Researching Art

Art Curriculum 

Intent: what does the Art and Design curriculum intend to do?

At Little Green Junior School our intention is to provide an Art Curriculum which allows children to explore their imagination, generate ideas, and acquire skills that they will require now and in the future. As stated in the National Curriculum for Art and Design, our art curriculum sets out to ‘engage, inspire and challenge’ our pupils. Children are taught the knowledge, skills and techniques that enable them to experiment, invent and create their own works of art, craft and design. Art education opens possibilities and opportunities for learners to discover themselves, their creativity, values, societies and cultures.

Implementation – how is the curriculum implemented?

The Art and Design Technology curriculum is structured to be progressive in knowledge and skills and is closely aligned to the National Curriculum Programmes of Study. Knowledge and skills are sequenced to build on prior learning. It is enhanced through our thematically linked art curriculum and this allows children to make meaningful connections across the curriculum areas.  There are a wide range of artists and cultures studied (including BAME artists) to balance the intake and provide a range of cultural viewpoints.

We want the children to develop as critical and creative thinkers and enrich, extend and consolidate learning in a variety of contexts. Through systematic and progressive planning, we intend to encourage the children to express, explore and celebrate ideas, feelings, attitudes and values. We aim to foster originality and creativity using Art as a means of communication.

Each project in art links to the relevant Topic theme for that term and is taught during the same term as that Topic. All topics  include one or more skill such as; drawing, painting, collage, sculpture or printing. Progress in these skills is built in across all year groups and skills and media are often revisited as the children move up the school.

We want to ensure that Art and Design is embedded in our whole school curriculum and that opportunities for enhancing learning by using art are always taken.

Impact – what progress will children make?

Progress in Art and Design is demonstrated through regularly reviewing children’s work, in accordance with our Art and Design skills assessment  to ensure that progression of skills is taking place.

Assessment is mostly through:

• Looking at pupils’ work, especially over time as they gain skills and knowledge

•  Observing how they perform in lessons 

• Talking to them about what they know.

Children produce work in their sketchbooks where they explore and experiment with skills and techniques, develop and plan their ideas and respond to the work of other artists and crafts people. 

The Art and Design curriculum will contribute to children’s personal development in creativity, independence, judgement and self-reflection. This would be seen in them being able to talk confidently about their work, and sharing their work with others. Progress will be shown through outcomes and through the important record of the process leading to them.