Communicate well with teachers

This is essential for all projects, especially those that are long term. Talk to teachers:

• before the project – to find out their pupils' needs and plan the work together
• during the project – to check on progress and change plans if necessary
• after the project – to evaluate the work.

Communicate face-to-face as well as by phone and email. You'll need to find out what works best for each school.

Make sure you are easy for schools to contact

Supply phone numbers, fax numbers, email addresses, and, where possible, mobile numbers. Let schools know when you are likely to be available.

Communicate well as an education team

The most creative, powerful work with schools takes place in teams with a strong sense of purpose and a high profile in the organisation as a whole.

Offer schools bespoke projects

If you have pre-designed projects, tailor them to meet individual school's needs. Listen to what the school wants to achieve, help it to identify its objectives, and then plan a project to meet these objectives. Encourage it to consider wider school improvement aims (such as improving pupils' behaviour and attendance), as well as pupils' arts learning.

Visit the school before the project

In a long-term project, visiting the school gives you an opportunity to get to know the environment, staff and pupils. You could make this visit part of the project planning process. It is particularly important to see the space and facilities for any in-school workshops.

Make sure that teachers understand the work

If a number of teachers are going to be involved in a project, make sure that they all understand practical arrangements and the objectives of the work. If you run an INSET session or hold a briefing meeting, make sure that as many of the teachers as possible will be able to attend.

Be flexible

Find out about any practical constraints that might affect the work and go out of your way to meet the school's concerns (such as timescales and working space).

Use expert practitioners well

Make good use of expert practitioners to inspire and inform both pupils and staff. Try to find the right practitioner to meet each school's specific needs and make sure that you brief them well so that they understand the project and the school. Offer practitioners training and evaluate their work regularly to ensure the quality of what they do.

Work in and out of school

In long-term projects, combine workshops in school with visits to your organisation wherever possible. Pupils tend to be more relaxed and open in their own environment, while a visit to an organisation can be inspirational and memorable.

Evaluate and improve your practice

Make sure you have good procedures in place for collecting feedback from teachers and pupils and using it to improve your practice in the future.

Build long-term relationships with schools

Working in partnership with business gives you a valuable opportunity to devote resources to building long-term relationships with individual schools. Getting to know teachers well means that you can meet their needs more closely. In turn, they will be able to give you ongoing (and probably more direct) feedback on your practice as an organisation.