We have been invited to apply for Artsmark by Artswork and have been given funding to support us in doing so. We have been asked to set up an online blog on our school website which will chart our journey.

Artsmark is Arts Council England’s flagship programme to enable schools and other organisations to evaluate, strengthen and celebrate their arts and cultural provision It requires schools to complete an application form in which Arts provision is audited and evaluated. A moderation visit then takes place to assess the application.

Artsmark is a chance for schools to celebrate all the good practice in arts provision which takes place. It places value on both curriculum and enrichment based activities.

At KS1 and 2 12% of school provision over the course of a year, is dedicated to the arts. No less than 2% should be spent on THREE of the four key art forms and no less than 1.5% in the other one. In addition to the minimum benchmarks for the four key art forms, the 12% can also include other art forms such as film or digital media and creative writing including poetry. A wide range of arts within the curriculum count including cross curricular aspects or rehearsals for performances.

At our school, each day consists of approximately 5 hours curriculum time, making a total of 25 hours per week. 12% of 25 hours is 3 hours. From this 3 hours approximately half an hour per week should be spent on each of the four key areas. It does not have to be every week. This includes singing assemblies, class assembly practice, Christmas production practice, cross curricular lessons, educational visits which enhance the curriculum etc. The rest of The time could be made up of other creative tasks.

Artsmark also celebrates all the additional enrichment opportunities which take place in the school including clubs and PTFA events such as the talent show. It is expected that for Year 2 the school will offer at least 1 extra curricular activity (related to the arts) of 6 weeks which involves 15% of the year group (9 children). In KS2 this increases to 3 different activities in at least two different art forms per year group, involving 20% of the year group (12 children) in each.

Artsmark also asks schools to look at: Opportunities for children to work with arts organisations (theatre trips, drama workshops, gallery visits, dance workshops). Cross curricular arts links Developing cultural awareness through the arts. Arts Award can be achieved at 5 Levels. Our children would be able to achieve DISCOVER and EXPLORE levels. The Explore level is accredited by Trinity College. Children discover the arts around them, find out about artists and their work and share their experiences with others, gaining a certificate at the end. We have two arts award trainers in school.

Teaching staff will need to complete the audit form, outlining arts provision in your year group. Please can years 4, 5 and 6 select an Arts Ambassador from their class. This should be someone who shows an all round interest in the arts. Setting up an Artsmark group. Staff who will get together to discuss each section of the Artsmark application. Please fill in on the timetable in the staff room any arts activities which are taking place in class that you would like to celebrate. dashd haslh dlkasl akdl