Insights into inspirational arts practice in schools: Unlocking academic and personal potential and developing cultural capital through art

Context Kingswinford Academy is situated in West Dudley, bordering South Staffordshire. It is a good school with above national average progress and attainment year on year. The percentage of students with Pupil Premium is rising due to local changes to demographics with a growing population. Kingswinford is a mixed school. There are currently 727 students on roll between Years 7 and 10, 110 staff members employed at the school, and 24.2% pupil premium. The art department has three members of staff, two of them part-time, and one full-time head of department, who works as a lead practitioner for Windsor Academy Trust across 9 schools (5 primary and 4 secondary) one day a week. One part-time art technician complements the art department. We are an extremely successful department at Kingswinford Academy, consistently achieving higher than national average results. Art has always been a popular choice for GCSE, offering fine art and photography endorsement. Twenty six years of teachin