Mrs T Curtis - Art and Design Coordinator 

‘Art has the role in Education of helping children become like themselves instead of more like everyone else’ – Sydney Gurewitz Clemens

I strongly believe that Art and Design provides children with the opportunity to engage their senses whilst also helping to develop their cognitive, social-emotional and multisensory skills. It is such a fun and exciting topic and surrounds us everywhere! I love the fact that each child’s interpretation or creation can be so wonderfully different and the fantastic sense of achievement they gain when they see their creations come to life!  

At St Margaret’s, we believe in the importance of embedding creativity in our pupils. Through Art and Design our school engages, inspires and challenges all pupils, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to experiment, invent and create their own works of art, craft and design. Our aim is for our pupils to engage in critical thinking and develop a deeper understanding of art and design throughout their school career. Whilst developing a knowledge of how art and design both reflect and shape our history, and contribute to the culture and creativity in our lives.

Intent:

Our intent for Art and Design at St Margaret’s Primary School is that children are able to use their creativity to interpret and respond to the world around them. Children will be given opportunities to explore their own creativity through experimental and practical skill work. Lessons aim to be informative, inspiring and fun. Children will see practical demonstrations to give them confidence and knowledge to perform these skills and how these skills can be applied through examples of others.

Aims:

The national curriculum for art aims to ensure that all pupils:

• produce creative work, exploring their ideas and recording their experiences

• become proficient in drawing, painting, sculpture and other art, craft and design technique

• evaluate and analyse creative works using the language of art, craft and design

• know about great artists, craft makers and designers, and understand the historical and cultural development of their art forms.

Implementation:

At St Margaret’s Art and Design is taught across each year group in blocked units that enable pupils to study in depth the key skills, understanding and vocabulary. Each unit aims to activate and build on prior learning, including EYFS, to ensure better cognition and retention. Each unit is carefully sequenced to allow for prior learning to be built upon and skills to be practiced and advanced.

In Key Stage 1 children will begin exploring a range of different materials, developing gross motor skills and begin to make critical choices taking ownership of their art. They will explore artistic skills such as drawing, painting, printmaking, textiles, collage and working with 3D materials. Children will be introduced to artistic vocabulary and begin talking about using colour, pattern, texture, line, shape, form and space. Children will be introduced to a range of artists, craft makers and designers and begin exploring their work through study, working in the style of and discussing similarities and differences among artists work. 

In Key Stage 2 children will revisit areas from KS1 with a focus on refining their skills. They will explore artistic skills such as drawing, painting, printmaking, textiles, collage and working with 3D materials and put these skills to use in creative responses and final pieces, showcasing their skills. Children will continue to make critical choices taking ownership of their art explaining the reasoning for their choices. Children will become fluent in using the vocabulary of the artistic elements and be able to use them to describe both their own work and the work of other artists. Children will be explore the work of a range of artists, learning about the history and background of artists and how this influenced their work.

To ensure we meet the needs of every child we assign our TA’s to children who may require support with vocabulary or practical skills. Children can also be paired with children who are more confident so they can learn through observation, imitation and modelling. As teachers, we ensure that all activities are carefully modelled and that any resources are adapted where necessary.

Impact:

We want children to leave St Margaret’s School, securely at age expectation, in art & design. This is evidenced through the core concepts:

1. Inspiration- I am an artist because I know about the work of a range of other artists, past and present, by whom I am inspired.
2. Experiment- I am an artist because I develop my artistic skills through a range of tools, effects and materials.
3. Create- I am an artist because I express myself, create and evaluate art through my understanding of different artists and a range of techniques.

Assessment:

Assessment will take a number of forms:

• Verbal feedback during lessons including self-evaluation.
• Quick review open-ended questions at start/ end of lessons linked to previous learning and units including making links with other subject areas.
• Written feedback in books using our school marking scheme to assess whether the child is working at the age expected level.
• Peer feedback during lesson times.