Springwell Leeds Academy Awarded Artsmark Gold !

We are delighted and proud to announce that Springwell Leeds Academy has been awarded the Artsmark Gold Award by Arts Council England. This prestigious award recognises our school’s commitment to providing high-quality arts education and its significant impact on our students’ development.

The Artsmark Award is a national quality standard for arts provision in schools, designed to celebrate and accredit settings that champion cultural education. Achieving Gold status signifies that we have demonstrated excellence in embedding the arts across our curriculum and school ethos.

I would like to share a summary of the assessor’s feedback, which highlights the exceptional progress we have made:

Assessor’s Key Observations

Values and Ethos:

• The assessor praised our use of the arts as a vital tool for pupil development and wellbeing, particularly in supporting SEMH needs.
• The breadth of creative opportunities, including specialist-led sessions, collaborative projects, and innovative initiatives like the DJ curriculum and creative media room, was commended.
• Our commitment to inclusion and tailored support, ensuring all students can access and benefit from arts education, was highlighted.

Curriculum Design and Delivery:

• The personalised arts curriculum, reflecting students’ interests and aspirations, was recognised as a significant strength.
• The range of qualifications offered, including Arts Awards and Open Awards in DT, and the structured co-planning meetings were noted as contributing to high-quality arts provision.
• Student engagement, attendance, and retention in arts subjects at KS4 have improved.

The assessor concluded that Springwell Leeds Academy’s Artsmark journey exemplifies how arts education can transform lives, particularly in an SEMH context. By focusing on strengthening impact measurement and expanding leadership capacity, we are well-positioned to continue our success.

This award is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our staff and particularly the Arts Faculty led by Adam Bell (Head of the Arts) and our students of course I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to this achievement.

We will continue to be committed to the Arts at Springwell and will build on this success using the assessor’s feedback to further develop our provision.