Art and Design

Art and Design Curriculum Statement

Aiming High Together

Intent

At Lowton West Primary School, we believe that high-quality art and design education should engage, inspire and challenge our children. We aim to equip children with the knowledge and skills to experiment, invent and create their own works of art, craft and design. Throughout their learning journey, children should be able to think critically and develop a more rigorous understanding of art and design. As artists, they should also know how art and design both reflects and shapes our history, and contributes to the culture, creativity and wealth of our nation. The Arts engage students in a journey of discovery, experimentation and problem-solving, utilising techniques, technologies, practices and processes. Learning in the Arts leads students to become increasingly confident and proficient in achieving their personal forms of expression, appreciating and valuing that of others. By the time children leave school, we aim for children to not only have developed an enjoyment of using a range of art materials but to also have developed an appreciation of some of the great artists.

Implementation

Throughout their time at school, children develop their artistic skills in 6 key areas: drawing, painting, collage, 3D form, print and textiles, ensuring they cover a range of these in each year group. Details of topics covered in each year group can be found in the well-planned art long term plan, which ensures key skills are covered and recovered throughout Key Stage One and Two. As well as developing these key skill areas, children also have many opportunities to apply their art skills in many other curriculum areas. Children also have opportunities to work on individual pieces and collaborative pieces of art work across the year groups. As artists, children develop and progress their creative skills throughout their time at school, whilst developing a variety of artistic skills through using a wide variety of art materials. Children progress their own skills in drawing, painting and sculpture as they move through the Key Stages, exploring the use of colour, shape and texture in art. Children also have the opportunity to learn about and discuss the work of other known artists or art movements, linked closely to cross-curricular topics wherever possible, in order to further embed long term content and knowledge. We will equip children with the language and skills needed to talk about famous artwork and artists and make links between these and their own work. Children use sketchbooks throughout their time at school. This allows them to develop skills of experimenting with different ideas and techniques and evaluating their own work, with the opportunity to revisit their ideas. Our children’s artwork is celebrated throughout school, with high quality displays in classrooms and around school, with children developing pride in their own artwork and achievements.

Impact

Children become artists - creative learners, who have a web of knowledge about culture and the great artists of the world. Creativity and uniqueness is celebrated and children become astute at editing and improving the pieces they have created. As teachers, an emphasis is placed on individuality and children are given the freedom to explore art using their imaginations. Children have embedded the key art and design skills needed to allow them to produce inventive pieces of art. We also use pupil voice to measure and monitor the impact of the art curriculum on pupils.

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