Art
Our Art Intent Statement:
"To inspire pupils to use their creative curiosity to explore materials, techniques and artisits to express themselves artistically using their new skills and muses."
Miss Thomas Art Lead
Curriculum Design: Sequencing and Progression
At St James the Great Academy we use Kapow (aligning with the National Curriculum) to provide the foundation of our curriculum.
The curriculum map is designed in such a way that children are able to build on their prior learning from previous years. Art and design skills are revisited and consolidated throughout each art and design topic and are applied to a range of media. This creates a foundation for pupils to develop their own creativity through skills learnt previously and an outlook on art in the wider world, as well as giving them an awareness of different concepts throughout history and modern culture.
How Art and Design is taught at SJTG
At SJTG we alternate the teaching of Art and Design with Design and technology. An Art unit is taught once every half term. We teach the four Art and Design Kapow units per year group that give the best overall skills coverage when combined with the Design and technology units.
In the Early Years, children experience art through play, exploring how they can use different materials and techniques to express their ideas and create art and design objects. Units also link closely with the Seasons.
In year 1-6, children's Art lessons run for a whole afternoon. In each unit, they explore the new skill through viewing and appraising examples of artworks and designs, as well as being introduced to focus artists and designers. Then, the children experience new techniques and skills to be able to plan for a final masterpiece that they make, display and evaluate.
Art units are matched as close as possible to topics that the children are learning at that time.
Each Art unit is divided into four core areas, repeated in each year group. Children are given opportunities to develop mastery by revisiting core subject knowledge and applying that knowledge practically in a range of contexts with growing complexity.
Using the aims from the National Curriculum there are five strands which run throughout the Kapow scheme of work.
Lessons within KS1 & KS2 follow this structure:
Key vocabulary is introduced and pre taught at the beginning of the lesson. Children are then encouraged to use this during the lesson when annotating in sketch books. This key vocabulary is also displayed on class working walls.
Key artists are introduced and children are given the opportunity to learn facts about them.
Questioning is used throughout the lesson to break up teacher talk. Plenty of 'turn and talk' opportunities are given.
Cross curricular links/interleaving with other subjects and opportunities to recall previous learning are given.
Sketch book expectations are revisited frequently and teachers model high expectations and quality art work.
Children are given enough time to complete their work to a high standard.
Children are encouraged to explore and experiment.
A plenary at the end of the lesson involves comparing artists and their skills and styles of work.
Our remarkable Art Curriculum in action...
Nursery
Sun catchers
Reception
Weaving Easter baskets
Year 1
Sculpture - creating a spider
Year 2
Colour and texture collages
Year 3
Making papyrus paper and Egyptian inspired drawing.
Year 4
Pop Art using technology
Year 5
Monet inspired Asian landscape paintings
Year 6
Chiaroscuro technique - Using light and dark to create form and impact.
Wider Art Experiences
Year 6 visited the National Gallery this term.
Sky Arts Week 2023
Sky Arts believe there is an artform out there for everyone and are excited to help people find it. They have joined forces with leading artists and art organisations to help bring the arts to every child in every primary school across the UK and Ireland.
Access All Arts week is a nationwide, week-long celebration of the arts, specially designed for primary schools. Between 19 – 23 June 2023 we took our pupils on a creative adventure. The theme was identity and pupils were encouraged to use the arts to explore their own individuality and what makes each one of us unique. The children had a fantastic week exploring Art through sounds, marks, words, images and moves.
.
