The Problem for Schools
Arts and creative education are life-enhancing and essential for children’s futures.
In the current funding climate, many schools are forced to cut back on opportunities for pupils. We understand the challenges schools face in terms of raising attainment, aspirations, and closing achievement gaps with limited resources.
Creative Schools is about shifting the focus onto how best to inspire and motivate your teachers and the students in their care to produce the results schools want.
Membership is open to all primary schools, secondary schools, SEND schools and FE colleges in six East London boroughs supporting leaders to access the best creative opportunities, training, and creative curriculum support from an inspirational range of creative organisations, saving staff time, and helping you to access projects that meet your needs and ambitions, or to commission something bespoke.
Case Study – A busy Newham secondary school empowers youth voice and peer collaboration
Sarah Bonnell wanted to take part in innovative ‘action learning’ and research. They partnered with Sound Connections, Wired4Music and Arts Award Consultant, Francesca Gkotsi, to deliver a summer showcase planned and delivered by pupils. The school achieved better teamwork, stronger peer relationships with older pupils mentoring year 7s, and improved resilience and flexibility. 260 pupils gained accreditation through Arts Award as part of the project.
Email us at: francesca@creativeschools.london
Really helpful and a good way for schools to see what projects are available all in one go, and then pick what would be most helpful to their school. All without having to send a million emails.
Newham teacher on Creative Schools brokerage
The Creative Schools network has not only inspired us to broaden the Arts activities that we participate in at Churchfields Junior but extended opportunities for our students to work with others across East London in a creative way, providing unique experiences for them all. Joining the network is well worth the additional expenditure and something that we would highly recommend to colleagues.
Wendy Thomas, Headteacher, Churchfields Juniors, Redbridge
The Symposium was absolutely amazing and me and my colleagues were blown away. We had such good fun and it really ignited the spark for us and reminded me why I was so keen to be part of Creative Schools.
Redbridge teacher on Creative Schools Symposium
At a time of great change within the school system, my feeling is that the arts are becoming marginalised and undervalued. Things such as Artsmark open a dialogue with schools and people in the wider creative sector, as opposed to the national curriculum which is very much a conversation within education.
Ryan Mclelland, The Bridge School, Islington, on achieving Artsmark Platinum