Art Curriculum Report 

Length of Visit: Half a day in school plus preparation and report writing

Purpose of Visit: To review the Art and Design provision using elements of the deep dive methodology. 

This visit consisted of:

• - A discussion with and presentation by the art and design subject leader about the curriculum intent, implementation and impact

• - A learning walk to some classrooms to see art and design provision in practice

• - A discussion with children from years 3 and 6 about their learning in art and design

• - A review of information of the school website and documentation shared by the school relating to art and design,

Main observations

Main Observations

The school has a highly skilled and experienced practitioner leading the curriculum for art and design, with an exceptional level of subject knowledge. This has enabled confidence in leading the curriculum in a creative but cohesive manner. There is a robust approach to school self-evaluation. The art and design leader has a clear view of existing strengths in the art and design provision and an appropriate and accurate view of what requires further development. This is well represented in the art development plan.

The role of the art and design leader consists of supporting the teaching and learning of art for children at the school, through a well planned and resourced curriculum. A high priority has been developing the knowledge and skills of staff and supporting them with curriculum planning and delivery. A range of quality assurance activities have informed curriculum development. The art and design leader ensures she is aligned to current curriculum developments and their implications for children’s learning. Good use is made of “Access Art” resources to support systematic, well sequenced curriculum implementation. There are video clips that teachers can access that teach processes and techniques. The subject leader also supports the staff team to provide a range of enrichment opportunities which currently include “Take One Picture” with The National Gallery, various competitions, working with visiting artists and celebrating school achievements through exhibitions.

At St Mary’s the art and design curriculum is carefully planned in a sequential manner. The steps in the process for each unit are sequentially defined on the examples of the learning journeys for each year group, all of which can be easily accessed on the art and design section of the school website.

The design of the art curriculum has been well planned and the school statement of intent clarifies this in detail. The steps in the process are summarised in this cyclical manner in the school’s vision for excellence in the art and design curriculum which includes:

- stimulating curiosity and imagination

- developing and refining skills 

- enabling creativity 

- ensuring a diverse range of artists are studied 

- encouraging personal self expression 

This is aligned to the school’s motto “Aspiring, nurturing, flourishing; together shining a light” · The school encourages children’s artistic development from reception through to year 6, nurturing artistic confidence and self- expression which is taught through the strands of painting, 3D shape and form and surface pattern and print.  

There is a helpful overview for the art curriculum which conveys the key themes, the medium and intended learning for each unit. The curriculum is well balanced, both in timing and content. Each year group from reception through to year 6 develops a range of skills in the three strands of learning for art and design. The overview provides clarity on what is taught when. Links are made to other areas of learning, where appropriate. This was observed in the discussions with the pupils who could link their discrete historical knowledge of The Stone Age with their art knowledge of The Lascaux Cave Paintings, for example. This supports the current inspection criteria for “progress through the curriculum” where children can demonstrate that they know more and remember more. 

The skills progression document for art and design is well sequenced and designed to enable pupils to build upon prior learning. This has been plotted for drawing, painting, 3d shape and form and surface pattern and print including collage. Where possible the skills have been aligned to specific planned topics which demonstrate the expression of these elements. This is both informative and well structured. All teachers know what skills are being taught when. 

Tier 3 subject specific vocabulary is explicitly taught as part of the school’s art and design curriculum. The vocabulary to be taught has been defined for each unit. The point of this is to ensure that the children are able to use the language accurately and effectively to communicate their ideas, intentions, reflections and outcomes. As “Access Art” has been used as the basis of the school scheme of work, most of the identified vocabulary comes from the learning pathways the school has selected to use. Vocabulary is explicitly defined for all three art mediums. This supports staff in high quality delivery of the planned curriculum. The resource is well structured and supportive. It will expand teacher knowledge where appropriate. 

SEND pupils are supported to achieve the same ambitious endpoints the art and design curriculum. Staff know that strategies that can be used to ensure that any barriers to learning can be overcome when accessing the art curriculum. In addition to general support strategies, the specific ones for supporting art and design have been exemplified. This includes, for example, varying the choice of media, use of information technology as part of the design process, working at different scales, warm up activities to practice fine motor skills and/or hand-eye coordination, short sharp drawing activities to build confidence, modelling techniques and the use of the sketchbook to plan ideas at the different stages of the learning process. 

Knowledge organisers have been designed for each art unit. Broadly these identify the sequence of learning and the key vocabulary. These are helpful and with further refinement would benefit from including information about related artists, techniques used and key assessment questions. Linked to this, the Art Learning Journey displays are both well-constructed and informative. It is clear to see the teaching sequence. For example, the Year 6 wave bowl shows examples of the pupils work at all stages of the process from planning, exploring, designing, experimenting and creating. This is a good example of progress through the planned curriculum. 

