Culture & Arts Leaders in Schools & Academies (CALSA) is a key regional programme developed by Festival Bridge in 2015 to ensure that the benefits of cultural education are accessible to children and young people across our region.
Engagement and understanding of arts and culture stimulate spiritual, moral, social and cultural development (SMSC) of children and young people, which are Ofsted criteria contributing to the overall assessment rank of each school.
CALSAs are confident education leaders who enable other teachers to introduce a sound element of cultural education as part of a broad and balanced curriculum. Whether it's about initiating an arts project for students, starting Arts Award or applying for Artsmark – CALSAs can use their knowledge and expertise to support the ambitions of other education settings.
The CALSA model was piloted in the academic year 2015/16 with two teaching schools taking on the Lead School role and 10 teachers becoming CALSAs. Over 3014 students were impacted thought CALSA work in its first year. In 2016/17 academic year Festival Bridge is rolling out the model and expects to work with 8 lead schools and between 40-50 CALSAs across the Festival Bridge area.