Artsmark Gold Award
We are delighted to announce that St Matthew’s has been awarded the Arts Mark Gold award.
The Arts mark Gold award ensures that St Matthew’s is providing a rich creative curriculum to support the Arts throughout school.
At St Matthew’s Church of England Primary, this Artsmark journey has significantly shaped practices to bring about a number of changes. This includes a new long-term curriculum for the arts being created and leadership skills have been developed amongst subject leads as they have worked as a team to develop and implement a new curriculum. The inclusion of studying artists from a range of backgrounds and cultures celebrates and reflects the diversity of our school community and the wider society. This helps children to make sense of themselves and of each other as well as providing good role models. Pupils cover a range of Art snd Design skills including drawing, painting, printing and sculpture. They also have the opportunity to celebrate a range of different local artists and attends trips to experience Art in different environments.
We promote creativity through our Arts curriculum and are very proud as a school to hold this gold award.
Halo Code
Following local and recent news, children suggested to Mr Mackley that St. Matthew’s pledged to follow the Halo code. Mr Mackley took the pledge to the Governing body, who agreed.
The Halo Code explicitly protects students and staff who come to school with natural hair and protective hairstyles associated with their racial, ethnic, and cultural identities.
By adopting the Halo Code, we are proactively taking a stand to ensure that no member of our community faces barriers or judgments because of their Afro-textured hair.
https://halocollective.co.uk/halo-school/
The Mayor of Preston's Coronavirus Pandemic 'City Hero' Award
September 2021
This was an award we were both honoured and humbled to receive. Like many other organisations, during the pandemic we simply 'rolled our sleeves up' and got on with the job of doing what we could to help out.
We opened up school to eligible children and families and distributed food parcels to families as well as offering practical support where we could to help out as well as doing what we could to keep education going in some form or another.
It was a complete surprise to be informed we had been given this award and we were delighted to receive it.