Ark Tindal Primary Academy in Balsall Heath has been awarded the Silver Quality Mark by the Historical Association (HA), recognising their excellent history provision in the school.
The Quality Mark assesses and values the school’s history provision, including their curriculum, the teachers’ passion for the subject, and what is offered to pupils. There is a regulated programme for a school that is working to achieve accreditation, with a rigorous assessment procedure delivered by independent Historical Association-appointed assessors.
The school scored Gold in three out of the four categories – curriculum, enrichment and leadership – and Silver in teaching and learning. In its report, the Association said: “The subject leadership is outstanding. During her four years in post, the subject leader has strengthened the subject immeasurably and the teaching and status of history within the school to the extent that SLT told me they regarded it as their ‘flagship’, ‘a guiding light’ and ‘our leading subject’."
Headteacher Hayley Francis said “We are proud to have been awarded the Silver Quality Mark as recognition of both the importance and success of our history provision. The assessors said we are not far from gaining Gold overall, so we will be taking their comments on board to help us achieve this.
“Our school is steeped in history and it is part of our ethos. Through our curriculum threads, we aim to deepen our pupils’ understanding and help them to develop a relentless curiosity about the world around them.
“We registered for the award at a time when face-to-face teaching was still challenging, but we have incredible teachers who are experts and bring subjects to life regardless of whether children are in class or learning remotely. We used a local freelancer to introduce creative lessons during the pandemic, which hooked our pupils, so we continued this to help enrich our curriculum.
“I am extremely proud of our subject lead, Shima Sinha; she has shown how strong leadership in primary history can have a major impact on the curriculum as a whole and other schools within the network look at her work as best practice.”
Schools achieving the Quality Mark will be invited to receive their award at a ceremony in the summer.