To give all children the opportunity to enjoy and appreciate the visual arts and to broaden their horizons. Through Art and Design lessons we encourage children to build upon their creative skills and support them in developing critical and innovative thinking. 

St Helen’s Primary Academy’s Art and Design and curriculum aims to inspire inquisitive pupils and develop their confidence to experiment, invent and be innovative with their own works of art. The curriculum is designed to be inclusive for all and give pupils every opportunity to develop their ability, nurture their talent and interests, express their ideas and thoughts about the world, as well as learning about the rich heritage culture of the British Isles and beyond. 

St Helen’s Primary Academy’s curriculum supports pupils to meet the National curriculum end of key stage attainment targets and has been written to cover the National Society for Education in art and design’s progression competencies.

The knowledge of the curriculum is broken down into the following key strands which cover all aspects of the national curriculum: making skills, using sketchbooks, generating ideas, knowledge of artists and evaluating and analysing.

These are covered under the four main areas of teaching:

o   Drawing- Children explore mark making in all it’s forms, experimenting with line, tone and textures and using a wide range of materials. They also learn how artists develop their ideas using drawings.

o   Painting and mixed media- Children develop painting skills including colouring mixing, painting on a range of surfaces and with different tools. Children also explore the interplay between different media within an artwork.

o   Sculpture and 3D- Children will investigate way to express their ideas in three-dimensions while using a variety of materials to achieve an outcome.

o   Craft and design- Children will design and make art for different purposes, considering how this works in different industries Children will also learn new making techniques comparing these and making decisions about which to use to achieve a particular outcome.

St Helen’s Primary Academy’s Art and Design and curriculum is planned to demonstrate progression with knowledge and understanding and the development of skills. The impact of the Art and Design curriculum will be monitored by:

o   Pupil/Teacher discussions about their learning.

o   The children enjoy and value the subject and know why they are learning about a certain skill, artist etc.

o   Reflections on how well the children have achieved the outcomes of the skill or project (tracking spreadsheet).

o   Opportunities for self and peer evaluation.

Micro level - Formative assessment (Task by task) 

Ongoing AFL during lessons through: 

- Eliciting information through questioning and dialogue 

- Providing feedback with clear direction on how to improve 

- Helping children to understand how to become successful (criteria) 

Meso level - Lesson by lesson assessment 

- Knowledge checks at the start of the lesson to ensure children are remembering more content and vocabulary over time

- ‘Do now’ retrieval quizzes at the start of every lesson to recall key content and vocabulary from previous lesson

Macro level - End of unit

End of unit assessment based around content and knowledge taught throughout the unit. 

End of unit masterpiece of art to promote creativity and use of taught skills and knowledge 

Data analysis to inform future planning and coverage. 

Mega level - Standardised test 

No Standardised tests are in place for the Art Curriculum

Art club will take place every Thursday for EYFS, KS1 and KS2 children.  Art club will give your child to experience the formal elements of  art while giving opportunities to develop their own creativity and learn about different artists.