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Benefits of Subscribing to Arts and Minds for Primary Schools
Arts and Minds encourages creativity, wellbeing, and reinforces learning outcomes in your school. By subscribing, your school will gain access to expert-led lessons by Sinead, a fully qualified art and design teacher with 25 years of teaching experience, and certified NLP, Mindset, Mandala, and Mindfulness Practitioner.
For Teachers:
• Upskill staff not only in art and design, but also in integrating mindfulness, positive mindset, and cross-curricular connections into everyday lessons.
• Recorded tutorials from Sinead’s live lessons offer flexibility to pause, repeat, or adapt content to suit your pupils’ needs.
• Gain practical strategies to create a calm, focused, and inspiring classroom environment, supporting both staff wellbeing and effective teaching.
For Pupils:
• Build creative skills through engaging art and design lessons while reinforcing learning across literacy, numeracy, and other core subjects.
• Develop emotional wellbeing, resilience, and a positive mindset through integrated mindfulness, mindset, and movement exercises.
• Boost confidence and self-esteem as pupils see the impressive artistic and personal growth they can achieve.
• Strengthen cognitive skills, including problem-solving, critical thinking, and creativity, helping pupils become well-rounded learners.
Holistic Learning:
Sinead’s unique teaching approach ensures pupils of all abilities can excel while fostering a mindful and balanced learning environment. Lessons are designed to support both academic growth and personal development, making your school a place where creativity, wellbeing, and learning thrive together.
By subscribing to Arts and Minds, your school gains a ready-to-use resource that enhances creativity, supports staff professional development, promotes pupils’ mental wellbeing, and reinforces learning across multiple subjects — all in one accessible online portal.
ABOUT ART & DESIGN
Sinéad McDermott is a passionate Art and Design educator with over 25 years of experience and the visionary founder of The Art and Design Factory.
Her mission is to inspire creativity and instill confidence in individuals of all ages and skill levels, empowering them to cultivate a growth mindset.
Sinéad earned a B.A in Fashion and Textiles, an MA in Applied Arts, and a PGCE in Art and Design Education.
Her teaching philosophy centers on experiential learning, encouraging pupils to explore diverse mediums and techniques that amplify their artistic expression.
Committed to fostering a nurturing environment, Sinéad helps each pupil thrive creatively, bolstering their confidence and encouraging a spirit of experimentation.
By incorporating innovative projects and real-world applications into her curriculum, she ensures that students grasp the fundamentals of art and design while recognising its significance in their everyday lives.
About Sinéad
Sinéad is a highly accomplished Art and Design Teacher with 25 years teaching experience, an NLP, Mindset, and Mindfulness Practitioner, and a passionate advocate for art education.
Throughout her career, she has exhibited in The RDS Dublin, The Barbican, Mall Galleries, New Designers in London, The Royal Ulster Academy, and The Naughton Gallery at Queen’s University, Belfast.
Her work can view in the lecture theatre of the Royal Maternity Hospital, following many private and public commissions.
Her vision for art education goes beyond teaching creative skills—she believes in using art as a tool to foster mental well-being, personal growth, and academic success.
In 2024, she taught over 19,000 pupils from primary schools across Ireland and the UK as part of Children’s Mental Health Week, showing her commitment to supporting young minds through creative expression.
Sinéad’s online lessons combine creative expression with mindfulness, empowering pupils to express themselves, build resilience, and enhance their problem-solving abilities, all while improving focus and emotional balance.
Achievements and Recognition
Sinéad’s influence in the art world and education has earned her numerous accolades:
- Featured as an artist on BBC’s Wonder Gallery and interviewed on Radio Ulster.
• Awarded Arts Personality of the Year by the Ulster Tatler in both 2022 - 2023.
• Received the SMBA Innovation Award for her educational portal in 2022-2023.
• Won the UK Enterprise Award in 2023, the SME Enterprise Award in 2024, and a STEM Ambassador in 2023 to present.
• Honoured with the Prestige Award in 2020-2021 for her positive impact on children’s lives during the pandemic.
