Art and Design

Intent

At Staplecross MCP School, we believe that high-quality Art lessons are essential for all and will inspire children to think innovatively, imaginatively and creatively. Our Art curriculum provides children with opportunities to develop their skills using a range of media and materials through visual, tactile and sensory experiences and a special way of understanding and responding to the world. Children will become confident and proficient in a variety of techniques including drawing, painting, printing, collage, textiles, 3D work and digital art and are given the opportunity to explore and evaluate different creative ideas. Children will be introduced to a range of works and develop knowledge of the styles and vocabulary used by famous artists. The skills they acquire are applied to their cross-curricular topics, allowing children to use their art skills to reflect on and explore topics in greater depth.  

The aims of teaching art and design in our school are: 

• To engage, inspire and challenge pupils, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to experiment, invent and create their own works of art, craft and design.  
• As pupils progress through school, they should begin to think critically and develop a more rigorous understanding of art and design. They should also know how art and design both reflect and shape our history, and contribute to the culture, creativity and wealth of our nation. 

• To produce creative work, exploring their ideas and recording their experiences. 
• To become proficient in drawing, painting, sculpture and other art, craft and design techniques 
• To evaluate and analyse creative works using the language of art, craft and design. 
• To know about great artists, craft makers and designers, and understand the historical and cultural development of their art forms. 

Implementation

We will achieve this by:  

• Providing regular art lessons. The children will cover an art topic at least once every other term as part of a termly topic, focusing on the knowledge and skills in the National Curriculum. 
• Teachers planning lessons for their class using our progression of knowledge and skills document. The progression document ensures the curriculum is covered and the skills/knowledge taught are progressive from year group to year group. 
• Putting an emphasis on knowledge ensures that children understand the context of the artwork, as well as the artists, architects and designers that they are learning about and being inspired by. This enables links to other curriculum areas, including humanities, with children developing a considerable knowledge of individual artists as well as individual works and art movements.  

• Providing a similar focus on skills means that children are given opportunities to express their creative imagination, as well as practice and develop mastery in the key processes of art: drawing, painting, printing, collage and sculpture. 
• Re-teaching skills throughout the children’s time in school. Skills are revisited and honed, which progresses in terms of depth and challenge, to build on the children’s previous learning.  
• Ensuring that each child develops their skills and techniques in a way appropriate to them, through clear differentiation and support, active and purposeful experiences, and using a variety of art materials and teaching strategies.  
• Linking art as closely as possible to the topic for the term, to ensure relevance and context.  
• Fostering an enjoyment and appreciation of the visual arts and a knowledge of artists, craftspeople and designers. 

• Introducing children to artists and art movements directly linked to the skills or topics they are covering.  
• Utilising a sketchbook approach, so that children feel safe to experiment and take risks. 
• Encouraging each child to evaluate their art and design work and that of others, both with peers and adults.  
• Celebrating effort, progress and achievement in art through displays, exhibitions and enrichment activities, such as trips out, collaborative art days and competitions. 

Impact

By the end of KS2, we want pupils to have learned, improved and embedded a range of artistic skills. They should have an awareness of a broad range of artists and craftspeople, and be able to consider and discuss the artworks they come across. We want our pupils to be confident to explore, experiment and take risks, placing value on the process and journey that they take, not just on the finished product. Most importantly, we want children to have found and enjoyed a creative outlet – a means of self-expression and enjoyment. 

• Our Art Curriculum is high quality, well thought out and is planned to build children’s knowledge and skills through careful progression. 
• Children are always keen to learn new skills and work hard to perfect those shown to them.
• Teachers have high expectations and quality evidence can be presented in a variety of ways.  
• The children’s art is very often cross-curricular, and helps them to express feelings and emotions in art, as well as show their knowledge and understanding in humanities.
• All children use technical vocabulary accurately and pupils are expected to know, apply and understand the matters, skills and processes specified.