Congratulations to the 10 New Artsmark Schools in Yorkshire & Humber

At IVE, we’re delighted to announce the 10 newly levelled Artsmark schools for 2017 in Yorkshire & Humber.

Congratulations to these 10 schools for their fantastic efforts in delivering excellent arts & cultural education and working to continually improve the quality of their arts provision.

The newly awarded schools are:

Artsmark Platinum

• Guiseley School
• Ryburn Valley High School

Artsmark Gold

• Bridgeview Whitehouse PRU
• Hall Cross Academy
• Oldfleet Primary School
• Alwoodley Primary School

Artsmark Silver

• Rooks Nest Academy
• Stanley Grove Primary and Nursery School
• Oakfield School 
• Grove Lea Primary

They’re joining 14 schools in Yorkshire & Humber that have already completed their Artsmark journey and more than 3100 schools across England.

An Artsmark award represents a terrific achievement at any level, demonstrating a commitment to providing high-quality arts and cultural opportunities for all pupils and for working to improve how the arts are taught and viewed in schools.

We reached out to leader’s at every school to get their opinion on these results:

Oakfield School is a residential provision for secondary age pupils who have emotional, social and mental health difficulties. The school previously offered ‘Art’ as a standalone subject and the schools primarily focus was Maths and English.  During the last two years, the school has expressed the importance of promoting arts across both the school and residential provision alike. We have developed the range of the arts offered within and beyond the timetabled day by offering a 24-hour curriculum including increased club activities, offsite visits, culture days, improved sensory room and music room resources and the engagement of artists from the county. By promoting arts and culture the pupils have had the opportunity to discover art, develop their self-knowledge, self-esteem and self-confidence, and understand and how they can contribute positively to the lives of those living and working in the locality of the school and to society more widely. – Lee Thompson, Head of Keystage 4 & Head of Curriclum, Oakfield School

Alwoodley Primary School are delighted to have been awarded the Arts mark Gold award. Our whole school approach has been centered around celebrating our diversity and culture within school and our local area. We worked  hard to provide a curriculum that was both cross-curricular and at the heart of all our learning, this allowed lessons to be inclusive , creative and accessible to all. The enthusiasm shown by children, staff and parents was our motivation to strive for Gold! – Caroline Pattenden, Assistant Head, Alwoodley Primary School

We’re so proud of our Platinum Artsmark! The journey we took encouraged us to structure and evaluate our Arts provision in relation to the broader curriculum and as a tool for exploring the themes of British Values. In doing so, we have encouraged more students to take a lead in the Arts and have encouraged staff to understand the social, moral and cultural benefits of the Arts. It has helped to cement creativity at the heart of our approach as a school and as a local community, not as something narrowly confined to a subject box. – Triestina Bozzo, Head of the Creative Arts Faculty at Ryburn Valley High School

IVE’s Cultural Education Director, Sarah Mumford, added:

“We’re really proud of what all of our Artsmark schools have been able to achieve. At a time when arts education in schools is increasingly seen by policy and decision makers in education as unnecessary and lacking in value, it is vitally important that we champion schools like Guiseley that can offer great arts & cultural opportunities for kids.”

Artsmark is a creative quality standard that serves as a practical and valuable tool for enriching a school’s arts provision. It has been designed by schools, for schools, to align with School Improvement Plans and give the curriculum breadth and balance.

Artsmark schools make a commitment to providing high-quality arts and cultural opportunities for all pupils. They use the arts to inspire learning and develop happy, successful and confident children and young people.

In Yorkshire and the Humber, they are supported in this objective with guidance and advice from us as their regional bridge organisation and other Artsmark schools through regular networking events. They also receive resources, FREE CPD sessions and access to special offers and discounts from arts organisations.

If you’re interested in joining the Artsmark scheme you can learn more on our Artsmark page. We’ve also compiled a number of case studies of the different benefits Artsmark can have for schools.