The art leader has a detailed plan for further development. In the short term over this past year this has included actions to ensure that topics within each strand are interconnected and build upon each other. Children are introduced to the formal elements of drawing across the curriculum systematically. The curriculum has been developed to include a range of contemporary, modern and classical artists. The current focus is the development of formative assessment practice, training children to critique by ensuring they have the structures and vocabulary that will enable them to discuss their artwork and that of others. Another focus is training for staff to further develop their skills and confidence in drawing, constructing, printing and painting. In this way, the subject leader is effectively supporting the development of teacher pedagogy. The longer term plan is to embed these features to ensure a high quality systematic and cohesive art curriculum that engages all learners is sustained. 

The website representation of the art and design curriculum is strong and effective and provides a clear view of the intent, implementation and impact of this subject. It is evident that great thought and care has gone into purposeful and personalised planning to ensure children are able to access an ambitious curriculum which engages them, sparks curiosity and expands their artistic skills, knowledge and understanding in a cohesive, sequential and balanced manner.

Discussion with Pupils

Pupils talk confidently about the skills they have acquired and their great enjoyment of the art provision provided by the school. Children at St Mary’s are highly inspired by the art and design learning opportunities. 

Year 3 children were able to link their learning in art to other areas of the curriculum. For example, they were able to discuss their learning about the Stone Age – children are able to talk about the history and the art skills they developed in relation to exploring the cave paintings. They enjoyed creating their iron man using air drying clay. Children are able to explain the teaching sequence. This is well supported by the clear steps outlined on each art and design learning journey. 

Pupils know how to create tints and shades – they know how to create these by adding black and white. They know how impactful the use of black can be to provide clear definition. They understand the effects of cross hatching in shading and how to make the shading darker by placing the lines closer together and pressing hard using a B sketching pencil. 

Their sketch books show that they have explored texture using charcoal, oil pastels and paint and children were able to explain about what they learnt about drawing on different surfaces. The learning journeys make the sequence of learning explicit. 

Year 6 pupils discussed their current work in art and design which involved creating wave bowls which we saw in the classroom on the learning walk. Children had used their sketchbooks to explore photographs and create line imagery with shadows. They had used the inspiration from photographs to design triangles of patterns on foam board with a limited palette. Triangles were arranged to form a bowl which were then assembled. A range of different biomes in the world were represented on the final pieces. Children were able to discuss how they had experimented with shades by blending colours and then learnt how to layer with watercolours. The techniques developed were sophisticated and resulted in high quality end products.

Learning Walk

A range of exciting learning and experimentation was observed on the learning walk to different classrooms. There is strict fidelity to the scheme of work developed by the school and it was clear to see how effectively these plans were being enacted in each classroom. 

The youngest children were exploring the abstract painting techniques modelled by Jackson Pollock. They were confidently developing their observation and interpretation skills. Skilled questioning enabled children to reflect and respond thoughtfully. The teaching sequence for learning was explicit. High quality tailored support was provided for a child with a visual impairment enabling access to the same learning as others. Abstract techniques such as flicking, splatting and squeezing were explored. Children demonstrated an understanding of the difference between light and dark tones and they demonstrated understanding of primary and secondary colours. Modelling and behaviour for learning was consistently of a high quality. Children progressed their learning significantly during this snapshot due to the skilful sequencing of learning led by the teacher. A walk into the EYFS provision showed that there are many opportunities for children to explore expressive art and design strategies – in the EAD area for example there were still life drawings, the opportunity to colour mix, pointillism and collage in the busy fingers area and class sculptures using natural materials inspired by the artist Andy Goldsworthy. In Forest School children have the opportunity to explore texture and develop their painting skills. 

In Year 2 children were embellishing their designs inspired by the work of Edward Tingatinga. They had used their sketchbooks to explore Tingatinga’s drawing style and experimented drawing animals using a range of media. They had drawn the head of an African animal onto cardboard and practised Tingatinga designs in their sketchbooks. They were at this point on the final stage of the learning journey, which involved embellishing painted animal heads with black or white pens and adding decorative details. The clarity of the steps in the learning journey enabled them to produce skilful designs. They were fully engrossed and could articulate very clearly the steps they had taken to be successful in their learning. The top tips strategy was so helpful in reminding the learners how to achieve a successful outcome. 

In Year 3 pupils were exploring the painting “The Courtyard of a House in Delft.” This is linked to The National Gallery initiative “Take One Picture.” Children were exploring engravings, similar to those seen in the painting and reflecting upon how they are used to inspire us in our lives. The children were making their own inspirational clay plaques. Tips were provided to ensure the printing of letters in the clay were clear and sharp. Good linkage to prior learning was clearly in evidence. The children were inspired and engaged in this learning activity. 

In Year 6 children were at the final stage of completing their skilfully designed wave bowls which were of a very high standard with great care and attention to detail. The use of critical evaluation is well established with the oldest children. Following completion of their work they evaluate their successes using the following prompts: - How I feel about my completed work - These things worked well - What I found challenging - What I enjoyed most - What I could improve next time This is excellent practice and leads children to refine and improve their skills and techniques.