Subject Leaders: Mrs A Knott and Mrs A McDonnell

“All children are artists”

Pablo Picasso

What is Art?

“Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time”

Thomas Merton

Our definition for Foundation and KS1 – Art is something that is created with imagination and skills and shows ideas and feelings.

Our definition for KS2 – Art is an application of skills and further developing techniques learnt which consists of paintings, sculpture and other pictures or objects which are created for people to look at and admire or think deeply about.

Art teaches children about colour, perspective, layout and other techniques that are necessary in producing pieces of art. Children learn new skills as well as developing skills and techniques learnt and by allowing children time and opportunities to practise the skills and techniques, they will master it. A child’s developmental skills, memory and concentration, critical thinking and risk taking are incorporated in the journey of art learning and these developmental skills are linked throughout art skills.

Intention

“Creativity is contagious, pass it on”

Albert Einstein

Through our Art Curriculum, we aim to widen our children’s knowledge, skills and understanding of the wider world through the expression of art. Art is all around us and we want our children to know and understand art beyond their familiar surroundings. Our ambition is for our children to be able to confidently talk about their artwork including the skills used and that of others and to be able to understand the message that the artwork is delivering. We aim for the children to be able to read art and express the story and/ or emotion it is displaying. We aspire for our children to be confident in art and be confident in using the skills and techniques that they have learnt.

Alongside our children learning vital skills to produce their own pieces of art and having the skills to evaluate and discuss theirs and others’ work, we believe that our children know the work of famous artists and the background of these artists. We aim for our children to have the knowledge to confidently discuss specific artists and their work and to understand the cultures of where the art has originated from. “Shining a Light” on inspirational artists for our children to aspire to.

Our children should be excited by art and eager to learn more. They should have the opportunities to question what they have learnt so far. Children should be able to use their critical thinking skills and link these skills to what they are learning. The children should be fully invested in the purpose of their learning and engaged using appropriate equipment to support the skill and making links to their experiences. Our children will not be limited by their starting points or life experiences.

Implementation

Our Art Subject Leaders have created a bespoke curriculum to meet the needs of our children. This includes a clear Yearly Overview of Art concepts, skills, knowledge and vocabulary and an extensive Planning and Progression document – all closely matched with National Curriculum requirements. From this custom made Unit Plans have been created for each year group in the most part linked to our whole school theme for each term. We aim to shine a light on the wonders of art and create artists of the future. As each class explores their inspirational person for the term our children will become aware of many more inspirational artistic figures.

Where appropriate, children will be exposed to a variety of resources such as paint brushes, different types of paint, various grades of sketching pencils, charcoal, pastels and many other significant resources to support their learning of art skills.

Art displays should be purposeful for the children and could include key facts that they have learnt related to the artist or skill that they have been working on. Art displays will showcase the children’s final product and it will be displayed with an explanation of what has been created, what skill or technique has been used and which artist has helped inspire this artwork.

Organisation and Planning

How do we teach art?

Throughout North Somercotes CE Primary School, we believe that art should be taught as a kinesthetic approach but supported with demonstrations and modelling. At our school, we teach the children art skills by identifying awareness of the skill and/ or knowledge being learnt. All of our lessons begin by looking at an artist and gaining an understanding of the history and culture of this artist and the chosen artwork. This supports our children’s inquisitiveness and questioning, additionally the artist provides a starting point for later reflection and it demonstrates the intention of the lesson. By looking at a particular artist, this enables a skill to be taught or a technique to be developed, with specific questions being posed by the teacher and/ or the children, which utilizes their critical thinking skills. Our lessons build up to a final piece which will have all skills learnt/ developed incorporated into it. To enhance our learning and to stimulate the imagination, we try to relate this to our children’s own interests or real-life experiences.

Our subjects are structured so that the children can work through each key concept of art, including: drawing, painting and printing and other techniques including collage and sculpture. Running through these concepts is the focus of a famous artist. In KS2 children will be provided with their own sketchbook where they can gather, collect, experiment and reflect in these books.

All skills will be successfully taught and modelled to support the practise.

We structure our curriculum by focusing on specific subjects in blocks over a number of weeks. This enables us to go deeper into subjects and to make meaningful connections with other subjects.

In the Foundation stage, expressive arts and design is one of the early learning goals. This goal is to develop the children’s imagination, creativity and their ability to use material, which forms the foundations for Key Stage 1. They will:

• Draw and paint using a range of materials, tools and techniques, experimenting with colour, design, texture, form and function.
• Share their creations, explaining the process they have used.

In Key Stage 1, art continues the understanding begun in the Foundation stage. They will:

• Use a range of materials creatively to design and make products.
• Use drawing, painting, printing and sculpture to develop and share their ideas, experiences and imagination.
• Develop a wide range of art and design techniques in using colour, pattern, texture, line, shape, form and space.
• Understand the work of artists, describing the differences and similarities and linking to their own work.

In Key Stage 2, children expand their knowledge and dig deeper. They will:

• Develop their techniques, including their control and their use of materials, with creativity, experimentation and an increasing awareness of different kinds of art, craft and design.
• Create sketch books to record their observations and use them to review and revisit ideas.
• Improve their mastery of art and design techniques, including drawing, painting and sculpture with a range of materials [for example, pencil, charcoal, paint, clay].
• Learn about great artists, architects and designers in history.

Impact

“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.”

Pablo Picasso

Our children will leave North Somercotes CE Primary School having a depth of knowledge across all the art concepts; drawing, painting and printing and other techniques including collage, sculpture, textiles and sewing. They will have learnt knowledge and skills, through high-quality teaching, which can support them through later life.

By the time our children leave North Somercotes CE Primary School, they will have a positive attitude across all skills within art. They will be able to confidently ask and answer questions about their own artwork and that of others, including famous artists. Our children will know a variety of artists in depth and will be able to distinguish artists work from others and be able to identify similarities and differences between artist’s works.

Additionally, children will be able to use their understanding of the wider world and recognise artwork from other cultures and express why other cultures focus on specific art skills.

As a result of our children having a clear and developed understanding of art skills, famous artists and art within other cultures, our children will be able to articulate artwork through the use of specific and appropriate vocabulary learnt. They will leave our school with a wide breadth of artistic experiences, enabling them not only to explore the concepts within art, but they will also have shone a light on many inspirational artistic figures they can aspire to be.