News, views, facts and figures from APFS
Keeping you informed and up-to-date about any developments affecting APFS and our service to schools:
APFS Celebrating 2012 Project – Nov 2011
Art Projects for Schools are planning an innovative new project for the new year. Inspired by upcoming sporting events and the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, Art Projects for Schools has designed a new mug project that provides fundraising opportunities together with the opportunity for your children to design their very own souvenir to commemorate either or even both very special events taking place this year.
More information can be found by visiting our Celebrating 2012 page
APFS Invests in New Printer – May 2011
Art Projects for Schools continues to invest in new technology with the purchase of a brand new HP Indigo 7000 Digital Press. This cutting edge digital press can produce twice the amount of Christmas cards per hour as our previous Indigo 5000 press, without sacrificing any of its superior quality.
Prices reduced for Royal Wedding Project – 13th May 2011
Due to the continuing popularity for our Royal Wedding mug project, we have decided to extend it into the summer term with new reduced prices.
More information can be found by visiting our Royal Wedding page
Autumn Term Production 2011 – December 2010
We are pleased to announce the success of the autumn term Christmas card and Calendar projects in 2010. We'd like to thank all the schools who took part this autumn and hope that you enjoyed taking part. This year, we dealt with almost 2000 schools, processed over 200,000 artworks and delivered over 4.7 million Christmas cards and Calendars!
Registrations are already open for 2011 - so book now to secure your space. Samples can be requested via our sample request page or to book a project for 2011, visit our bookings page or call our freephone number 0800 027 1939. Alternatively, you can email us at info@apfs.org.uk.
Autumn Term 2010 Sample Packs – October 2010
As we are now into the autumn term for 2010 and our spaces are becoming limited, we urge you to take action after receiving your sample pack and contacting us so that you can get started immediately with the project of your choice.
Order your free sample by clicking here.
PTA Local Questionnaire Winner!
Thank you to everyone who took part in the recent questionnaire we ran in conjunction with PTA Local. We are delighted to say that we had 381 responses and we are currently collating the replies. We are also pleased to announce the prize draw for £250.00 has now taken place and the winner is Auchterellon Primary School. Congratulations to them and their cheque is now on it's way!
APFS Sponsors Research into Art & Design
As part of its drive to support teaching and learning in art and design, Art
Projects for Schools is now sponsoring academic research into current issues
in art education. Robert Watts is the Programme Convener for the MA Art,
Craft and Design Education at Roehampton University, London and the focus of
his research is children's aesthetic experience and notions of beauty. You
can find out more about the project by reading his blog at:
http://robert-watts-art-and-education.blogspot.com/
For further information on Roehampton University's MA Art, Craft and Design Education course, go to:
http://www.roehampton.ac.uk/postgraduate-courses/art-craft-and-design-education/index.html
ISO 9001 & ISO 14001 – February 2010
We are delighted to announce that Art Projects for Schools Ltd have achieved certification under:
- ISO 9001 - The International Standard for Quality Management
- ISO 14001 – The International Standard for Environmental Management Systems
As an organisation we have been working towards these accreditations for the last 12 months. We were delighted to be informed that after a two day review which took place during December 2009, - our busiest time of the year that we have been successful in demonstrating that we were achieving the standard for these prestigious awards.
As an organisation all our staff are passionate about ensuring we do all we can to limit our impact on the environment. Our Management team are continually reviewing our processes and procedures to ensure that we provide our customer with the very best proposition. We are proud to have achieved these awards and feel that they stand as testament to our commitment to running an organisation that cares about its customers, its staff and the environment in which we operate.
To see what’s involved in obtaining ISO accreditations please click the following links: ISO 9001 and ISO 14001
Autumn term 2009 questionnaire draw – February 2010
Thank you to everyone who returned their autumn term questionnaire. We have now collated all the replies received. The response from you has been amazing! 94% reported that parents felt the cards represented good value for money. Whilst 98% said that they would recommend us to friends, relatives and colleagues! The answers you have given, together with our on-going reviews into our processes and procedures will help to ensure that we provide our customers with the very best proposition and service.
We are also delighted to announce that the questionnaire draw has now been made and the winner is - Wimbledon Chase Primary School. Congratulations to them and a cheque for £250.00 is now on its way!
Christmas Orders - January 2010
We are pleased to announce the success of the autumn term Christmas card and Calendar projects in 2009. We would also like to thank the 1,500+ schools that took part to which we delivered over 3.6million Christmas cards and Calendars to! The project has been a huge success, especially with our IMPROVED average turnaround for dispatch of orders of 2 weeks. Last year we increased the amount raised from 60p to £1.00 from each 1st pack of cards ordered, as well as reducing the price for multiple pack orders and we are delighted to announce that it helped schools raise more funds than ever!
We have thoroughly enjoyed the last 3 months seeing all the fantastic Christmas card and calendar designs and we sincerely hope that everyone who took part has hadas much enjoyment from the project as we have!
Registrations are already open for 2010 and we’re happy to say that our prices are frozen for the 6th consecutive year, regardless of the VAT increase - so book now to secure your space. Samples can be requested via our sample request page or to book a project for 2010 call our freephone number 0800 027 1939 or email us, info@apfs.org.uk.
Work experience and skills for school leavers
Art Projects for Schools plans to provide school leavers with temporary work giving them the opportunity to gain valuable work experience and skills to help them gain future employment.