• Served as President of the Association of Art and Design Education (AADE) and continues to play a key role on its working committee.
• Moderated for CCEA and contributed to drafting the new A-Level Art and Design specification.
Her Educational Impact
Both teachers and pupils receive help from her creative and mindful approach. Teachers are up skilled, learning new art and design techniques while also gaining insights into mindfulness and positive mindset practices that they can incorporate into their teaching.
Pupils experience the joy of creative expression while enhancing their mental well-being and academic growth.
Community and Outreach
Beyond schools, Sinéad collaborates with community organisations and youth initiatives, providing art workshops that inspire creativity in underserved areas. She is committed to ensuring every child, regardless of background, can receive help from artistic expression.
In 2018, Sinéad launched The Art and Design Factory, bringing her passion for creative education to an even wider audience. Through this platform, she continues to positively change classrooms and communities alike, providing resources that enrich both creative and intellectual growth.
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OUR MISSION
At The Art and Design Factory, Belfast’s leading Art school, our mission is to make Art and Design accessible to everyone, regardless of age or ability. We believe in empowering our participants to build confidence and self-belief as they develop their artistic skills.
As pupils progress, they experience a profound sense of achievement and pride in their work. We foster a nurturing and encouraging environment where individuals can freely express themselves, allowing them to enter the “art zone.” In this creative space, participants can lose themselves in their imagination, similar to undertaking a mindfulness lesson.
This immersive experience not only enhances mental well-being but also cultivates a deeper sense of fulfilment and tranquility.
PROGRAMME & PLAN
Art and Design, Movement, Mindfulness and Mindset Lessons for Mental Health and Wellbeing.
Easy Access for Schools
We are registered with the EA Procurement system, making it simple for your school to raise an order. An invoice can be sent directly to you, or you can submit the following details to the EA:
Supplier:
The Art and Design Factory Ltd (Sinead McDermott T/A)
27D Annadale Avenue
Greenlane
Belfast
BT7 3JJ
Alternatively, you can pay by cheque or bank transfer.
What You Get with Arts and Minds:
• Yearly access, 24/7 viewing: Learn at your own pace with flexible online lessons.
• Step-by-step creative lessons: Help pupils develop new art skills while growing confidence, resilience, mindfulness, and relaxation through the creative process.
• Extensive content: 50 Art lessons, an exclusive Movement Programme, 50 Mindfulness lessons, and 50 Mindset lessons for teachers, school staff, or homeschooling parents.
• Inspiring displays: Pupils’ artworks create eye-catching school corridor displays, boosting confidence and brightening up the school environment.
• Supports teachers: Easy-to-follow lessons save planning time, help teachers deliver practical art and design wellbeing programmes, and encourage creativity in the classroom.
• Curriculum-aligned: Lessons cover topics from the National Curriculum for Primary Schools and ignite pupils’ imagination and creativity.
• Integrated learning: Each lesson introduces a relevant artist, designer, art period, or theme, with clear numeracy and literacy links.
• Preparation made simple: Each lesson includes a supply list and a line drawing template for pupils who prefer to see or trace the complete picture at the start of the lesson.
What other schools have shared about our lessons.
What they've said about us. We would love to hear your feedback!
