Dudley Virtual School is celebrating after receiving a prestigious Gold Artsmark Award.

Dudley Virtual School provides support to Dudley’s children looked after (CLA) and children previously looked after (PLAC) to improve their educational experiences and outcomes. The team works closely with children and young people, families, carers, education providers and relevant partners to provide them with the opportunities to progress and realise their individual potential.

Providing access to the arts as part of this allows children to unlock their creativity and express themselves in a range of ways whether through art, music, drama or any other creative outlet. Embracing arts in education helps to build personal and social skills, raise educational achievement and improve life chances.

Artsmark is the only creative quality standard for schools, accredited by Arts Council England. It supports them to develop and celebrate arts and cultural education across the whole curriculum, bringing learning to life for children and young people.

To achieve their Artsmark Award, Dudley Virtual School had to develop their arts and cultural provision to embed a broad and ambitious arts and cultural offer.

Councillor David Stanley, cabinet member for children’s services and education, said: “Dudley Virtual School provides an essential support service to our children looked after and children previously looked after, bridging the gap between home and school to ensure that our children and young people get the same opportunities as everyone else.

“The arts can be a really effective way for children to express and challenge themselves and achieve things they may not have thought possible. We are ambitious for all of our children and young people and achieving the gold Artsmark Award is one of the many ways we can nurture and support them.”

Emma Thomas, Virtual School Headteacher said: “We’re extremely proud of achieving our Artsmark gold Award. We are committed to delivering high-quality arts and cultural opportunities and we look forward to continue to grow with Artsmark.”