Intent
At Redwell, we facilitate Art and Design to allow the children to develop their imagination and creativity, to make connections and give them the skills to record their ideas. We nurture the children’s confidence in creating art, so that art lessons can be a place for self-exploration and freedom of expression.
Our art curriculum encourages curious minds, sets challenges and equips pupils with the knowledge and skills to experiment and create their own works of art. Our children study art in a way that ensures progression of skills, and follows a sequence to build on previous learning. We provide children with the opportunity to gain experience of a range of formal elements over a two-year cycle. Within this cycle, they will study Drawing, Painting, Printing, Sculpture, Collage & Textiles and Digital Media. Every year, pupils also study a range of artists and develop their ability to think and act like creative practitioners. Art and Design is mapped in accordance with the National Curriculum requirements, to ensure sufficient breadth of study.
Being inventive and able to solve problems ensures both academic and creative progress. We want our pupils to explore a range of diverse artists and appreciate unique and individual styles. We encourage them to be proud of what they achieve and give them an appreciation of art that will last a lifetime.
Implementation
The skills and knowledge that children will develop throughout each art topic are mapped across each year group and are progressive throughout the school. The emphasis on knowledge ensures that children understand the context of the artwork, as well as the artists that they are learning about and being inspired by. This enables links to other curriculum areas, including humanities, with children developing their knowledge of individual artists, as well as individual works and art movements. A similar systematic approach to the development of artistic skills means that children are given opportunities to express their creative imagination, as well as practise and develop mastery in the key processes of art: Drawing, Painting, Printing, Sculpture, Collage & Textiles and Digital Media.
Art and Design should be taught three times during the year, spaced with Design and Technology. This differs slightly in EYFS where there is more flexibility. Lessons can be taught weekly or in a block, depending on the focus, and key areas will be revisited repeatedly with increasing complexity, allowing pupils to build on their previous learning.
Each new unit of work begins with a recap of the previous related knowledge from previous years. This helps children to retrieve what they have learnt in the earlier sequence of the programme of study, and ensures that new knowledge is taught in the context of previous learning to promote a shift in long term memory. Throughout each unit, understanding will be monitored through both formative and summative assessment opportunities and teachers are able to seek advice and guidance from Year Group and Subject Leaders.
The school’s high-quality art curriculum is supported through the availability of a wide range of quality resources, which are used to support children’s confidence when experimenting with different types of media. The school grounds are also utilised, with planned opportunities for learning outside the classroom.
Impact
At Redwell Primary School, the impact for the learners in Art and Design is that pupil voice evidences confident and enthusiastic children who are able to talk about what they have learnt in Art and Design using subject specific vocabulary. They are able to develop ideas, master techniques and take inspiration from the artists that they have studied.
Pupils’ work demonstrates that Art and Design is taught at an age-appropriate standard across each year group, with opportunities planned for pupils showing a swift understanding. Work is of high quality and demonstrates that pupils are acquiring knowledge, skills and vocabulary in an appropriate sequence and across all key areas: Drawing, Painting, Printing, Sculpture, Collage & Textiles and Digital Media. The consistent use of children’s sketchbooks means that children are able to review, modify and develop their initial ideas in order to achieve high quality outcomes.
Progression Maps