This term we embarked on our Artsmark journey. We have signed up to the Artsmark to develop our work in the arts and ensure that there is equity in provision across all the arts in school.

We know that there is much to celebrate about the arts at Exton & Greetham CE Primary School - particularly linked with our music and our productions at Christmas. Indeed, we take the lead for music across the RLT and share our expertise in this area with other local schools. However, there is always more that we can do, and we are taking this opportunity to focus on developing our art provision to match our music provision.

The Artsmark is seen as a journey. So far we have submitted a statement of intent. This tells the professionals at Artsmark what we do well, and what we are intending to work on over the next 18 months to improve arts provision in the school further. At the end of the process, we submit another statement to explain what we have achieved so far in our journey, and we will hopefully be awarded the Artsmark at either silver, gold or platinum level.

Not only will the Artsmark look at our curriculum in arts subjects, but it will also look at the extra- curricular opportunities that is offered to our pupils. Since COVID trips out and visits in have, by necessity, been more limited. However, we are now in a position to review what we offer our children as part of our cultural capital, and ensure that they get wide and varied opportunities. As part of this, there will be a questionnaire for parents, asking for opinions around school trips and visits. Since COVID, the cost of coaches has shot up, and this has led to us having to think more creatively to ensure that the experiences we give the children are good value for money. We know that the cost of school trips could become prohibitive for some parents, so the questionnaire will look at ways to help make this more manageable for our families, and to help us prioritise the right sort of experiences.

Watch this space for further information!