It has been designed by schools, for schools, to align with School Improvement Plans. It recognises the work that schools are doing to make the arts come alive for their young people. Through its application, it enables schools to enrich and further develop their arts provision.
As an ACE National Portfolio Organisation and with our long history of supporting schools in Tower Hamlets to embed creative learning into their curriculum and enrichment programmes, we are committed to supporting schools in Tower Hamlets on their Artsmark journey. We work in partnership with Tower Hamlets Arts and Music Education Service (THAMES) and A New Direction to do this.
You can find out more about Artsmark by visiting their website but you can contact us to arrange a meeting so we can talk about what signing up to means for your school in practical terms.
We work with schools and educational settings who are working towards, or currently hold an Artsmark Award. We can provide a bespoke programme of support, underpinned by teacher Continuing Professional Development and Learning. Learn more about individual programme options below.
Nursery & Primary Schools
My First Theatre Trip – inspiring Reception and Nursery children through the magic of theatre as they have their first experience of theatre here at Half Moon. Attending the performance can be accompanied by in-school workshops to prepare the children for their visit. See our School Bookings page to see what shows we have on.
Creative Play and Dance and Drama – working with early years classes to get creative across a five or ten week project. Read about how we have delivered this programme before here.
Speech Bubbles – supporting KS1 children with a speech, language and communication need through a drama intervention programme. This is a year-long programme that works with 20 children. You can find out more here.
Dramatic Maths – engaging children with their maths learning through the power of drama and storytelling. This programme runs over a term working with Year 3, Year 4 and Year 5 children. There’s more information about this programme here.
Art Gallery Detectives – encouraging children to explore the gallery at Half Moon with free visits where children can complete an Art Gallery Trail. Find out about the art we are currently exhibiting here.
Secondary Schools
Live Performance – seeing a show written for teen and young adult or younger audiences at our professional space in Limehouse which explore the issues that affect young people’s lives today. All performances are followed by a Q&A with the actors and creative team to enable the students to ask about the theatre-making process and the content of the piece. See our School Bookings page to see what shows we have on.
Drama for PSHE – exploring issues both personal and global, challenging negative behaviours or attitudes and encouraging understanding, empathy and tolerance through the media of drama. This can be a whole-school or year-group programme over a series of sessions in school. Contact us to discuss your school’s particular needs.
Careers in Theatre – enabling your GCSE Drama students to get a hands-on experience of theatre-making working with professional artists to make a play in a day at Half Moon. Find out more here.
Gallery Exhibition – showcasing your students’ work at a professional gallery space. Find out more here.
We fundraise to offer some of these opportunities at subsidised rates to schools in Tower Hamlets but schools can also buy in bespoke projects that are designed specifically for their classes.
Arts Award at Half Moon
You can find us, along with other Supporters on the Arts Award Supporter Map.
Unfortunately, we won’t be the ones to assist you to complete your Arts Award or get assessed; to do that you’ll need to find an Arts Award Centre.
Activity resources for Arts Awards
Half Moon has a range of activities and resources which can support children to achieve their Discover, Explore, Bronze or Silver arts awards.