AWESOME ART

At Walford Nursery & Primary School, we value art, craft and design highly as they allow our pupils to be at their most creative.  We also value the opportunities art, craft and design afford for developing the core learning skills of resilience, resourcefulness, reciprocity and reflectiveness. 

Good practice is demonstrated by children being engaged, inspired and challenged, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to experiment, invent and create their own works of art, craft and design.  As children progress, they should be able to think critically and develop a more rigorous understanding of art and design.  At Walford Nursery & Primary School, we believe our children should also know how in this country and globally, art and design both reflect and shape history, and contribute to culture.

We endeavour to equip and nurture the children to become the artists and designers of the future.  We provide them with the skills and relevant knowledge they need as well as giving them the freedom to express and explore.

INTENT

At Walford Nursery and Primary School, children will:

• produce creative work, exploring their ideas and recording their experiences;
• become proficient in drawing, painting, sculpture and other art, craft and design techniques;
• evaluate and analyse creative works using the language of art, craft and design;
• know about great artists, craft makers and designers, and understand the historical and cultural development of their art forms;
• learn through tactile and sensory experiences;
• be encouraged to use their imagination in designing and producing artwork;
• develop ways of recording observations, including in sketchbooks which they use throughout the school;
• develop ways of communicating in visual form to express ideas and feelings.

This is the knowledge and understanding gained at each stage: 

By the end of EYFS, pupils will have had the opportunity to: 

• Safely use and explore a variety of materials, tools and techniques, experimenting with colour, design, texture, form and function.
• develop their own ideas and then decide which materials to use to express them.
• Share their creations, explaining the process they have used.
• join different materials and explore different textures.
• create closed shapes with continuous lines, and begin to use these shapes to represent objects.
• draw with increasing complexity and detail, such as representing a face with a circle and including details.
• show different emotions in their drawings and paintings, like happiness, sadness, fear, etc.
• explore colour and colour mixing.
• learn how to hold a pencil effectively in preparation for fluent writing – using the tripod grip in almost all cases.
• use a range of small tools, including scissors, paintbrushes and cutlery.

By the end of Key Stage 1, pupils will: 

• be able to use a range of materials creatively to design and make products;
• use drawing, painting and sculpture to develop and share their ideas, experiences and imagination;
• have developed a wide range of art and design techniques by using colour, pattern, texture, line, shape, form and space;
• have been exposed to the work of a range of artists, craft makers and designers, describing the differences and similarities between different practices and disciplines, and making links to their own work.

By the end of Key Stage 2, pupils will: 

• be able to create independently use their sketchbooks 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);
• know about great artists, architects and designers in history.

IMPLEMENTATION

What does our Art Curriculum look like?

Please refer to:

• Our Long Term Overview to demonstrate the progression of knowledge and skills within the whole school Art offer;
• Our Curriculum Maps for each year group to map teaching and learning, knowledge and skills through topics;
• Knowledge Organisers which summarise the key knowledge and skills to be acquired and retained during an Art topic.

Teachers will:

• plan exciting progressive lessons which build on prior knowledge based on teaching a mixture of artistic skills, knowledge and techniques;
• create a learning environment that supports learning and that engages children’s interest in the topic being studied, e.g. role play areas, interactive displays, access to a range of mixed media and materials;
• engage the pupils through the use of engaging resources and use of media to carry out practical art lessons;
• conduct regular book scrutiny, pupil perceptions and planning audits; 
• promote Art through enrichment activities and competitions, e.g., Photography Calendar competition;
• support, encourage foster and nurture a love for Art;
• research innovative, engaging practice and new artistic techniques; 
• undertake regular whole school professional development;
• effectively model all new artistic techniques being learnt and encourage children practise these techniques in their own sketchbooks.

Children will be supported by: 

• the right to explore independently through their sketchbooks;
• relevant videos to support lessons in teaching new artistic techniques using a step-by-step process;
• access to a wide range of art materials that include painting, drawing, printing, sculpting, photography and research;
• adaptations, where appropriate, to ensure all children are able to meet the learning objective;
• small group or 1:1 adult support, when required;
• the use of effective questioning;
• the use of teacher and self-assessment to quickly identify any child who requires additional support in specific areas (if required, pupils will receive additional support or resources to use);
• the use of Knowledge Organisers to support learning;
• the use of key vocabulary within lessons;
• the use of retrieval activities, e.g. Homework quizzes

Children will be challenged by: 

• the use of effective questioning;
• additional activities to stretch their learning within lessons. 
• additional resources and mediums that stretch their learning within lessons.

All children (including SEND / EAL) can access the curriculum by: 

• pre-taught vocabulary sessions, when appropriate (SEND or EAL); 
• seating children alongside good role models who can provide additional support; 
• providing visual / practical prompts;
• teaching lessons using a range of different techniques to appeal to different learning styles, e.g. videos, drama, artefacts, texts, etc.

IMPACT

Our Art Curriculum facilitates sequential learning and long-term progression of artistic knowledge, skills and techniques.  Teaching and learning methods provide regular opportunities to recap acquired knowledge through high quality questioning, discussion, modelling and explaining to aid retrieval and the beginning and end of a lesson or unit.  This enables all children to alter their long-term memory, know more, remember more and be able to do more as artists.

In Art, you might typically see:

• happy and engaged learners who show a ‘can-do’ attitude;
• children asking questions about the work of other artists, craft makers and designers (including their peers);
• children offering their opinions, thoughts and feelings of the work of other artists, craft makers and designers (including their peers);
• children working independently and in pairs or small groups;
• a range of activities, including the use of technology;
• perseverance;
• self-motivated children;
• children talking about, sharing and reflecting on their own work; 
• children developing their artistic skills by trying out different methods and techniques in their sketchbooks;
• themed days which give children opportunities to learn about the history of different artists, craft makers and designers in a meaningful context;
• children adopting new artistic techniques and applying what they have seen in another artists work to that of their own.
• children sharing their learning with others through contributing to a display.

We know how well our pupils are doing through:

• weekly lesson specific participation for each year group throughout the school;

• planned lessons based on artistic skills which are specific for each year group;

• marking and verbal feedback by teacher and peers;
• photographic and video evidence;
• EYFS floor books;
• displays of work in classrooms and around the school;
• assessment tracked at the end of term and entered onto our internal assessment tracking system;
• learning walks, book scrutiny, pupil interviews and planning audits carried out by the Subject Leader.
• evidence on Twitter;
• photo reels on the school website.

The impact of our teaching is seen through:

• children who enjoy Art;
• inquisitive learners;
• reflective learners;
• engaged learners;
• children who are able to demonstrate a variety of artistic skills;
• children who are prepared to share what they’ve learnt in a variety of ways;
• children who are able to gain an insight into the world in which they live.
• confident children who can talk about their Art lessons and artistic discoveries they’ve made;
• children who are able to use and explain the meaning of artistic vocabulary;
• children who are prepared to take risks and try new things;