Rhona Donnelly, Principal
Sinead is a rare combination of gifted artist and teacher, as well as coach and nurturer. Sinead’s art lessons are engaging, fun and full of learning. The format of instruction helps the children learn to see space differently, it helps them learn great layout techniques, and all the basic fundamentals on how to make beautiful art. The style of the Sinead’s teaching to the classroom makes it possible for everyone to go at their own pace. Sinead’s warm, calming voice creates a beautiful blend to the fun art lessons that have the children settled into from the minute it starts until the minute it ends. The level of artwork created excels all expectations. From our children taking part in Sinead’s art lesson I now know that art is a rewarding and a creative escape so a wonderful antidote to stress. Something we need now more than ever for our children. Sinead really knows her art and is eager to teach it. I applaud her patience as well as her program. Thank you Sinead
Joanne Mooney, V.P
I am the teacher of a class of P6/7 children who are currently in the middle of a course of lessons in Art given by Sinead Mc Dermott from the Art & Design Factory and I wanted to provide the following feedback on the course so far. The format of the course is a series of four one-hour lessons given over Zoom and covers a range of artistic styles and mediums. The children have already investigated and attempted Abstract and Landscape styles using water colours and oil pastels. The children have very much looked forward to the lesson each week and are looking forward to next one with eagerness. Although the class have a wide variety of artistic abilities, the lessons Sinead provided have enabled every child to experience a sense of personal achievement and pride in their creations. On the evidence that I have seen and the feedback from the children, I would thoroughly recommend Sinead and The art and design factory to anyone who is interested in helping to stimulate each child’s imagination, expand their observation skills, boost their self esteem and give their children a sense of accomplishment. Some quotes from my class are- “I loved using the pastels and at the end I did much better than I expected!” Jessica “I really enjoyed painting landscapes, I found it so relaxing.” Caragh “My artwork has really improved and I’m very proud of what I have painted.” Dylan
Ciara Crawley, Primary Teacher
Sinead's online art lessons opened up a whole new way of learning for our pupils. It allowed them to join in shared lessons with partner schools around the globe for cross curricular projects. Prior to each session Sinead met virtually with the teachers involved to discuss and plan the content of the lessons and ensured it matched the aims and objectives of our project. Sinead’s encouragement during each session enthused both staff and pupils alike. Helping to develop their artistic and creative skills in a calm and relaxed manner. Teachers reported that they felt more confident in teaching art after the sessions and even the shyest of pupils were keen to share their final piece with others online. Opening the doors of our school and community, to the world in real-time through art has been rewarding and empowering to pupils and staff alike. Ciara
Kelly Rice, Primary Teacher
I highly recommend booking Sinead from the Art and Design Factory. She facilitated 4 classes for 2 schools through the Shared Education programme. Everything was very well organised and the children thoroughly enjoyed the sessions. The outcome of the children’s art was off such a very high standard, we couldn’t believe it. We were so impressed by each child’s individual piece that we bought them a frame each to proudly display their work at home. We will definitely be booking again so Sinead can further develop our pupil’s love of art! Thank you.
Cora Mc Dermott
The staff & pupils are really enjoying getting to take part in your beautiful lessons. The portal provides a huge range of projects for all our pupils. All children in KS1 & KS2 have the opportunity to engage in the lessons. Our school has also an ASD & Learning Support class so Art Time Let's Shine provides an inclusive program suitable for all abilities & our special needs teachers have availed of this as well for their pupils. Our staff have commented how user friendly the program is and can navigate their way through the portal easily selecting their preferred lesson. The fact that they can pause & resume the lesson is invaluable especially in the busy primary class environment! Your experience & talent both as an artist & a teacher gives our teachers the reassurance that the children are meeting the curriculum learning experiences & a lot of these are cross curricular through WAU & Numeracy in particular. The provision of a template is also appreciated as differentiation is subtly provided for children in the class or for a younger year group to build confidence & gives the sense of "I can do this!" A blank page can often be intimidating for any of us! This is our first term in using your program & already our classrooms & corridors are beginning to look much more vibrant & colourful with the displays of children's work. Our children have said things like, "I really liked it, our topic is about the rainforest & it was really fun to do." & "We learnt too that we shouldn't cut down the rainforest trees."(Toucan lesson) Thank you for sharing your talent & expertise with us. It has given us all a boost.
