year will be announced later in the year, but registration is open now for teachers in eligible schools who can sign up for free via the Primary Arts booking platform.

As part of the Primary Arts Go & See programme, A New Direction has partnered with the multi-award-winning animation studio Aardman, alongside education charity Into Film, for a special screening of the beloved BAFTA®-nominated Shaun the Sheep Movie. The event will be hosted at the BFI on Thursday, 3 July 2025 and includes a special live introduction from Aardman Director, Lucy Izzard. Participating schools will receive free stop-motion modelling materials for pupils and free access to Into Film’s Animate with Aardman CPD course for teachers, so they can keep the creativity flowing back in the classroom.

Photo © Into Film Festival Genesis

Steve Moffitt MBE, CEO of A New Direction, said:

“A New Direction has always collaborated with dynamic and engaging partners across our work for educators, children and young people. We know how powerful cultural experiences can be for pupils and teachers too, and that’s why we’re excited about the Primary Arts programme and the opportunities it creates for pupils and teachers across London to access amazing creative and cultural experiences for free.”

Pauline Mallam, ED&I Manager at Aardman, added:

“We’re absolutely delighted to bring Shaun the Sheep Movie to so many children as part of this brilliant initiative. Animation is such a joyful and accessible art form, and it’s incredibly rewarding to see it used as a tool to spark creativity and storytelling in schools. Working with A New Direction on Primary Arts means we’re not only sharing laughs and woolly adventures but also inspiring a new generation of young imaginations.”

Previous feedback includes:

It was an inspiring and exciting experience for pupils to develop their speaking and listening and writing. They got to go to a high quality arts experience that they would otherwise never have gone to. The children were able to see a text studied in school converted into a movie. Thank you for giving us this opportunity, the children really enjoyed themselves. It was mentioned in their 'favourite memories' in the end of year assembly. – Feedback from Primary School Teacher.

Registration for Primary Arts is free and is open to mainstream and SEND state primary schools in every London borough. Booking for the 2025/26 academic year will open in September and early sign up is encouraged so that schools can access new opportunities and offers as soon as they are available.

Primary Arts is funded by The City of London Corporation City Educational Trust Fund (29084), a City of London Corporation charity. A New Direction is extremely grateful for their continued support.

For more information, interview requests and images, please contact: Georgina Walters, Marketing and Communications Manager