Artsmark

About Artsmark

Awarded by Arts Council England, Artsmark helps schools to deliver a high-quality arts and cultural education and provides an excellent way to demonstrate this, no matter what your starting point. Artsmark is open to all primary, secondary, independent and special schools in England, sixth form colleges, pupil referral units and Youth Offending Services.

We believe that every child should have an opportunity to create, experience and participate in extraordinary work. At the heart of Artsmark, seven quality principles give structure and substance to a curriculum which can unlock the potential of children and young people and help them to develop their skills and talents.

The Benefits of Artsmark for Schools and other Education Settings

• Artsmark schools gain access to practical teaching resources as well as networks of the country’s leading cultural organisations, helping them develop and strengthen their arts provision.
• Artsmark helps you recognise and celebrate your school’s strengths and get practical support for future ambitions for arts provision.
• Artsmark provide strong evidence for how your school is meeting its spiritual, moral, social and cultural Ofsted requirements.
• Artsmark enables non-specialist teachers to be confident in teaching the arts and increase staff wellbeing.

The Benefits of Artsmark for Pupils

• Culture and creativity increases pupils’ confidence, critical and creative thinking, communication and literacy skills, improving attainment in core subjects like Maths and English.
• The arts introduce the joys of creating and performing and experiencing art to young people who may not otherwise be exposed to it.
• Artsmark helps encourage pupil voice and leadership skills.
• Arts and cultural subjects provide an engaging and accessible way into the curriculum for hard to reach or disadvantaged pupils.

Artsmark in action

Take a look at our films below to find out how Artsmark can support your school development plans and why you should register. We are grateful to the following schools and partners for their excellent and informative contributions:
Springwell Academy, Leeds
Beckfoot Upper Heaton School
Beck Primary School
Kala Sangam Arts Centre
Into Film

All about Artsmark

This short film provides a comprehensive overview of the Artsmark process, including how Artsmark has supported schools to bring about long lasting and meaningful change across their settings.

Let’s prepare

Take a look at ways in which your setting can prepare effectively for the Artsmark journey by completing an arts and cultural audit and identifying areas for development that can lead to long-lasting change and impact across your whole school setting.

Artsmark paperwork

In this short film, find out more about the paperwork your setting will need to complete and submit during the Artsmark journey, including the Statement of Impact and Statement of Commitment documents with some very useful tips from our partner schools!

The Artsmark Partnership Programme

Take a look at how long-lasting partnerships with skilled arts and cultural professionals can play a vital role in helping settings to embed arts and culture across the curriculum.

Artsmark resources

• • Artsmark toolkit

We have developed a new Artsmark toolkit resource for registered Artsmark education settings to provide extra guidance and support for every stage of the Artsmark journey. You can view the Issuu version of the Toolkit below and download a copy to keep for future reference:

• • Artsmark booklet

You can download the Artsmark booklet here.

• • Artsmark podcast

Listen to Artsmark’s sponsored TES podcast on how the arts can support pupil wellbeing and school recovery with Dr Steven Berryman and Zoe Moula: Covid and schools: How the arts can help pupil mental health.