Mrs Thirlway and Mrs Downing have worked hard over the past year (and more) to boost the arts at Marlow C of E Infant School including work in dance and music as well as visual arts. They recently submitted our Statement of Commitment and Statement of Impact to the Arts Council and last week we received their response awarding us an Artsmark Silver Award.

In their response they made the following comment:

'You are positively increasing the emphasis on arts and culture and this emerging commitment to the Arts is having a tangible impact on pupil, staff and parental engagement. The Arts feature in the school improvement plan. This is supported by SLT and governors. Pupils experience a consistent range of experiences with local artists and organisations in and out of school, and showcasing within school and the immediate community, such as in your Chocolate project. As you continue to develop your curriculum, it will be important to build strong, long term partnerships with a wide selection of arts and cultural organisations. Partners can work directly with pupils, and also provide CPD and assist with curriculum planning for stronger outcomes. As you identified, but could only partially complete due to restrictions in 2020, going forward, it will be key to measure the impact of your arts work, to demonstrate established provision that has measurable effects across the school and the curriculum. Your Arts Council is a good start for pupil voice. You may wish to consider how you can extend this to give pupils real decision-making power over the structure and content of their learning.  A good, positive start to you Artsmark journey, and you have avenues to explore on your next one.'