Art Curriculum at St Eanswythe’s

Rationale and National Curriculum Coverage

Taken from the National Curriculum in England:

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‘Purpose of study:

‘Art, craft and design embody some of the highest forms of human creativity. A high-quality art and design education should engage, inspire and challenge pupils, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to experiment, invent and create their own works of art, craft and design. As pupils progress, they should be able to think critically and develop a more rigorous understanding of art and design. They should also know how art and design both reflect and shape our history, and contribute to the culture, creativity and wealth of our nation.’

Intent:

At St. Eanswythe’s we have a dedicated and passionate team of staff who value all areas of the curriculum and strive to deliver a wide range of lessons using a thorough, and holistic approach in the enabling of learning. We meet and go beyond all National Curriculum requirements for art.  We use the Primary Knowledge Curriculum (PKC) scheme to support our teaching of art. The Primary Knowledge Curriculum has been organised coherently to ensure it builds interesting and meaningful connections within and across Art, allowing children to think deeply about interesting content. This art curriculum is a knowledge rich curriculum. Knowledge, in the realm of art means knowledge not only of artists, designers, architects and their work, but of the artistic concepts that relate to their work shown in different types and styles of art, how these relate to each other in a historical context and how this affects the children’s own use of materials and development of skills. The curriculum is designed to enable children to learn by making connections between the work of artists, architects and designers (which they study critically) and their own work, which they evaluate and relate back to the works they have studied. This process is cyclical. For children following the curriculum, becoming informed about the subject discipline of art is a process that takes place alongside a growing love for the subject. Meaningful opportunities for self-expression and individual response are woven through the curriculum, giving children space to learn who they are as an artist.

Implementation:

The PKC art curriculum is designed to enable children make connections between the work of artists, architects and designers and their own work. The curriculum provides meaningful opportunities for self-expression to give children the space to learn who they are as an artist by exploring different mediums. We aim to ignite children’s love for art by giving them the ability to express themselves through drawing, painting, sculpture, printing, collage, photography and textiles. The curriculum also provides extensive opportunity for children to develop their skills in visual literacy by looking at, thinking and talking about art. 

The curriculum fulfils the requirements of the National Curriculum for England. This course of study seeks to show how art shapes our history and contributes to our national culture. It looks at key movements and historical periods including, studying art from ancient Greece and Rome, Anglo Saxon England, the Italian Renaissance, Victorian art and architecture, French Impressionism and 20th century Modernism as well as art relating to different religions and cultures such as Islamic art, art from Western Africa and Chinese painting and ceramics.

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Our Teaching Sequence:

• Ensure knowledge and skills are remembered and understood.  

• Study of an artist (which may include independent research and makes links to reading).  

• Critically evaluating the artists’ work to inform our own art work.  

• Explore the artist using known techniques in sketching and shading.  

• Experimenting and investigating with different techniques, skills and media to own art work.  

• Critically evaluate their own art work.

• Reflection and re-cap of knowledge and skills remembered and understood. 

Our Children Will:

• Engaged because they are challenged by the curriculum which they are provided with.  

• Resilient learners who overcome barriers and understand their own strengths and areas for development.  

• Able to critique their own work as an artist because they know how to be successful.  

• Safe and happy in Art lessons which give them opportunities to explore their own creative development.  

• Encouraged and nurtured to overcome any barriers to their learning or self-confidence because feedback is positive and focuses on artistic skills and knowledge.  

• Able to talk about a variety of famous artists over time.

• Develop artistic skills and confidence over time because of careful planning, focused delivery and time to practise and hone skills. 

Impact:

Assessment of art is on-going throughout a pupil’s school journey. The teaching of art is assessed by the class teacher during lessons with verbal feedback, guidance and modelling given when appropriate.   Evidence of the learning is dependent on the lesson outcome, year group and the skills and knowledge being developed. Throughout the course of the lesson the class teacher will move around the class, offering support where needed so that each child receives direct feedback and the appropriate level of challenge. Art is assessed using discussion, quizzes and includes class assessments at the end of a unit to assess their knowledge.  This is used to inform future planning and starters in lessons where pupils recap and review previous learning. Our curriculum allows pupils to feel like they have been able to make connections between the work of artists, architects and designers and their own work. Their opinions will be heard and valued. The children will be able to express their own ideas as an artist and will have explored different mediums and had experience using a wide range of resources to support them.  The impact of art lessons should leave pupils with a deeper spiritual and cultural understanding of the world. 

Pupil Voice Will Show:

• A developed understanding of the names, key works, styles and techniques of major artists at an age appropriate level  

• A secure understanding of the key techniques and methods for each key area of the art curriculum: colour, form, line, tone, texture and shape  

• A progression of understanding, with appropriate vocabulary which supports and extends understanding.

• Confidence in discussing artists, art, their own work and identifying their own strengths and areas for development.

The Curriculum Leader Will:

• Celebrate the successes of pupils through planned displays.  

• Collate appropriate evidence over time which evidences that pupils know more and remember more.  

• Monitor the standards in the subject to ensure the outcomes are at expected levels.