Art and Design

Art and Design

Art at St Oswald's

Intent

At St. Oswald’s RC Primary School, we want our children to love art, craft and design!

We want them to have no limits to what their ambitions are and to grow up wanting to be illustrators, graphic designers, fashion designers, curators, architects or printmakers. Our Art curriculum is designed to engage, inspire and challenge pupils, whilst equipping them with the knowledge and skills to be able to experiment, invent and create their own works of art. As pupils progress, they should gain a deeper understanding of how Art and Design reflects and shapes our history, and how it contributes to the culture, creativity and wealth of our world. We want to equip our children with not only the minimum statutory requirements of the Art and Design National Curriculum but to prepare them for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life. We want our children to use the local area as inspiration, to learn from other cultures and to respect diversity.

Implementation

Art and design is taught as part of a termly topic, focusing on knowledge and skills stated in the National Curriculum. It is taught in every year group and teachers are given the flexibility of how to deliver art by ensuring they cover 1 ½ hours per fortnight. This allows teachers to be flexible with their deliver of art. Teachers plan lessons for their class using our progression of knowledge and skills document. The progression document ensures the curriculum is covered and the skills/knowledge taught is progressive from year group to year group. The emphasis on knowledge ensures that children can begin to explore their opinions of art and understand the context of the artwork, as well as the artists, architects and designers that they are learning about and being inspired by. A similar focus on skills means that children are given opportunities to express their creative imagination, as well as practice and develop mastery in the key processes of art: drawing, painting, printing, collage and sculpture. Children’s knowledge and skills are built upon over a sequence of lessons which lead to a final piece.

Each child has a sketchbook. We give the child ownership of their sketchbook in order to foster their sense of creativity. Children use their sketchbooks to make initial sketches, develop skills, record ideas and develop opinions. At St. Oswald’s we want our children to develop their own ideas, learn from mistakes and explore their creativity. To achieve this, we use sketchbooks as a reflection of their own ideas, exploration and creativity.

Throughout the artistic journey, every child is given the opportunity to learn the skills of drawing, painting, printing, sculpture and digital art through the exploration of an initial key artist, craft maker or designer and their work.

Through in-depth discussion, the pupils explore how their art can share commonalities with famous art and use subject-specific vocabulary to discuss key artworks and their own work.

In the development of confident art critics, the pupils share their opinions and make informed observations about what will improve their own practical work.

Cross-curricular links are promoted to allow all children to deepen their understanding across the curriculum, including the use of technology, and artworks from year group specific historical, geographical and scientific contexts.

Opportunities for children to visit local art galleries and museums are planned for, as well as visits from local artists.

Teachers follow a clear progression of skills which ensures all pupils are challenged in line with their year group expectations and are given the opportunity to build on their prior knowledge.

Opportunities to reflect and develop, including through the use of sketchbooks, and chances for self and peer-assessment are planned into each unit of study in KS1 and KS2.

To support teaching, staff access a range of resources and planning.

Impact

Our Art and Design curriculum will lead pupils to be enthusiastic Art and Design learners, evidenced in a range of ways, including pupil voice, their final pieces and sketchbooks. We ensure that children who are achieving well, as well as those who need additional support, are identified, and additional provision and strategies are planned in and discussed with class teachers. Achievements are celebrated in classrooms during walking-galleries and corridor displays, and by building in increasing connections with local galleries, we aim to develop our future artists and their appreciation of the art around them.

EYFS

Within EYFS, through Expressive Art and Design, children are encouraged to explore different media, explore how media can be combined to create different effects and develop a range of skills and techniques experimenting with colour, design, texture, form and function. Children are given daily access to a range of creative opportunities and enjoy our carefully planned and well-resourced creative areas both indoors and out. Children are encouraged to create on both small and large scales and our outdoor environment supports this well. Children are encouraged to develop their communication and language skills through talking about their creations and sharing these with others to build confidence and raise self-esteem.