Arts Award
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Arts Award inspires children and young people to connect with and take part in the wider arts world through completing challenges within their chosen artform – from fashion to digital art, pottery to poetry. Offered at five different levels, Arts Award provides children and young people with the chance to discover the enjoyment of creating and participating in any art form, develop their creativity and leadership skills, learn new skills and share them with others, experience working with creative arts professionals, and gain experience and knowledge to progress into further education and employment.
Arts Award case studies from across the region have led to lots of learning around how it helps not only the young people that undertake it, but also the wider community.
What are the benefits of Arts Award?
Arts Award allows young people to take ownership of their own learning and explore the arts through a variety of mediums, in many cases recognising young people for the arts activities they already take part in. They receive an accredited qualification which, at the higher levels, can count towards their UCAS points. The Award is unique and evidences that young people are passionate about, and committed to the arts.
How does Arts Award allow young people to work directly with creative professionals?
Arts Award allows young people to work directly with creative professionals such as architects on real time projects that can be used in their Arts Award portfolio. It can also be used in professional environments, for example young people completing a Gold Arts Award as part of work experience, an apprenticeship or an early career role and using their Arts Award portfolio to reflect real professional experiences such as producing aspects of an arts festival. The Arts Award assessment criteria prompt young people to research, reflect and evaluate all that they do, promoting best practice in arts careers.
How does Arts Award support individual young people, those with additional needs and those in non-traditional settings?
The Arts Award criteria and processes are flexible and individual – it provides a framework to work within but young people are able to use any media for their project and can submit portfolios in creative ways. Arts Award delivered outside of school as part of a Saturday Club or a special ‘Arts Award in a Day’ event allows young people in rural communities to meet each other, artists and cultural professionals as part of the Arts Award journey. Arts Award gives young people the confidence to engage with all aspects of production in their chosen medium, be it writing, collaborating, performing or something else.
How does Arts Award support whole school development and teacher CPDL?
Arts Award complements the Artsmark journey of education settings, allowing for links to be made with other organisations and arts professionals. It allows for cross-curricular work to take place within settings, for example young people using IT to produce digital portfolios. Teachers who undertake Arts Award adviser training can deliver Arts Award across their setting and share best practice with other schools across the MAT or local networks.