Sutton Valance Prep School

Sutton Valance Prep School has taken part in both the 2022 and 2023 Access All Arts week, with the whole school getting involved. Taking part has helped the school in getting their Gold Artsmark Award in September 2023. Access All Arts week now gets an annual spot in the school calendar so that staff and pupils can get involved every year. We spoke to the Head of Art and DT Andrea Savage to find out more about their 2023 Access All Arts week experience.

How easy was it to get involved and run Access All Arts week?

It is very easy to register and there is so much exciting, inspiring content that you can use. I managed to hold a whole school staff meeting to introduce Access All Arts week and show some of the resources to staff. Staff were very keen to get involved as all the planning has been done for them so there is no extra work involved and those who are not as confident as teachers of arts related subjects have clear guidelines.

Where the resources easy to use?

The resources were brilliant and very easy to use as they are so detailed, I loved the variety of the resources and learnt new things too. It pushes you out of your comfort zone in a comfortable way and it encouraged other staff to experiment and embrace their creativity too. We used different modules depending on teacher’s choices and what subjects they were teaching. There are a lot of modules to choose from and so we often finished off projects or dipped into other activities in the weeks following Access All Arts week.

What was the benefit to your pupils of taking part in Access All Arts week?

They loved it! Access All Arts week raises the profile of the arts and creativity cross-curricular and they benefited from being introduced to different artists, music and drama that they wouldn’t necessarily be exposed to. It reinforces an appreciation for the arts and the children were enthusiastic and positive about all they undertook. It allowed them freedom of expression, opportunities to take creative risks and be proud of their achievements. They were abuzz about it all and are already asking about when the next Access All Arts week is going to be!