Pupils and staff at Borrow Wood Primary School are celebrating after receiving a prestigious Artsmark Award in recognition of their work in championing high-quality arts and cultural education.
The Artsmark Award is the only creative quality standard for schools, accredited by Arts Council England. It supports schools to develop and celebrate arts and cultural education, putting creativity and wellbeing at the heart of the curriculum. Artsmark ensures every young person can be creative and access a diverse, high-quality cultural education.
In order to achieve the Artsmark Award, Borrow Wood Primary School had to develop its arts and culture provision to embed a broad and ambitious curriculum. This was achieved by creating and committing to an overall plan that was delivered across the whole school.
Borrow Wood Primary School was supported by The Mighty Creatives in its submission for the award. The organisation aims to inspire children and young people to harness the power of arts, creativity, and culture for positive change.
The Artsmark assessor commended the school’s commitment to the Arts and the fact the school recognised the positive effect art and creativity have on pupils’ mental health, personal development and confidence.
On receiving the award, head teacher Zoe Fletcher said: “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 continuing to grow with Artsmark.
“It was also rewarding to read how the panel recognised that equity, diversity and inclusion are a key part of our school ethos.”
The school has taken part in several arts projects, including the National Gallery’s Take One Picture programme. In this, the Gallery selects one picture from its collection to inspire creations from primary school pupils across the country. Children then make their own artwork which can be submitted to the Gallery, with several being selected to be displayed there temporarily. This year, inspiration is being taken from Henri Rousseau’s Surprised.
Dr Darren Henley CBE, Chief Executive of the Arts Council, said: “I would like to congratulate Borrow Wood Primary School on their Artsmark Award. Becoming an Artsmark school demonstrates that through offering a broad, ambitious, and creative curriculum, every pupil can develop character and resilience, increasing their knowledge, curiosity and skills that will remain with them through to adult life.”