Sir Ken Robinson: Do Schools kill Creativity?
Sir Ken Robinson makes an entertaining and profoundly moving case for creating an education system that nurtures (rather than undermines) creativity. Listen to his speech here.
APFS supporting schools & PTA’s to raise higher funds with The Christmas Card Project for 2009 – April 2009
We understand that the year ahead is going to be a challenge with schools and PTA’s needing to raise more funds than ever, so we are delighted to announce that we have reviewed our prices and have put a new structure in place for 2009.
The changes will enable all organisations taking part to earn more funds from each order placed. We have increased the amount raised from 60p to £1.00 from each 1st pack of cards ordered. We have also made changes to the suggested parent prices, reducing the cost of ordering multiple packs while still keeping the fund raising element of 60p per additional pack ordered the same.
What this means in real terms is a school that took part in the project in 2008 and ordered 200 packs, 120 1st packs and 80 additional would have raised £120.00 for school funds. The same order this year will raise a massive £168.00!
We have made these changes to show our continual commitment to provide schools with a fund raising project that provides maximum funds together with a quality, easy-to-manage fun project that the children can enjoy year after year.
Project prices - March 2009
Art Projects for Schools are delighted to announce that for the 5th consecutive year our project prices will remain the same, underpinning our commitment to give schools a vehicle to raise funds through fun educational art projects.
Autumn term questionnaire - March 2009
Grateful thanks to everyone who responded to our recent questionnaire. We had a fabulous response and we are currently looking at all the points raised in our continuing efforts to ensure that we provide you with projects that continue to engage children and encourage them to work collaboratively with each other, parents and teachers. This together with providing schools with a valuable fundraising vehicle.
We are delighted to announce that the winner of the questionnaire draw is The Friends of Maple Tree Lower School and cheque for £150.00 is now on its way to them.
Watch this space for further information regarding the results of the questionnaire once all the responses have been collated.
Quality & Environmental Policy Statements - February 2009
It is APFS Ltd’s objective to be recognised as a World-Class supplier of print design services and colour digital printing on various media. View our Quality Policy Statement.
APFS Limited recognises its responsibility to conduct operations, provide services and manufacture products in a manner that is responsible to the Earth’s environment and protective of its natural resources and to this end has established the following Environmental Policy: View our Environmental Policy Statement.
The RSA (Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce) Education Charter - January 2009
APFS are delighted to announce that we have signed up to the RSA’s Charter for Education in the 21st Century the aim of which is: to help young people become enthusiastic lifelong learners, capable of rising to the challenges of the times, by transforming outmoded models of education.
For more information on this exciting initiative or to sign up to the charter visit the RSA website at www.thersa.org or use this link to go direct to the sign up page. http://www.thersa.org/projects/education/rsa-education-news/education-news/rsa-education-charter---sign-up-now
Art Projects for Schools working with Memory for Teachers providing teachers with support through the art process - January 2009
Memory 4 Teachers is a major new initiative taking place within the UK education sector. The project has been developed to support teachers and educators in addressing their ever-increasing workloads by funding the provision of 750,000 USB memory sticks across the UK. The memory sticks have a capacity of 2 GB and include free educational resources for teachers to utilise, through a user-friendly embedded interface that appears on screen immediately as the memory stick is plugged in. These free resources cover all major subject areas and include lesson plans and ideas, worksheets and much more.
At Art Projects for Schools we believe that Art is a great vehicle for the development of imagination and creative thinking in children and that by using Art to achieve greater learning and thinking skills, this will help build an enriched world for every child. Art therefore should be a part of all aspects of the curriculum including literacy and numeracy. Over the past 13 years we have developed a range of projects that link to the National Curriculum, can be used in a cross-curricular manner and are a means by which children can raise their self-esteem through high levels of achievement. Children who struggle in other subjects are often the highest achievers in Art.
We continually request feedback from our customers and work with a range of educational advisors to ensure our projects have a real educational purpose and are not just a method of promoting our company. We are delighted to be working with Memory 4 Teachers and look forward to providing teachers with support through the Art process to bring creativity and enjoyment to the classroom helping children remember what they’ve learnt.
http://www.memory4teachers.co.uk
Christmas Orders - December 2008
We are pleased to announce that all school orders have now been dispatched for the Autumn Term Christmas card and Calendar project 2008. We wish to extend a huge thank you to all the schools who took part this year. The project has been a phenomenal success and we have processed over 270,000 artworks submitted from over 1,250 schools from the UK and Europe, with an average turnaround for dispatch of orders of 3 weeks. We were able to achieve this due in part to the purchase in September of a second Indigo digital printer and improved production processes. In total we have produced over 3 million Christmas cards this year. We have thoroughly enjoyed the last 3 months seeing all the fantastic Christmas card and calendar designs and we sincerely hope that everyone who took part has had as much enjoyment from the project as we have!
Registrations are already open for 2009, so book now to secure your space. Samples can be requested via our sample request page or to book a project for 2009 call our freephone number 0800 027 1939 or email us, info@apfs.org.uk.
Change of Status - April 2008
As of the 1st April 2008 Art Projects for Schools have become a limited company. We are now known as Art Projects for Schools Ltd.
Big Thank You - Feb 2008
In 2007 we worked with over 283,000 children in 1364 schools throughout the UK & Europe – we would like to say a huge thank-you to everyone who took part in a project.