Art and Design
Intent
At Chalfont St Peter CofE Academy, we value Art and Design as an important part of the children’s entitlement to a broad and balanced curriculum. Art and Design provides the children with the opportunities to develop and extend skills and an opportunity to express their individual interests, thoughts and ideas. Our art curriculum is fully inclusive and accessible to every child.
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.
Our Art curriculum provides children with opportunities to develop their skills using a range of media and materials. Children learn the skills of drawing, painting, printing, collage, textiles, 3D work and digital art and are given the opportunity to explore and evaluate different creative ideas. Our pupils are introduced to a range of works and develop knowledge of the styles and vocabulary used by famous artists.
The skills that our pupils acquire are applied to their cross-curricular topics, allowing children to use their art skills to reflect on and explore topics in greater depth; for example, by sketching historical artefacts in detail, or using art as a medium to express emotion and thought to enhance their personal, social and emotional development. Many areas of art link with mathematical ideas of shape and space; such as when printing repeating patterns and designs and thinking about 3D shapes to support structures.
It is paramount that art work be purposeful; be this as a means of expression or to explore the styles of other artists that inspire our own work. Our pupils are clear what the intended outcomes are and have a means to measure their own work against this. Our pupils are also encouraged to take risks, experiment and then reflect on why some ideas and techniques are successful or not for a particular project. They are also encouraged to talk critically about works of art that are presented to them and to identify what and why they like and dislike elements of an artist’s work.
In lessons children are encouraged to be reflective and evaluate their own work too, thinking about how they can make changes and keep improving. Teaching staff ensure this is meaningful and continuous throughout the process.
Sketchbooks are used to record and develop and experiment with skills taught in years 3-6.
Aims
The national curriculum for art and design 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 techniques
- 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
The art subject leader will provide all staff with information to support knowledge and skills ensuring all teaching staff feel supported and knowledgeable in delivering the art curriculum.
Children will be taught about key artists from a particular movement. They will explore the biographical detail of the artists and designers and how this may have informed their work. Our art and design teaching instils an appreciation and enjoyment of the visual arts. Art and design stimulates imagination and creativity; involving children in a range of visual, tactile and sensory experiences, which enable them to communicate what they see, think and feel through the use of the elements of colour, texture, form and pattern. Art and design promotes careful observation and an appreciation of the world around us. Through learning about the roles and functions of art, they can explore the impact it has had on contemporary life and on different periods and cultures.
To ensure progression within Art lessons - Children will be expected to mirror or recreate key works of art with some artistic decision being made so it differs from the original.
Vertical links are visible through repeated media and styles of painting. Teachers of art ensure our pupil’s learning is engaging, broad and balanced. A variety of teaching approaches are used based on the teacher’s judgement.
Teachers use both formative and summative assessment. At the beginning of each year all pupils complete a self portrait and at the end of each year they complete a still life piece of art. This evidence is collated by the art subject leader.
Children showing extensive aptitude in art and design will be placed on our schools gifted and talented register. These children will be selected for appropriate enrichment opportunities throughout the year.
Sketchbooks provide children with the opportunity to develop their skills and ideas. Teachers set a learning objective, children then have ownership on how they express and experiment using skills taught. Using peer assessment and discussion to support progression.
Specific themed arts weeks provide our pupils with the opportunity to delve in greater depth into a topic, exploring this with different teachers from across the school and also outside visitors, past examples have included willow sculpting and Chinese lantern making. Educational visits are another opportunity for the teachers to plan for additional art learning outside the classroom. At Chalfont St Peter CofE Academy , the children have had many opportunities to experience art and design on educational visits. The children have, for example, explored art galleries, museums and created sculptures in the woods at Ashridge.
Impact
Our Art Curriculum is high quality, well thought out and is planned to demonstrate progression. If children are keeping up with the curriculum, they are deemed to be making good or better progress. Pupils will retain knowledge about their focus artists for each unit of work and will understand what being an ‘artist’ means.
In addition, we measure the impact of our curriculum through the following methods:
A reflection on standards achieved against the planned outcomes;
Pupil discussions about their learning, which includes discussion of their thoughts, ideas, processing and evaluations of work. Ongoing informal assessments take place throughout the year. Teachers use this information to inform future lessons, ensuring children are supported and challenged appropriately. Completion of an annual self portrait and still life piece by every pupil. Sketchbooks also follow our pupils through the school, so year on year progression can be seen within the book from Year 3 to 6.