Culture On A Shoestring #4 Out Now!
February 25, 2014Why is Artsmark important to young people?
February 25, 2014OVER 75 primary head teachers and strategic leaders for education gathered at a briefing event championing Cultural education in the borough.
Hosted by Curious Minds who are responsible for Arts Council England’s agenda regionally and the Cultural Services department, participants were delighted to learn that Tameside has been identified as the leading local authority cultural department for ground breaking work in this area within the north west region.
Teachers from four leading primary schools were able to share their experiences of using the arts to contribute to positive outcomes for young people and their Ofsted results.
This status has resulted in additional investment in the department to develop the work further within local schools and cultural venues.
Additionally Tameside will also become the home of one of only two specialist hubs for cultural development in special educational needs settings with this initiative being led by Samuel Laycock School.
By the end of spring the borough will have over a hundred Arts Award Advisors, be working in partnership with schools and the borough’s school improvement team with the aspiration that all Tameside’s schools become Arts Mark centres by the end of 2016.
Additionally all of the borough’s cultural venues have joined the extensive network of Arts Award Supporter Organisations and the department have been developing a wide range of bespoke materials to support pupil’s to learn about their cultural heritage whilst gaining a recognised qualification.
The programme has recently involved over a hundred children from Tameside visiting the highly acclaimed National Theatre production of War Horse which was an amazing experience for all concerned and forms the start of an ongoing relationship with the NationalTheatre and the Lowry.