The Art & Design department at St Edward's School, Poole was nominated for developing their Art curriculum to show how art can be used for social change and to explore moral and political issues. This developed into cross curricular work with the History department and the commemoration of Holocaust Memorial Day showing how students have used art to commemorate, to challenge and to reflect.
Further cross-curricular links were developed with the Geography department. The Art department built on climate crisis issues connected with plastic production and waste, by participating in a postcard exchange project involving schools across Ireland and the UK. The postcard exchange enthused all Year 8, Year 10 and sixth form students involved, as it gave their artwork added worth, with some of their work exhibited in the British Embassy in Dublin.
The art department also developed and delivered an Extended Learning Project on the theme of Cultural Capital, for sixth form students not formally studying Art, which is a six-week course delivered on rotation. The course aims to introduce a range of artists and art institutions and allows students to think and respond creatively to a range of different subject matter, and has been very popular.
The department as a whole has worked together on specialist CPD, either after school and sometimes through participating in online training together with the PTI. These experiences have enriched the subject knowledge of staff and helped develop staff confidence when delivering the Art curriculum.