Art and Design

Our Intent

Our school vision is at the heart of St Mary’s Art Curriculum, aspiring for all our children to flourish and to empower our children to let their light shine in all they do.  We aim to inspire pupils and develop their confidence to experiment and invent their own works of art. We want to give pupils the opportunity to develop their ability, nurture their talent and interest, express their ideas and thoughts about the world, as well as learning about rich heritage and culture. We aim for our children to grow into responsible people who can positively contribute to their school community and beyond, as well as work co-operatively with others developing a continued love for learning, inspiring our children to create, experience, and participate in great arts and culture.

Our Implementation

Our Art and design teaching units are designed with four strands that run throughout.

These are:

• Making skills
• Formal elements (line, shape, tone, texture, pattern, colours)
• Knowledge of artists
• Evaluating

These strands are revisited in every unit. In our Art and design skills and our Formal elements of art units, pupils have the opportunity to learn and practise skills discretely. The knowledge and skills from these units are then applied throughout the other units. Key skills are revisited again and again with increasing complexity in a spiral curriculum model. This allows pupils to revise and build on their previous learning.

Pupil’s knowledge and understanding of key artist and art movements are developed through the Every Picture Tells A Story units and links to artists through practical work. Creativity and independent outcomes are robustly embedded, supporting children in learning to to make their own creative choices and decisions, so that their art outcomes, whilst still being knowledge-rich, are unique to the pupil and personal,

Lessons are always practical in nature and encourage experimental and exploratory learning with key stage 2 pupils using sketchbooks to document their ideas. Every lesson can be accessed and enjoyed by all pupils and opportunities to stretch pupils’ learning are available. Knowledge organisers for each unit support pupils in building a foundation of factual knowledge by encouraging recall of facts and vocabulary.

An Art and design unit is scheduled each term, alternating with Design Technology to create a combined programmed. Each half term an Art Week is timetabled to allow children a fully immersive experience of the subject. Throughout the term the teachers create opportunities for children to use their Art skills across the curriculum.

Our Impact

Children are involved in the evaluation, dialogue and decision making about the quality of their outcomes and the improvements they need to make. By taking part in regular discussions and decision-making processes, children will not only know facts and key information about art, but they will be able to talk confidently about their own learning journey, have higher metacogntive skills and have a growing understanding of how to improve.

Teachers constantly monitor through both formative and summative assessment opportunities. Each unit has a unit quiz and knowledge catcher which can be used at the start and/or end of the unit.

St Mary’s pupils will leave school equipped with a range of techniques and the confidence and creativity to form a strong foundation for their Art and design learning and secondary school and beyond.

The expected impact is that our children will:

• Produce creative work, exploring and recording their ideas and experiences.
• Be proficient in drawing, painting, sculpture and other art, craft and design techniques.
• Evaluate and analyse creative works using subject-specific language.
• Know about great artists and the historical and cultural development of their art.
• Meet the end of keystage expectations outlined in the National curriculum for Art and design.

Curriculum Information

Art & Design Progression of Skills