As 2023 draws to a close, we wanted to reflect on a year of meaningful partnerships and impactful initiatives at Promote Your School.
As we look back on the last twelve months, we are thrilled to shine a light on the fantastic charitable partnerships we have forged, allowing us to combine our passion for education with the power of giving back.
This year, our commitment to creating inspiring and educational environments has surpassed designing and installing Wall Art throughout schools in the UK. It has become a catalyst for change and support through our initiatives with national charities, such as BookTrust, Bookmark and a recent collaboration with Mind.
So kick back and enjoy a festive mince pie or warm brew as we reflect on 2023 and the heartwarming stories and impactful transformations that have been brought about by these alliances. We also touch on the schools that benefited from being winners of our competition and the impact it has had on school life.
BBC 500 Words
Firstly we wanted to highlight our recent partnership with the BBC 500 Words Competition. As a renowned children’s writing contest in the UK, it encourages children of all abilities to unleash their creativity through the power of storytelling. But in a unique fashion! Rather than quibble over spelling and grammar the stories are judged purely on their storytelling and imaginativeness.
The winning child will win 500 books as well as a custom Wall Art project for their school, courtesy of Promote Your School. The Wall Art, spanning up to 30 square metres will seek to highlight the enchantment of books and storytelling and will feature specially designed concepts surrounding literacy. The winning school will also then be prominently featured on both the BBC and Promote Your School’s digital platforms.
BookTrust
Next up, we would like to celebrate our long standing partnerships with the wonderful team at BookTrust. Each year their Pyjamarama Day is a beacon of support for children’s literacy across the UK, helping raise vital funds to ensure every child is able to get a bedtime story. We have been thrilled to help them in championing this initiative and boosting engagement from schools by donating a bespoke literacy-themed Wall Art Project as a prize.
This year we were thrilled to announce that Lancot School in Bedfordshire was the winner of this fantastic prize.
What did the final prize look like, you ask?
Lancot School Library Wall Art
The prize for Lancot School was an 18-square-metre Wall Art display that was strategically located near their school library. It was designed to create an enchanting space that pupils could appreciate both when reading and for storytelling purposes. The design was specifically tailored to ignite imagination and transformed the area into a diverse and immersive space that was accessible to both Year 3 and 4 pupils. Below our friends at Lancot School had the following to say about the installation.
“the staff and children have been mesmerised by the artwork – thank you so much”. Lancot School
NSPCC
A further partnership we wanted to feature is one that actually takes place in 2024! NSPCC Number Day on February 2nd, 2024, invites UK schools to dive into number-related fun while supporting NSPCC services.Children are encouraged to take part in activities and games all to help raise funds for NSPCC services.
Promote Your School has partnered with the NSPCC to support this initiative by donating a bespoke Maths or Numeracy Wall Art project for one lucky school that has registered for Number Day! By donating the Wall Art project we want this visual tool to enhance the learning environment and engage students within the school during lessons.
It’s still not too late to register your school for Number Day. You can register on the link below.
NSPCC Number Day
The Summer Reading Challenge
This summer, we partnered with The Reading Agency and their Summer Reading Challenge that takes place annually during the school summer holidays. Schools and libraries work together to encourage pupils to read as many books as possible. We worked with the The Reading Agency to offer a literacy themed Wall Art project as a prize.
The Reading Agency offered the prize to all local library authorities across the UK. Bristol Libraries was the winning authority, and they were able to offer the prize to all Bristol based schools who took part in the challenge. The School of Christ The King Catholic Primary won this prize draw. We are working on their designs with them and are really looking forward to seeing them come to life!
Bookmark
Next up we delve into our partnership with Bookmark Reading Charity, in what can only be described as a page-turner of a partnership! Bookmark’s mission is simple: they want to encourage every child to read and encourage a positive culture around promoting literacy and a love for reading. They approached us regarding their ‘Your Story Corner Pack’ project and we were delighted to help! To support Bookmark, we donated a literacy Wall Art project as a prize for schools that took part.
The Winning Schools:
From Nottingham to Plymouth, our bespoke literacy Wall Art projects have transformed reading spaces into magical realms. At Whitegate Primary School, we have been tasked with whisking pupils away on an immersive journey, while Plaistow Hill Infant & Nursery School got a more jazzy, literacy-themed makeover. As for Willowbrook Mead Primary in Leicester, their reading nook will soon be renovated into a dreamy woodland haven, designed to inspire curiosity and calm.
Behind all of the projects is our passion to ignite creativity and generate a lifelong love for reading. As an education design agency, we believe reading isn’t just fundamental but downright magical and a brilliant way to enhance imagination and empower younger generations of great minds.
Mind
The final partnership we wanted to touch on is one that is currently in progress, but we couldn’t resist telling you about it! Recently, we have partnered with the UK charity Mind. Their mission is to support people of all ages to make mental health an everyday priority. A key service provided by Mind, is their 100 Local Minds hubs that are based across England and Wales. The hubs are designed to offer health services in local communities that extends to talking therapies, crisis helplines and counselling and befriending services.
A Partnership Was Fused
We were delighted to partner with Mind and donate Wellbeing Wall Art projects for five Local Mind Hubs throughout England and Wales. These expansive and inspiring visual installations will be designed to meet each hub’s brief which foster mental wellbeing by offering practical tips for prioritising mental health while simultaneously creating a calming and uplifting environment within the hubs.
At Promote Your School we champion promoting mental health awareness for people of all ages and are thrilled to be able to work with Mind to help establish these uplifting and tranquil environments for people to be able to visit when in times of need.
Moving Into 2024
As the festive season arrives and we near the end of 2023 we are proud to share our charitable partnerships we have forged this year. These collaborations are not just about transforming spaces and improving visuals. To us, they are about sparking a love for literacy, broadening imaginations and ultimately creating unique spaces for young minds to flourish.
But our journey doesn’t end here. As we reflect on a wonderful year and the progress we have made, we’re keen to ensure that we can build on this for 2024. If you are interested in embarking on a transformative journey with us, as we champion education and inspire school communities, then get in touch today. Working together we can help propel the minds of tomorrow.
