Art Curriculum

“Every child is a an artist.”

Anon

“If I could say it in words there would be no reason to paint.”

Anon

Art Lead in school – Mrs C Milne

Curriculum Intent

Learning within Art, Craft and Design develops children’s creativity and imagination.

It provides them with a unique way of perceiving themselves and expressing their understanding of the world around them.

We aim to inspire, engage and challenge children through our art curriculum by allowing them to experiment.

We want children to develop their understanding of the visual language of art through effective teaching and coherent planned sequences of lessons, enabling them to visually communicate and create their own ideas and thoughts and demonstrate their knowledge.

Curriculum Implementation

The skills and knowledge that children develop throughout each art unit (Drawing, Painting, Printmaking, Collage, Textiles, 3D) are planned from units of work from Art & Design in Suffolk Key Stages 1 & 2 scheme of work. The teaching of skills and knowledge from the Early Years Foundation Stage to Year 6 are progressive throughout the school. This enables the development of skills and gives children the opportunity to practice and develop mastery in each key discipline of art.

Each unit of work is introduced with a recap of prior learning and knowledge from previous years. This helps children to retrieve what they have learnt in the earlier sequence of the unit and ensures that new knowledge is taught in the context of previous learning to promote a shift in long term memory. Floor books are passed on each year which provides the teacher with an insight into the children’s starting point for the unit.

Each lesson is introduced with sharing of Learning Objectives and Success Criteria and teachers questions initially focus on the recall or retrieval of knowledge. Key vocabulary for the lesson is also introduced and used within the teaching and learning. This allows the children to respond to the formal visual elements of art (line, shape, space, form, tone, texture, pattern, colour, composition) in their own work and the work of artists, craftspeople and designers. 

Within lessons teachers model and scaffold skills and techniques, supporting children where necessary to enable all children to make progress.

All children in Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 have their own sketchbook. Children in Early Years use Floor books. These are used as an effective record of their personal thinking and learning, where they can express, explore, observe, invent and develop their ideas and understanding.

Curriculum Impact

Progression across the school allows children to grow in confidence in art and promotes increasing independence. Their repertoire of technical skills and techniques are extended and built upon each year and they gain increasing knowledge and understanding of art and artists, craftspeople and designers, which they apply to their own work. 

The consistent use of sketchbooks means that children are able to review, modify and develop their ideas in order to achieve and extend their thinking and learning.