Curriculum Intent

At Park House Primary School we are committed to providing all children with learning opportunities to engage in Art. We believe children at all stages of development should be enabled to reach their full potential and enjoy the progression of their artistic confidence and skills.

The purpose of our Art and Design education is to give pupils the skills, concepts and knowledge necessary for them to be able to express their responses to ideas and experiences in a visual or tactile form. The subject is a fundamental means of self-expression and exploration, with all pupils having the opportunity to respond creatively as their imagination is sparked.

While it is essentially a practical subject, art and design will provide opportunities for reflection and, with increasing sensitivity, pupils should acquire the ability to make informed, critical responses to their own work and to that of others.

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.

By the end of each key stage, pupils are expected to know, apply and understand the matters, skills and processes specified in the relevant programme of study. 

Curriculum Implementation

To implement Art and Design, Park House Primary School use Kapow Art. The scheme of work is designed with five strands that run throughout. These are:

• Generating ideas
• Using sketchbooks
• Making skills, including formal elements (line, shape, tone, texture, pattern, colour)
• Knowledge of artists
• Evaluating and analysing

Units of lessons are sequential, allowing children to build their skills and knowledge, applying them to a range of outcomes. The formal elements, a key part of the National Curriculum, are also woven throughout units. Key skills are revisited again and again with increasing complexity in a spiral curriculum model. This allows pupils to revise and build on their previous learning.

Units in each year group are organised into four core areas:

• Drawing
• Painting and mixed-media
• Sculpture and 3D
• Craft and design

The National curriculum mapping shows which units cover each of the National curriculum attainment targets as well as each of the strands. The Progression of knowledge and skills shows the skills that are taught within each year group and how these skills develop to ensure that attainment targets are securely met by the end of each key stage. The units fully scaffold and support essential and age appropriate, sequenced learning. Creativity and independent outcomes are robustly embedded into the units, supporting students in learning how to make their own creative choices and decisions, so that their art outcomes, whilst still being knowledge-rich, are unique to the pupil and personal.

Lessons are always practical in nature and encourage experimental and exploratory learning with pupils using sketchbooks to document their ideas. Lessons are taught in three blocks across the year. Pupils are given constructive feedback and next steps, with further opportunities to create art and improve their work, to ensure that skills are being developed. Art work is displayed in classrooms and around school, so pupils can be proud of their achievements. Photographic evidence is also recorded and displayed in books.

Early Years Foundation Stage

Pupils explore and use a variety of media and materials through a combination of child initiated and adult directed activities.  They have opportunities to learn to:

• Explore the textures, movement, feel and look of different media and materials
• Respond to a range of media and materials, develop their understanding of them in order to manipulate and create different effects.
• Use different media and materials to express their own ideas
• Explore colour and use for a particular purpose
• Develop skills to use simple tools and techniques competently and appropriately
• Select appropriate media and techniques and adapt their work where necessary

Key Stage 1

Pupils are taught:

• To use a range of materials creatively to design and make products
• To use drawing, painting and sculpture to develop and share their ideas, experiences and imagination
• To develop a wide range of art and design techniques in using colour, pattern, texture, line, shape, form and space
• About the work of a range of artists, craft-makers and designers, describing the difference and similarities between different practices and disciplines, and making links to their own work.

Key Stage 2

Pupils are taught:

• To create sketch books to record their observations and use them to review and revisit ideas
• To improve their mastery of art and design techniques, including drawing, painting and sculpture with a range of materials ( for example, pencil, charcoal, paint, clay)
• About great artists, architects and designers in history.

Curriculum Impact

Our Art and Design curriculum is designed in such a way that children are involved in evaluation, dialogue and decision making about the quality of their outcomes and the improvements they need to make. By taking part in our regular discussions and decision making processes, children will not only know facts and key information about art, but they will be able to talk confidently about their own learning journey, have higher metacognitive skills and have a growing understanding of how to improve.

The impact of our Art and Design curriculum is constantly monitored through both formative and summative assessment opportunities. Formative assessment is used to inform the next steps/lesson. Summative assessment is tracked using ITrack. Age-related expectation levels are reported to parents throughout the year (2 x informal and 1 x formal reports). Children in the Foundation Stage are assessed with Expressive Arts and Design and their progress is tracked using ITrack.  Age related expectation levels are reported to parents at the end of the reception year.

Park House pupils will leave primary school equipped with a range of techniques and the confidence and creativity to form a strong foundation for their Art and Design learning at Key Stage 3 and beyond.

The expected impact of our Art and design scheme of work is that children will:

★ Produce creative work, exploring and recording their ideas and experiences.

★ Be proficient in drawing, painting, sculpture and other art, craft and design techniques.

★ Evaluate and analyse creative works using subject-specific language.

★ Know about great artists and the historical and cultural development of their art.

★ Meet the end of key stage expectations outlined in the National curriculum for Art and design.