School achieves ‘Silver’ Artsmark Award!

Pupils and staff at Poplar Farm Primary School are celebrating after receiving a prestigious Artsmark Award in a momentous year for the programme as it celebrates 20 years of arts, culture and creativity in schools. 

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 their Artsmark Award, Poplar Farm School, on Helmsley Road, Grantham, had to develop their arts and culture 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. 

Poplar Farm School was supported by The Mighty Creatives in planning and developing their objectives. The Mighty Creative worked alongside the school at various stages to support their Artsmark Award achievement. 

The Artsmark Assessor commended Poplar Farm School on their Artsmark journey: “Despite the challenges of Covid and the extra pressures of establishing a brand-new school, gradually building to a full cohort of learners over several years, you have used Artsmark as a way of growing an arts rich curriculum and offering enrichment opportunities, too. You have employed dedicated staff to lead on music and art. But more generally, your senior leaders and wider staff have embraced the broader benefits the Arts can offer and are helping embed an offer that stretches beyond arts subjects.”

“This culture of creativity and performance is driven by your approach to teaching and to extracurricular clubs. It is exemplified well by your enrichment festival every June. Held over two days it comprises a series of workshops which have included drama, samba drumming, dancing, painting, graffiti and circus performances. On the second day a talent competition creates an opportunity to perform in front of the whole school. This has boosted the visibility of the Arts in the eyes of staff, pupils and parents, as well as boosting the confidence of all who participate.”

“Special mention should be made of the useful cross over you have found with the Rights Respecting Schools initiative, whereby two of the relevant articles focus on personality, talents and abilities as well as the right to relax, play and take part in a wide range of cultural and artistic activities. Building on such synergies across these different schemes is a way of knitting each more deeply into the fabric of your school and the ways you work together as a flourishing learning culture.”

On receiving the award, Kate Hodson, Headteacher, said: “We are delighted to have been recognised with this award. We pride ourselves on offering the children at Poplar Farm School a wide range of enriched activities, so it is wonderful that these have all been acknowledged with this accreditation. A massive thank you to the staff who submitted this application, and to all the staff who wholeheartedly embrace our enriched curriculum.”