Orchard Primary School

Arts Mark Award

We are very pleased to announce that we have now officially received our Artsmark Silver Award at Orchard Primary School. The Statement of Commitment below sets out how we planned to achieve the award and all of the amazing opportunities and enrichment our children benefitted from.

We made sure that we:

  • Delivered our goals and objectives and developed our arts and cultural provision;
  • Evaluated the Artsmark journey we have been on;
  • Wrote and submitted our Statement of Impact. This is the final formal submission to Artsmark and evidenced the impact of our Artsmark journey against our Statement of Commitment.

Our Statement of Impact was then assessed by the Arts Council England

Feedback from the assessors included:

'You are to be congratulated for your commitment to developing the arts as part of your first Artsmark journey. You have embarked on this journey with great sensitivity and by respecting the unique faith and ethos of your school. You are successfully overcoming the challenge of parents’ attitudes to the arts by increasing the number and variety of opportunities and experiences to enable children to showcase their skills and talents such as the school art display area. Children’s understanding of the arts is being developed through a cross curricular approach linking the arts with other subjects. For example, studying artists from different time periods or using drama to support writing through the ‘Teach It Through Drama’ project. Where possible and practical, children are given opportunities to watch live theatre such as The Polka Theatre (and take part in a Q&A session) and watch The Lion King at the Lyceum Theatre. Your collaborations with the National Portrait Gallery and Tate Gallery are having a positive impact on children’s outcomes as well supporting staff in developing their knowledge and skills. For instance, The Faces and Places Project is supporting children to focus on self-identity using photography and image editing and undertaking a workshop on Mary Seacole encourages teachers to link art with history. Staff also feel well supported by the Art Lead team teaching in KS 2 introducing subject specific vocabulary and techniques. Staff increasingly feel more confident in their ability to teach art. It is great to read of your intention to continue with a future Artsmark journey. Building on your success of collaborating with the National Portrait Gallery, you might explore new collaborations with other arts and cultural organisations such as theatres, museums and libraries. We wish you well for the next stage of your Artsmark journey.'

Congratulations on your Artsmark Silver Award!

 

We are excited to be recognised for embarking upon this exciting initiative to ensure that children enjoy a wide range of arts activities.

artsmark statement of commitment.pdf