Artswork’s Creative Schools Programme 2020 - 2023

Supported with investment from the Department for Education, Artswork has delivered an ambitious Schools Programme from 2020-2023. Working with teachers from across the South East we have nurtured new partnerships and provided peer support to increase the access of children and young people to high quality arts and cultural experiences.

Our engagement with schools comprised of five specific programmes and supported additional training opportunities in the final year of work. Originally devised in 2019 to be launched in Spring 2020, the programme was sensitively adapted as we moved into the pandemic, with schools managing change and responding to the needs of pupils and government policy on lockdowns.

• Our Creative Steps Programme supported a group of senior leaders to share their creative practice with other settings, supporting steps towards strengthening their settings’ arts and cultural offer.
• A programme of eight online Continual Professional Development Sessions for Teachers (CPD) were designed for teachers and educators from across the South East to access. They also provided a platform for teachers to showcase their best practice.
• Our Artsmark Creative Champion Programme provided Artsmark leads in schools to develop peer to peer learning opportunities in their local area. This focused on high quality CPD, networking and curriculum development to support Artsmark journeys.
• In 2022-2023 we worked with cultural partners and schools to establish four Creative Development Networks, which supported groups of schools to access CPD and plan for future change.
• We provided opportunities for over 100 teachers and educators from across the SouthEast to train as Arts Award advisers at various levels. Alongside this we piloted three new courses for schools and teachers:
  Developing a Representative Primary Arts Curriculum
  Golden Threads: Creative Approaches to Teaching and Learning
  Creative Careers: A film-focused programme for Year 5 students