Art and Design Curriculum Statement

• Acorn Art & Design 

Empowering Learners...Growing Minds

We aim to...

 

​​​​​​​Empowering Learners 

• Ensure children understand that art is about expression and allow them to express their own style and ideas in their work.
• To instil a life-long love of art in a variety of different forms encouraging and nurturing talent and interests.

 

Growing Minds

• Deliver an ambitious art curriculum that encourages exploratory journeys, working towards varied and individual outcomes.
• Introduce children to a range of artists from different periods of history and cultures to study their crat and use their work as inspiration.
• Explicitly teach and develop skills in different areas of art and ensure these skills are developed
• To develop children’s critical skills through the analysis and evaluation of their own work and others.

 

Intent

The Arts are immeasurably important. They allow children a means to communicate, to express themselves, and to explore their creativity. They help us to connect with other people and contribute to a vibrant creative society. With that understanding of the value of the Arts, at Kidsgrove, we want all children the opportunity to explore their own creativity, communication, and expression through Art & Design.

Our aim is to inspire pupils and develop their confidence to experiment and invent their own works of art. We aim to give pupils every opportunity to develop their ability, nurture their talent and interests, express their ideas and thoughts about the world, as well as learning about art and artists across cultures and through history. Our art and design curriculum, supports pupils to meet the national curriculum end of key stage attainment targets.

 

Implementation 

In EYFS, objectives have been taken from the Early Years Framework. With the most relevant areas being Physical Development and Expressive Arts and Design. Then, in regard to the ELG, Physical Development is focused on Fine Motor Skills and Expressive Arts and Design is focused on Creating with Materials.

In KS1 and KS2, we use the KAPOW Primary scheme of work to support teaching and learning within Art and Design.

Our art curriculum splits art and design into the following skills areas:

• Generating ideas
• Using sketchbooks
• Makings skills, including formal elements (line, shape, tone, texture, pattern, colour)
• Knowledge of artists
• Evaluating and analysing

Units of lessons are sequential, allowing children to build their skills and knowledge, applying them to a range of outcomes. The formal elements, a key part of the national curriculum, are also woven throughout 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. Units in each year group are organised into four core areas:

• Drawing
• Painting and mixed-media
• Sculpture and 3D
• Craft and design

Each unit of work is mapped out against the National Curriculum to ensure coverage of each of the National Curriculum attainment targets as well as each of the strands. Our progression of knowledge and skills document shows the skills that are taught within each year group and how these skills develop to ensure that attainment targets are securely met by the end of each key stage. It also shows how knowledge builds in the formal elements of Art. Each unit of work is fully scaffolded and supports age-appropriate sequenced learning. Creativity and independent outcomes are robustly embedded into our units, supporting students in learning how to make their own creative choices and decisions, so that their art outcomes, whilst still being knowledge-rich, are unique to the pupils.

Within our art curriculum, 3 lessons are always practical in nature and encourage experimental and exploratory learning with pupils using sketchbooks to document their ideas. Teachers use extra scaffold where appropriate and are mindful of how to stretch pupils learning, so that learning can be accessed and enjoyed by all pupils.

When learning in art, children have access to Knowledge organisers, which support pupils by providing a highly visual record of the key knowledge and techniques learned, encouraging recall of skills processes, key facts and vocabulary.

To support teachers, who may lack confidence in their own artistic ability, we use pupil videos created by subject specialists help pupils to see art techniques modelled by experts, to ensure the delivery of Art is of the highest quality. Teachers are also able to access multiple teacher videos to develop subject knowledge and support ongoing CPD.

Art and Design is taught every other half term, in a rotation with Design and

Technology. It is timetabled for 1 hour weekly, with blocked afternoons in the final week of a half term, where more time is given, to allow for more complex final pieces.

 

Impact 

The impact of our curriculum is constantly monitored through both formative and summative assessment opportunities.

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 metacognitive skills and have a growing understanding of how to improve.

 

Art and Design Documents