Arts

Arts at Beechwood

As a school we are passionate about developing the whole child. Art and culture are, in our opinion, pivotal to this. Embracing a creative curriculum gives all children a sense of excitement and purpose for their learning. For children who have a natural flair for the Arts it gives them a platform to showcase their learning and the opportunity to develop skills for their future. Arts is crucial for all children, it helps to develop their confidence and also build up their team work and cooperative skills. For some of our children Arts is the one area that they excel in, developing and strengthening this area gives them the confidence in other subjects that do not come as easily to them.

As a school we use Kapow as our carefully selected scheme of work for art however, we further enhance this where possible with additional opportunities for children to artistic abilities including our HPAN exhibition, special performances and whole school theme weeks.

 HPAN

In June 2016, Beechwood established Halton Primary Arts Network, HPAN was formed to manage the provision and development of the Arts across Halton as well as giving the children a platform to showcase their talents. Each academic year, schools work together to create an exhibition and performances linked to a set theme. This year, we created an exhibition linked to the theme 'It's a Wonderful World'. You can view our display in our school entrance hall.

 

 Music Provision

Thanks to the support from our PTA, we are able to go above and beyond with our music provision. By working in conjunction with Accent Music Education Hub our KS2 children receive specialist music tuition. Because of this, our children are able to achieve awards in their music and many of which choose to continue this after they leave Beechwood.

  • In 2016/2017 10 children achieved Foundation Levels 1-3 with their instrument and 2 children achieved Grade 1.
  • In 2017/2018 our music has gone from strength to strength with 8 children taking their Grade 1 brass, 2 Grade 1 woodwind and 2 Grade 2 woodwind exams.
  • In 2018/2019, our whole Year 6 cohort achieved Foundation Level 1 on their instrument and 6 children achieved Grade 1 on their instruments.
  • In 2019/2020 2 children managed to take their exams and pass Grade 1, the other 6 children who were working towards achieving their grade 1 unfortunately didn't get the chance due to lockdown.
  • In 2020/2021 2 children achieved Grade 1 and in 2021/2022 4 children achieved Grade 1 and 2 children achieved Grade 2. 
Every year, our Year 6 children work towards achieving their Arts Award Explore.
Please see the below link for more information.
Poetry
Each academic year we take part in Halton Poetry Festival. As part of this our children work with Paul Delaney who is a local author/poet. Paul then selects three children to perform their poetry at Halton Poetry Festival.
Our Arts Achievements
 
We are delighted that we have again been awarded Music Ambassador School status by Accent Music Education Hub. This award recognises our commitment and dedication to our music provision which we are incredibly proud of. 
We are proud to have achieved Arts Mark GOLD in July 2022. We received some lovely feedback from our assessor:
 
 'Beechwood Primary School clearly has strengths in music and developing CPD for not only their own staff but for other schools in the HPAN network. This is to be commended and demonstrates your commitment to the Arts. Over the years music has been strengthened and there is now firmly embedded music provision. The award of Music Ambassador status and the fact you are being asked to share your music model with others is recognition of your successes in this area. As a result of CPD and the introduction of Development Days for all schools in the HPAN network (which you chair and lead) staff have had the opportunity to work with professional artists and organisations to develop their knowledge, skills and understanding of delivering high quality arts education. Staff are now more confident in their delivery of the Arts and the artist led CPD sessions have supported the professional development of arts subject leaders across a number of schools. It was interesting to read the Arts are used as a vehicle to support children's mental health and to raise standards. The 'Bringing a Book to Life Project' has had a positive impact on pupil outcomes for both KS 1 and KS 2 in reading and writing.  It is brilliant to read that through HPAN you are able to influence the work of the wider sector when it comes to the Arts. We are sure you will continue to develop this now that the pandemic restrictions have been lifted.'
 
In January 2024, we submitted our statement of commitment for our next ArtsMark award.