press release
14 October 2015
Oldway Primary in Devon one of a hundred schools leading the way in
cultural education across England
Arts Council England launches nationwide Cultural Education Challenge to urge
arts and education leaders to place greater focus on cultural education provision
Oldway Primary school in Devonis one of 100 schools nationally to have taken part
in a nationwide pilot of the Arts Council’s refreshed Artsmark Award scheme –
illustrating the school’s commitment to providing a strong cultural education for its
students.
Now in its fifteenth year, the Artsmark award has helped the Arts Council and
schools – such as Oldway – to ensure more children and young people have
access to high quality arts and culture.
The Arts Council’s refreshed Artsmark Award scheme, which opened this autumn,
has been designed by schools, for schools and will offer schools greater
opportunity to build arts and culture into the school curriculum and their own
strategic ambitions. The most important change with the refreshed Artsmark is that
it creates an opportunity for schools to set ambitious objectives for their arts and
cultural activities, both in school and in the wider local community.
Over the summer term 2015, the new Artsmark Award was tested across 100
schools nationally – including Oldway. All the pilot schools were supported by
Bridge organisations – a network of 10 organisations located across the country
that help connect schools, children and young people with arts and cultural activity.
As part of its commitment, Oldwaycreated Torbay Schools Arts Trail. The project
involved Oldway and 34 other primary and secondary schools in the area working
together to design and decorate life size alpacas that were publically exhibited
across Torbay in the summer.
As well as the sense of pride and achievement the pupils felt at their creations, the
project also helped primary art leaders to share good teaching practice while also
raising the quality of art teaching through collaboration and school to school
support.
Elizabeth Pippett, Torbay Tourism, said: ‘We are delighted to be taking part in the
Torbay Schools Alpaca Trail which is a project that aims to promote the enjoyment
of art in Torbay, and in addition a way of supporting the introduction of the
requirement to study a South American country, in the new Primary National
Curriculum.’
Art Teacher, Oldway Primary School, said: ‘It has been greatto have so many
different people from so many different schools pulling together trying to make this
trail a success for all our pupils, their families and visitors to Torbay.’
In a continuing focus on cultural education, Arts Council England has today issued
a rallying call to action, urging all those working in the arts and education sectors
to work together to offer a consistent cultural education for all children and young
people.
The Cultural Education Challenge, which was launched this morning at the
Barbican Centre, London, brings a renewed focus on the importance of cultural
education at a time when public funding remains under pressure and arts and
cultural engagement amongst children and young people varies across the
country.
Darren Henley, Chief Executive, Arts Council England said: ‘A great arts and
cultural education gives children and young people the confidence and creative
skills to thrive, as individuals, as members of our society, and as the next
generation of creative talent. All children and young people, wherever and
whatever their start in life, should have the opportunity to have an arts and cultural
education that nurtures innovation and unlocks the vital skills that are helping to
drive our world leading creative industries.’
ENDS
Notes to editors

Arts Council England champions, develops and invests in artistic and
cultural experiences that enrich people’s lives. We support a range of
activities across the arts, museums and libraries – from theatre to digital art,
reading to dance, music to literature, and crafts to collections. Great art and
culture inspires us, brings us together and teaches us about ourselves and
the world around us. In short, it makes life better. Between 2015 and 2018,
we plan to invest £1.1 billion of public money from government and an
estimated £700 million from the National Lottery to help create these
experiences for as many people as possible across the country.
www.artscouncil.org.uk
Further information about how the Cultural Education Challenge, including
the 50 Cultural Education Partnerships, can be found here:
www.artscouncil.org.uk/culturaleducationchallenge
Arts Council and Department for Education funded programmes:

Since 2012, DfE and the Arts Council have invested £267m in a range of
music and cultural education programmes that were proposed following
Darren Henley’s reviews into music and cultural education in 2011.

The Arts Council invests £10m a year in Bridge organisations who will lead
on the delivery of the Cultural Education Challenge as part of their role.

The Arts Council also invests public funds in a National portfolio of 663 Arts
organisations and 21 Major partner museums, with the vast majority of them
committed to work with children and young people.

Between 2012-16, the DfE committed £245m investment for Music education
hubs and invested over £20million in other cultural education projects for
children and young people across the country, including BFI Film Academies
and Heritage Schools, the Museums and schools programme and Bridge
work with teaching schools and alliances.

The Arts Council’s Artsmark Award has been designed by schools for
schools, and will help schools deliver high quality arts and culture provision.
http://artsmark.org.uk/

Arts Award is managed by Trinity College London in association with Arts
Council England working with 10 regional Bridge organisations. The
national qualification is open to anyone up to the age of 25, helping young
people to develop as artists and arts leaders. www.artsaward.org.uk

National arts and cultural organisations are working with teachers to find
new ways to engage children with the arts - in and out of the classroom.
The Arts Council is supporting the TES and British Museum’s Huge History
Lesson which launched today, a unique digital competition to engage
teachers and children of all ages with learning history through objects from
a local or national museum. www.tes.com/hugehistory
Cultural Education Challenge – local workshop dates:

North
o 9 November, Blackpool
o 8 December, Durham
o 10 December, Sheffield

Midlands
o 21 October, Shrewsbury,
o 20 November, Leicester
o 18 November, Coventry

London
o 4 November, Barbican
o 12 January, Lyric Hammersmith

South East
o 14 October, Brighton
o 2 December, Ipswich
o 4 February, Reading

South West
o 2 November, Plymouth
o 14 January, Poole
o 4 February, Swindon
Further information can be found online:
www.artscouncil.org.uk/culturaleducationchallenge
For more information contact:
Lucy Williams, Officer, Advocacy & Communications, Arts Council England,
Tel: 0117 9897754, Email: lucy.williams@artscouncil.org.uk