Art & Design

Intent Statement

At Buckshaw Primary School we provide high quality art education that is fully inclusive to every child. Our aim is to ensure that art and design engages and inspires pupils and fosters interest and enjoyment in art. We ensure that our art curriculum enables pupils to express their own creativity and giving them the knowledge and skills to experiment, explore, create their own works of art and analyse works of art, using vocabulary specific to art and design. 

As pupils progress through each year, they will develop their substantive knowledge of art forms, building on techniques of drawing and painting, sculpture, textiles, collage and printing. Children will also experiment with digital media using technology to create and present art and design in technological ways. This knowledge will also be underpinned with the study of famous artists as well as links to history and culture to develop their understanding of art forms through the ages whilst developing their cultural capital. Built into each unit is also a development of disciplinary and procedural knowledge, where children will build on art theory, techniques and media and materials to compare art forms from prior learning.

At Buckshaw we believe that Art and Design contributes to our school’s values of perseverance and creativity and promotes confidence, independent learning and resilience in risk taking and decision making and provides children with skills that can be applied across the curriculum.

Implementation

At Buckshaw Primary School the teaching and implementation of art and design is based on the National Curriculum, and is delivered through skills-based approach. The teaching of art and design is designed with emphasis on developing pupil’s skills and understanding each year, to ensure that we implement a progressive curriculum throughout school. Art and Design is carefully planned for to ensure that pupil’s prior learning is considered and knowledge and skills are developed as pupils move through school.

In the Foundation Stage Art and Design is outlined in the Development Matters under Expressive Arts and Design. Children have free access to a range of media and materials in continuous provision. Within the indoor and outdoor environment children are provided with the opportunity to experience a combination of adult-led and child-initiated learning experiences, independently and with adult support. A focus artist is included in each terms planning, from which children produce artwork reflecting the style of the artist. Children sing songs, make music and dance and use what they have learnt about media and materials in original ways. Children are given the opportunity to experiment with colour, design, texture, form and function. They are also encouraged to represent their own ideas, thoughts and feelings through design and technology, art, music, dance, role play and stories.

Key Stage 1 and 2 pupils are taught a lesson of art a week, in order to ensure progression and skills development. The lesson should be at least 40 minutes in duration. Alongside this Art and Design is also taught using a cross-curricular approach. In KS1 pupils are exposed to a range of materials and taught to use them creatively to design and make products. Children are taught to develop a wide range of art and design techniques in using colour, pattern, texture, line, shape, form and space. As well as this, pupils use drawing, painting and sculpture to develop and share their ideas and experiences about the work of a range of artists, craft makers and designers, describing the differences and similarities between different practices and disciplines, and making links to their own work.

In KS2 pupils build on learning from KS1, so that they are able to develop techniques, control and use of materials, with creativity, experimentation and an increasing awareness of different kinds of art, craft and design. Pupils use sketch books to record observations and use them to review and revisit ideas. Skills and techniques that are developed in KS1 are further improved within art and design, including drawing, painting and sculpture with a range of materials. In KS2 pupils learn about great artists, architects and designers in history in line with the skills that they are learning to develop. As well as current artists and artists throughout history, pupils will learn about artists that are local to the area. Pupils experience of visits from different artists to engage them and extend their experience of art and design. Art and design presents strong cross-curricular links and this is planned for throughout other areas of the National Curriculum, such as Geography and History, enabling pupils to construct meaning based on their own experiences.

Impact

Formative assessment is used to support teaching and learning and inform future planning. The class teacher will also assess the children’s progress in Art based on their achievement of the learning objectives in lessons. At the end of each academic year children will meet age related expectations if they have gained the expected knowledge, understanding and skills. In the Foundation Stage children’s artwork is included in Learning Journeys and recorded through observation. Coverage of skills is monitored across all key stages through highlighting skills that have been covered in each class. A record of this is kept by the subject leader. Assessments for Art and Design are stored in a folder under the Teacher’s Shared Drive. The monitoring of Art and Design is the responsibility of the subject leader. This is carried out through classroom observations, discussions with class teachers around the teaching and assessment of art and monitoring achievement and progress through assessment data. The subject leader will also carry out pupil voice questionnaires to gather feedback from children around the subject.

Curriculum Overview
Relevant policies