Hastings schools chosen for groundbreaking arts education pilot

The pilot is led by education charity Ark, working across their four Hastings schools: Ark Alexandra Academy, Ark Blacklands Primary Academy, Ark Castledown Primary Academy and Ark Little Ridge Primary Academy. The work kicked-off this month with a dedicated inset day for staff who worked with trainers from national, regional and local arts organisations to get new insights into the way they can bring arts into all parts of the curriculum.

Punchdrunk Enrichment, a national organisation that grew out of the world’s leading immersive theatre company, South East Dance and Hastings art collective, Radiator Arts, orchestrated an inspiring day of training for the 40 teachers involved in the project.

The school teams also met Sam Ayre for the first time. Ayre is an artist and documentarian will work with the schools throughout this project to capture their experiences.

Kate Bellamy, Director of the Clore Duffield Foundation said: “We believe that an excellent arts education is essential for children, young people and the creative industries to thrive. The Foundation has spent the past twenty years supporting cultural institutions to create Clore Learning Spaces for arts education.

"But not all schools and families can easily access these. So, we are partnering with Ark Schools to explore how multi academy trusts can develop inspiring arts education programmes, ensuring all their pupils benefit. We chose to work with Ark Schools since they have a strong track record for music education, excellent leadership and national reach.”

Margaret O’Shea, Head of Creative and Extended Curriculum at Ark said: “Too often we see arts education as a ‘nice to have’ but for us it is an absolute essential for every child. We want all our students to have the opportunity to be creative and to express themselves boldly as the arts so powerfully allow.

"This project is an exciting opportunity to take a genuinely new approach. Connecting schools with arts organisations is not a new idea, but we are going to these organisations and asking them to shift completely to the school’s perspective and asking them to find ways to bring their creativity – whether it is theatre, dance, music or the visual arts – into the classroom.”

The project will see a range of arts initiatives and partnerships trialled over the school year, culminating in an arts festival in Hastings in July. If you can support or want to find out more, please contact [email protected].