You maybe aware that we have been working on the Artsmark journey for a few years now. Artsmark supports schools to develop and celebrate their commitment to arts and cultural education.
We submitted our final application recently and our Statement of Commitment and Statement of Impact have been assessed and we are delighted to inform you that our school has been awarded an Artsmark Gold Award!
Artsmark made the following comment about our submission:
Despite Covid, and thanks to a more distributed sense of ownership of the Artsmark process, Ackworth Howard School has continued to develop its arts offer throughout lockdown and has interesting plans for the future. Central to the journey so far has been a commitment to offering all children in the school access to live arts performances and experiences. Pre-Covid this had already begun and will continue face-to-face post lockdown. Teachers seem to be engaged and enthusiastic about the Artsmark process and you now have a team of teachers responsible for this area of activity rather than one designated lead - a good move which will help spread the sense of engagement throughout the staff. You kept the Arts going as a strong feature of your lockdown online teaching - including input from Wakefield Music Services - and that was good to hear. Your KS2 led survey produced some lovely insights from young people which serve to show how much they value the Arts and the fact that the school values their creativity. Hearing of the way you sought inspiration and exemplars from other settings was refreshing, particularly Gomersal Primary and their use of sketch books to chart creative development in young people. The fact that your own teachers moved from a reported 60% confidence to 90% following input on Gomersal's approach demonstrated the impact of that CPD. What was most compelling throughout your Statement of Impact was the sense of whole school commitment and the foundations established through your restructured curriculum. As you continue to develop it will be interesting to see how external partnerships can help expedite your own journey and how your own understanding of impact and effect of the Arts can build a narrative that, in the future, might position your school as a leader and influencer in this sphere.
Congratulations on your Artsmark Gold Award!
A big thank you to Mr Foskett who started this journey with us, Mrs Robinson who led us through the more recent process and to all the staff, children, parents and governors who contributed. It is a very special award for us!