Asllan Tatani’s hand flows around the smooth, rounded, shapes of the Henry Moore piece. He stands amid the whispering grasses of the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, taking in yet again the forms of his favourite sculpture, forms that have inspired this 16-year-old to make wonderful art of his own and to blot out the horror of his past life.

Asllan, a Kosovan refugee, is a winner in Artworks, the National Children’s Art Awards, which were presented yesterday, on National Children’s Art Day, at the Tate Modern in London. Less than two years ago, he and his family were driven from their home in a village near Pristina by Serbian soldiers.

At the heart of the Artworks scheme is recognition of the transforming power of art for young people. The scheme aims to turn the spotlight on teachers as well as pupils, and Barbara Kuleczko, Asllan’s art teacher, has played a key role.

In this second year of the awards, prizes have gone to 10 school-gallery partnerships, 20 motivated individuals have been chosen, and there are 10 group projects and six special encouragement awards. The awards were the highlight of National Children’s Art Day, which has sparked events in dozens of museums and galleries for the coming week, all funded by the Clore-Duffield Foundation, which donates pound;8 million a year to arts and heritage education.

Next year there will be workshops available to teachers in addition to the existing virtual gallery on the Artworks website, which details the process behind the winning works. See www.art-works.org.uk for events in your area

Picture: Kosovan refugee Asllan Tatani handles a Henry Moore sculpture

The winners

Gallery partnerships
(pound;2,000 for each school to spend on art resources)
Cape Cornwall comprehensive, PenzanceGreat Atlantic Map Works Gallery; Castle school for pupils with moderate learning difficulties, WalsallNew Art Gallery, Walsall; County high school, Northwich, CheshireSalt Museum, Northwich; London borough of Hounslow pupil referral serviceOrleans House Gallery, Twickenham, Middlesex; Kepler early years centre, Leeds Leeds City Art Gallery; Quarff primary school, ShetlandBonhoga Gallery, Shetland; Spennymoor school, Co Durham Oriental Museum, University of Durham; St George’s CE primary school, BirminghamIkon Gallery, Birmingham; St Gregory’s RC comprehensive school, Bath Victoria Art Gallery, Bath; Stoborough CE VC first school, Wareham, DorsetStudy Gallery, Poole, Dorset

Group projects
(pound;2,000 for each school)
Ansford community school, Castle Cary, Somerset; Bridge and Patrixbourne CE primary school, Canterbury, Kent; East Allington primary school, Totnes, Devon; Fox primary school, London borough of Kensington and Chelsea; Holme Hall primary school, Chesterfield; Marlfields primary school, Congleton, Cheshire; Shrewsbury high school, Worcs; Sir William Burrough primary school, London borough of Tower Hamlets; Vale Resource Base, Northumberlandnbsp; Park community school, London borough of Haringey

Encouragement Awards (pound;1,000 for each school)
Hillhead primary school, Wick, Caithness; Glencryan special school, Glasgow; Meadowbank special school, Cardiff; Mill Water school, Honiton, Devon; Fetlar primary school, Shetland; Hessle high school, East Riding of Yorkshire

Motivated individuals
(pound;50 art voucher and family membership of the National Art Collections Fund for the pupil, pound;300 for the school)
Primary
Conrad Clarke, 10, King’s St Albans school, Worcester; Josh Emms, 8, Braddock CE primary school, Lostwithiel, Cornwall; Amy Levinson, 11, Trevor Roberts’ school, London borough of Camden; Valentino Marchase, 6, Latchmere infant school, London borough of Kingston-upon-Thames; John Mason, 10, St Benedict’s junior school, London borough of Ealing; Tom O’Ryan, 10, St Mary’s School, Harborne, Birmingham; Katie Thompson, 4, Warren Road primary school, Orpington, Kent
Secondary
Erin Beech, 16, St John Fisher RC high school, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire; Ellie Bristow, 15, Fairfield high school, Hereford; Charlotte Buckland-Harriss, 15, Honywood community school, Coggeshall, Essex; Quinton Clarke, 15, Normanhurst school, Chingford, London borough of Waltham Forest; Charlotte Crowther, 15, Farnborough Hill school, Farnborough, Hants; Catherine Jessop, 15, St Cuthbert’s RC high school, Rochdale, Lancashire; Kira Kemble, 13, Grey Court school, London borough of Richmond-upon-Thames; Verity Oates, 13, Hill House school, Doncaster; Philip Range, 13, Red Rose school, St Anne’s on Sea, Lancashire; Asllan Tatani, 16, Wakefield City high school; Jamie Thomson, 14, Pool Hayes comprehensive school, Walsall, West Midlands; Katharine Walker, 15, Caister high school, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk; Donna Woodward, 15, Royds Hall high school, Huddersfield, Kirklees

A longer version of this feature appears in this week’s Friday magazine