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Art

Intent

Our aim is to provide an art curriculum that allows children to develop the skills that they need, to be creative and express themselves. Pupils will be exposed to a range of works and a variety of artists from around the world. This will allow them to develop their own opinions and preferences to appreciate different forms of art. Pupils will be taught key skills from the three main areas of art: drawing, painting and sculpture. We will equip pupils with key vocabulary so they can express their opinions and think critically about art that they encounter.

Implementation

At Highwood Primary School the Art curriculum Is based upon the 2014 Primary National Curriculum in England, which provides a broad framework and outlines the knowledge and skills taught in each Key Stage. The skills and knowledge that pupils will develop throughout each art topic are mapped across each year group and are progressive throughout the school. Art is taught as part of a termly topic. The emphasis on knowledge ensures that children understand the context of the artwork, as well as the artists that they are learning about and being inspired by. A similar systematic approach to the development of artistic skills means that pupils are given opportunities to express their creative imagination, as well as practise and develop mastery in the key processes of art: drawing, painting, printing, textiles and sculpture.

Before teaching each unit teachers will:

  • Plan a big piece, for the children to create at the end of the unit.
  • Assess children’s prior learning and skills to ensure they are building on previous skills.
  • Use the progression of key skills to build on learning.

During each unit teachers will:

  • Develop the pupils’ use of the language of art, craft and design, highlighting new vocabulary to pupils and displaying it for them to use.
  • Teach about great artists, craft makers and designers, and understand the historical and cultural development of their art forms.
  • Allow pupils to experiment, create, invent, and produce creative work, exploring their ideas and recording their experiences.
  • Provide pupils with opportunities to make links and use knowledge from other subjects.

At the end of each unit pupils will:

  • Evaluate their products against each other’s final product, discussing what they like and what they can improve.
  • Reflect on the skills they have learnt.

After each unit teachers will:

  • Assess children’s ability and skills.
  • Evaluate children’s products, have they used the necessary skills to complete them.

Impact

What will this look like?

Through pupil voice we will see:

  • Pupils express their passion for Art by talking enthusiastically about their learning and sharing their knowledge and understanding
  • Pupils’ ability to identify key skills that they use in lessons.
  • Pupils use appropriate art vocabulary to explain their learning and appreciation of other artist’s work.

Through learning walks we will see:

  • Pupils demonstrating their love of Art through their high levels of engagement.
  • A clear sequence of lessons that allow pupils to acquire skills to make their ‘big piece’.
  • Pupils using their skills to invent their own artistic impression.
  • Teachers providing opportunities for pupils to use a range of media to gradually build up their skills.
  • Appreciation of artist’s work in every unit.

In the pupil’s learning we will see:

  • A clear sequence of lessons that are linked to the big piece.
  • Evidence of experimenting with different media to help produce their big piece using subject specific vocabulary.
  • Scaffolded activities that allow all pupils to make progress.
  • An exposure to a range of artists across the year.
  • Draw confidently and adventurously from observation, memory and imagination.
  • Reflect on, analyse and critically evaluate their own work and that of others using the language of art.