Ann Marie Kealy
As Principal of a Primary School ‘ Art and Design ‘was one of our targets to develop on our School Development Plan.We had no scheme in place and Art was not structured or timetabled throughout the school. I signed up to Sinead’s free online Art lesson during ‘Children’s Mental Health Week and our whole school community got actively involved and absolutely loved it. Sinead has such a warm and endearing persona and immediately made such a strong connection with all the children. The Art and Design portal created by Sinead is so well structured and easily accessible, and suitable for children from Foundation stage to Key Stage Two. It’s absolutely magical and Sinead takes the children through each art lesson at their own pace with lots of encouragement and an explicit step by step approach to every detail of each little masterpiece. Sinead is a wonderful communicator and instantly gets all the children involved , giving them lots of kind and supportive communication throughout each lesson. Not only is Sinead an outstanding teacher, she is also passionate about nurturing and developing children’s mindset with positive thoughts and affirmations together with raising their self esteem and belief in themselves. The portal has a wealth of lessons covering World Around Us topics together with a variety of different themes children explore through out the curriculum. I highly recommend the Art and Design portal not only as an effective and highly structured scheme but also as a valuable resource to develop children’s creativity and help them to grow in confidence!! Thank you for sharing all your beautiful artwork with us Sinead, we really enjoy taking part in your lessons now every week . There is such a calming and relaxing atmosphere in our classrooms when Sinead is online teaching us, every child is fully engaged and we are all just so proud of their beautiful artwork!
FAQs
What materials are required for these art lessons?
For the majority of the art lessons, the following materials will be required" •pencil •paint brushes •paints •oil pastels/ crayons •A4 paper •water jar •tissues • watercolour paints Occasionally they will need •chalk pastels •sugar paper However, if you don’t have these oil pastels/ paint could be used instead to add colour.
What’s the difference between oil pastels and chalk pastels?
The first difference is that oil pastels won't crumble, smudge, or release dust like soft chalk pastels do. Yet they still contain just as much, if not more, pigment and produce bright, intense colors. They're also more stable than soft pastels and don't require a fixative. Traditional chalk pastels are soft pastels, they are dry and chalky; oil pastels are a much newer medium and act similar to oil paints, they are oily. Crayons can be used instead but oil pastels are more intense and vibrant in colour. Please note that oil pastels can be used on normal white paper but not chalk pastels. Chalk pastels require a special paper called sugar paper or pastel paper which is cheap to buy on eBay. Chalk pastels also can be fixed on the page by spraying hair spray a few inches away from the page so that the chalk doesn’t fall off. Hair spray is a cheaper option that the expensive fixatives that you will find in art shops.
What type of paint is best for kids to use?
I would recommend water based paints for children such as water colour paints or palette paints. These allow for the paint to be moved freely and can be easily removed with a tissue. I would recommend children do not use acrylic paint until they are at least 13 years of age. Acrylic paint is plastic-based so tends to be sticky and difficult to move around once it’s on the page and therefore doesn’t give many freeways for movement. It’s also difficult to remove from clothing so if it accidentally gets on fabric it won’t come off, unless placed in the washing immediately. As a mum of two kids I want there to be no added ‘mess or stress’ for parents to have to clean up. Watercolour paints are more forgiving too as they blend together easily with water and can be removed from clothing. Watercolour paints will enable your child to try out different art techniques such as building up of washes of colour, dry brush, and many others that l include throughout my teachings. I would recommend a box of palette watercolours which can be bought in art shops or online for around £3.99
What’s the best paper and size to use?
I recommend that children start with an A4 page as anything bigger is quite daunting for them to fill. For all of the lessons on the membership site, I have used A4 paper. It’s important that each child has an A4 page to work on whilst undertaking my lessons as they will be following my instructions and it therefore makes it easier for them to follow and create using the same scale and proportions as me. The weight of the paper will make a difference to the finished artwork your child creates. If for example, you give your child a page that you would use in your printer then when they begin to paint it will become easily torn and little balls will appear on the surface. This causes disappointment and frustration so I would definitely recommend that you purchase good paper for your child to work on. Up to 140 lb/300 gsm or more: Watercolour paint paper, suitable for all wet media.
What size of brushes would you recommend?
I would recommend that you have a small brush that will enable your child to paint finer lines and a larger brush for larger areas that need to be painted a size 3 and an 8 would be ideal. The more expensive the brush the better the quality. I would recommend a brush of around £4 would be adequate for your child at this stage.
What oil pastels / chalk pastels would be recommend?
I would recommend the following: Oil pastels •Pentel •Caran d’Ache •Faber - Castell •Reeves Chalk pastels •Inscribe •Faber Castell •Rembrandt •Prismac