Safeguarding 'Gold Award' - Anchored Schools: June 2022
In January 2022 we received the ‘School of Sanctuary’ Award and as a result have ‘School of Sanctuary’ status. This means we have now joined a network of schools across the UK who play an active role in supporting young people who are seeking sanctuary in the UK, creating a culture of welcome and inclusion whilst raising awareness of the issues faced by refugees and asylum seekers. It also recognised Bede Academy as a place that seeks to educate the whole school community about the human right to sanctuary and takes practical steps to offer this. The academy also seeks to build empathy and intercultural awareness through promoting the voices and contributions of people seeking sanctuary, encourages understanding and helps combat stereotypes. All of this is summed up in Jesus’ commandment to ‘love your neighbour’ as we live out our Christian Ethos and it helps us demonstrate that we want all members of the Emmanuel Schools Foundation to be ‘valued, challenged and inspired’.
We are delighted to inform you that your setting has been awarded an Artsmark Gold Award. Congratulations!
Your Statement of Commitment and Statement of Impact have been assessed and we’re pleased to share this feedback from our assessors with you:
‘It is impressive that, despite the inevitable difficulties created by the pandemic, you have developed your arts provision and pedagogy. Your association with the Paul Hamlyn Foundation is set to make a significant wider contribution and it would have been very interesting to read more about how photography and visual arts are used to support creative writing. Your integration of the art and engineering departments into a single faculty sounds fascinating and it would be very helpful to know more about how this works and to see evidence of the impact of this on outcomes for students. You have sought to embed creativity in the primary curriculum, and it would have been good to see examples of how this has been implemented as, overall, we are told little about the Arts for your younger students. It would be helpful to know more about levels of pupil engagement. What proportion of your students take an arts-based qualification, at GCSE and A level? What proportions are involved in extra-curricular activities? How do you monitor the engagement of your Pupil Premium pupils? At secondary level, you have recognised the importance of student voice and it is good to see that this has helped to shape curriculum planning. Are you also using Arts Awards, as planned? And how can you give all students, younger and older, further responsibility for the planning and delivery of authentic arts experiences? You have used your partnerships with Arts organisations well to provide CPD for staff and it is excellent that you are now the lead partner for the Paul Hamlyn project across the North-East. Your plans for the future are impressive. Embedding photography as an art strand through all primary years will, hopefully, be captured in a case study that will detail the measurable effects of this exciting initiative. Introducing Drama as a KS3 subject and a GCSE option in due course will continue your expansion of available arts qualifications. Embedding your recent initiatives with galleries, higher education and museums will ensure sustainability of such projects. Exploring artists from different ethnic backgrounds and using the arts as a vehicle to explore issues such as disability and gender identity will strengthen your community. All of the above will find you well-placed to fulfil your mission to advocate for the arts, influencing opinion and making a difference more widely. The more that you can capture examples of how you have developed and evidence the impact on your own pupils’ learning and lives across the age groups, the stronger your advocacy will be as you offer leadership to other schools within and beyond your Foundation. The next phase of your Artsmark journey promises to be very exciting and we look forward to hearing about it!’
Congratulations on your Artsmark Gold Award!
Your award is valid for two years and will expire on 11/01/2024
“Bede is a good academy which is quickly improving.”
“Achievement is good and you are making good progress.”
“The quality of teaching is good and it is continuing to improve.”
“Behaviour is good, you feel safe and are well cared for.”
Senior leaders and members of the Governing body are making the right improvements to help you achieve even more highly!
"This is an excellent all-through academy that provides an excellent education for its students and encourages their personal and character development exceptionally well."
"The vision is based on a recognition, well-grounded in Christian teaching, of the value of the individual, each of whom is seen as 'infinitely precious, gifted for a purpose and morally responsible'."
"The vision is practically expressed through the emphasis on ‘curriculum, character and community’ to frame and give positive direction to its work."
"Both collective worship and Philosophy, Theology and Ethics (PTE) make excellent contributions to the academy’s Christian vision."
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