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What is the Artsmark Award?

What is the Artsmark Award?

Artsmark recognises schools’ exceptional commitment to creativity with the Artsmark Award - the only award for arts and cultural provision in England. The Artsmark Award is accredited by Arts Council England.  

A table depicting the different award levels for Artsmark and what is required to achieve them

How do schools get an Artsmark Award?

How do schools get an Artsmark Award? 

Schools receive their award at the end of their Artsmark journey.   

Every school’s Statement of Commitment and Statement of Impact is evaluated by our expert team of Artsmark Assessors  - learn more about them below. 

Our Assessors look at: 

  • how far your school’s arts and cultural provision has progressed  

  • the impact of Artsmark on your school 

  • the objectives and goals you’ve achieved (not ones that are yet to be completed) 

Based on this assessment, schools receive one of three Artsmark levels: Silver, Gold and Platinum. Schools receive their award no later than the end of the next academic term after submitting the Statement of Impact. 

About the Artsmark journey 

To complete an Artsmark journey, schools need to attend Artsmark Development training delivered by Goldsmiths, University of London, and submit two documents:  

  • a Statement of Commitment that outlines your goals and ambitions for your Artsmark journey  

  • a Statement of Impact that reflects and evaluates the journey you’ve been on 

Find out more >  

Assessors

Meet your Artsmark assessors:

Portrait photo of Dame Reena Keeble

Dame Reena Keeble DBE, EdD 
Reena is a retired primary Head Teacher with 22 years’ experience. She has a proven track record in leading an outstanding school and offering school to school support, coaching future leaders, curriculum design and pedagogy. Until her retirement Reena was a National Leader of Education (NLE) and her school was designated as a National Support School. Reena has also acted as an Executive Head Teacher and was awarded a doctorate in Educational Leadership and Management in 2007. In 2011, she was appointed as a Dame Commander of the British Empire (DBE) for her services to education. For five years Reena chaired the Primary Headteachers’ Reference Group at the Department for Education and she has worked on developing policy at both local and national levels.

Portrait image of Dr David Parker

Dr. David Parker
As a freelance consultant, David specialises in research and evaluation in the arts and education sectors. With a longstanding interest in education programmes that are designed to unlock the creative potential of young people, David has contributed to a range of studies that seek to explore new methods of measuring and valuing creative development in schools. From 2012-2014, David was the Director of Research for the sector skills council Creative and Cultural Skills. In the earlier years of his career, David was the Head of Research at the British Film Institute. David is presently a member of the Cultural Learning Alliance and an associate of the Royal Society of Arts.

Portrait photo of Sam Cairns

Sam Cairns
Sam Cairns has worked in the culture sector for 15 years - starting in museum education and expanding into libraries, archives and then the arts. She worked for the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council, and in education roles at Imperial War Museums and the Wellcome Trust. Sam has managed the Cultural Learning Alliance with Lizzie Crump since 2011. She led the development of the Cultural Learning Alliance’s Key Research Findings: case for cultural learning, the consultation report on Arts GCSEs published in 2014 and the 2016 response to the Teaching School Council’s review of Effective Primary Teaching Practice. She is a primary school governor and chair of her local community forum.

Portrait of Kevin Jones

Kevin Jones
Kevin Jones is a retired headteacher, with 26 years’ experience leading a Choir school awarded national Best Prep School and Best Prep School Head, prior to which he was Head of English & Drama and Deputy Head at the Yehudi Menuhin School, an international school for gifted musicians. He was the founding Chair of the Children’s University Trust. Kevin is a ‘Leading Thinker’ for the National Education Trust. He is on the steering groups of the Cultural Learning Alliance and of the My Cambridge cultural education partnership, the advisory boards for the Artsmark Award and the Institute of Imagination, is a trustee of Mind with Heart, and is an adviser to Cambridge Curiosity and Imagination.

Portrait photo of Juliette Westwood

Juliette Westwood
Juliette is a serving Executive Headteacher of two primary schools, with 25 years’ experience in the education sector. She has a proven track record in leading an outstanding school and is a National Leader of Education (NLE). Her school is a designated National Support School (NSS), and offers school-to-school support, working in partnership with school leaders and teaching staff to improve outcomes for pupils. 

Portrait photo of Kate Fellows

Kate Fellows
Kate wants to change the whole world for the better… but she’ll start with Leeds for now! She has worked with object based learning in museums for 17 years for a range of organisations from the National Trust, to Harewood House and IWM North, and is currently the Head of Learning and Access for Leeds Museums and Galleries. She was the 2010-11 Learning Fellow on the Clore Cultural Leadership Programme. Kate is currently a Yorkshire and Humberside rep for the Group for Education in Museums (GEM), the Chair of Yorkshire Accessible Museums Network, and a trustee for Artlink West Yorkshire. Along the way, she has met and worked with many wonderful, amazing people, has learnt so much and is still learning.