Intent

At Christ Church CE Primary School, we value and are dedicated to the teaching of Art and Design. We see this as a fundamental part of school life and are committed to providing an ‘Arts Rich Curriculum’ for our children. We believe that by developing this, we can contribute to the quality of our children’s lives, both within and beyond school. We see art and design as a means to support learning in a range of ways. The skills that are developed in these subjects can be transferred across the curriculum and thus aid learning. Our Art curriculum develops creativity, sets challenges, engages and inspires children and equips them with the knowledge and skills to experiment, invent and create their own works of art, craft and design. We endeavour for children to develop a range of artistic skills using a broad range of techniques and media, to develop confidence and self-expression alongside an appreciation for artists and their works. We strive for children to be inspired by trips to galleries and visits from artists to school alongside their art lessons in school.

Pupils are provided with an Art Knowledge Organiser which is also shared with parents at the beginning of each term to specify the knowledge, skills and vocabulary to be acquired and an overview of content. As school we have placed strong emphasis on the development of our Arts education and are currently working towards our Platinum Arts Mark Award through continuing to develop and enrich our arts curriculum, having already gained Gold Arts Mark status.  

Implementation

Through providing a high-quality art education which is progressive in terms of skills, knowledge and vocabulary throughout school we aim to ensure that in accordance with the National Curriculum’s expectations all pupils:

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

2. Become proficient in drawing, painting, sculpture and other art, craft and design techniques

3. Evaluate and analyse creative works using the language of art, craft and design

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

5. Be familiar with and use the language associated with an art movement and the techniques used.

Class teachers are responsible for teaching art, this is enhanced when appropriate by the involvement of professional artists to be involved in the teaching of a topic or skill. We take every opportunity to develop links with outside agencies and experts, including the local high school, in order to enrich our Art provision. Pupils are encouraged to use their imagination through a wide variety of media and manipulative skills are developed as well as an awareness of colour, texture, design and dimension.

Our Art Ambassadors give pupils the opportunity to work with our Art Subject Leader to continually develop our Art Curriculum. Pupils are encouraged to apply and embed their knowledge and skills during Arts week which culminates with a gallery for parents to attend as part of our Christ Church home-school partnership. Our Art Subject Leader also provides learning opportunities through our Arts Award Club delivered to Key Stage One and Two pupils after school, this is in addition to a range of art and craft-based clubs available to children in both key stages.

Our Art curriculum provides a clear and comprehensive scheme of work that will show progression of skills across all key stages within the strands of Art. Each year group will have two or three topics throughout the year, these will focus on different skills such as sculpture, textiles, painting with drawing and the use of sketchbooks being a focus through all topics and an important feature in developing children’s ideas and skills.

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:

1.  To use a range of materials creatively to design and make products
2.  To use drawing, painting and sculpture to develop and share their ideas, experiences and imagination
3.  To develop a wide range of art and design techniques in using colour, pattern, texture, line, shape, form and space
4.  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.     

Key stage 2

Pupils are taught to develop their techniques, including their control and their use of materials, with creativity, experimentation and an increasing awareness of different kinds of art, craft and design.

Pupils are taught:

1.  To create sketch books to record their observations and use them to review and revisit ideas
2.  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]
3.  About great artists, architects and designers in history.

Impact

Our children enjoy the self-expression that they experience in Art lessons. They are always keen to learn new skills and work hard to perfect those shown to them. The children’s art is often cross-curricular, and helps them to express feelings and emotions in art, as well as demonstrating and articulating through their learnt vocabulary, their knowledge and understanding in history, geography and science.

Through their art and design, the children are able to reach out into the community, with our pupil’s artwork proudly displayed in the local library, church, local shopping precinct, supermarket and public transport services. We hope that the children at Christ Church will thoroughly enjoy their learning in art and develop a love for the subject which continues beyond their time here at school.