Art and Design
“Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.” ― Edgar Degas Intent
Art Curriculum - Intent
As a school, we believe that art is an integral part of every child’s education. The opportunity to become immersed wholeheartedly into a subject that allows creativity, exploration and independence encourages children to become increasingly innovative and inventive. They are able to make conscious and well-informed decisions – in relation to their work - and over time they develop improved self-awareness, and their decision-making skills become more informed and increasingly proficient.
Our Art and Design curriculum has been designed to ensure that it instils curiosity and enables a more evaluative approach during creative exploration - encouraging a natural sense of wonder for the wider world. It provides children with opportunities to explore and examine prominent art styles and influential artists and their works. They are able to partake in meaningful and progressive tasks that encourage them to develop and master individualised techniques and skills, allowing them ultimately, to become recognised artists in their own right.
Art Curriculum - Implementation
Our full term of study focuses entirely on skill progression. Children are given regular opportunities to become increasingly proficient in the skills of painting and drawing, and those of the wider arts. Mastered skills are practised, revisited, evidenced in personalised sketchbooks (years 3 to 6) and refined throughout the keys stages, allowing for significant development, increased selfawareness and an ability to identify ‘next steps’ within the subject. As pupils progress, they will be encouraged to evaluate, formulate opinions and analyse critically both their own works of art and those of renowned artists.
An additional half term is dedicated to the world’s great artists. Children will be introduced to an eclectic and carefully selected range of movements and members of the art community, who have influenced and helped shape the creative world. They will study them in detail. This will ignite interest, increase understanding and encourage appreciation of the wider art community. Within each unit, the children will explore styles and techniques; make comparisons to similar and contrasting approaches; attempt to replicate whole or parts of significant works, and they will evaluate throughout. It is hoped that, by the end of year 6, all pupils will have been exposed to an inclusive and wide range of artists and their styles. Children will leave our school knowing how art and design reflects and contributes to the history and culture of an entire nation and the extended world.