Pupils and staff at St Helens Primary School are celebrating after receiving a prestigious Gold Artsmark Award. Artsmark is the only creative quality standard for schools, accredited by Arts Council England. It supports them to develop and celebrate arts and cultural education across the whole curriculum, bringing learning to life for children and young people. To achieve their Artsmark Award, St Helens Primary School had to develop their arts and cultural provision to embed a broad and ambitious curriculum. This was achieved by creating an overall plan that was committed to and delivered across the whole school. The Artsmark assessor commended St Helens Primary School for:
“Using their Artsmark journey to develop their arts curriculum and support, complementing the progressive art and design curriculum already in place. Arts and culture are valued for their own sake, and for their wider contribution to wellbeing, personal development, and the school’s sense of community. “The school’s Wellbeing days and projects with The New Carnival Company and Independent Arts demonstrate this approach. Additionally, St Helens Primary School has started to think about how their Arts and cultural provision is representative of the diversity of wider society with the use of the No Outsiders programme, which includes books and arts activities which specifically celebrate diversity.”
“We’re extremely proud of achieving our Artsmark Gold Award. We are committed to delivering a high-quality arts and cultural education, and we look forward to continue to grow with Artsmark.”
“I would like to congratulate St Helens Primary School on their Gold Artsmark Award. Becoming an Artsmark school demonstrates that through offering a broad, ambitious and creative curriculum, young people have the opportunity to develop character and resilience, increasing their knowledge, curiosity and skills that will remain with them through to adult life.”
