Art & Design

Intent for Art and Design at Elsecar Holy Trinity Primary School

Art & Design Whole school overview 2023 - 2024

At Elsecar Holy Trinity Primary School we are guided by the National Curriculum for Art & Design (2014). The National Curriculum for Art & Design aims to ensure that all pupils:

• 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.

Our intent is that our teaching of Art & Design will help children to engage, inspire and challenge pupils, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to experiment, invent and create their own works of art, craft and design. We aim to enable children to think critically and develop a more rigorous understanding of art and design.  Through the teaching of Art & Design, we endeavour to teach children how art and design both reflect and shape our history, and contribute to the culture, creativity and wealth of our nation.

The planning of learning always begins with the skills and knowledge that needs to be taught (see Progression in Art & Design). Art & Design lessons focus on developing specific art skills and techniques and giving children the opportunity to work as artists. We intend for our children to have extensive opportunities to experiment and explore with a wide range of different media and techniques in an active and creative way. Opportunities to apply learning are carefully mapped out and links to other subject areas are made where appropriate.

All art & design units will follow the same process:

Implementation:

In Early years, Art and Design plays a very important role in their development. Children are taught to represent their own ideas, thoughts and feelings through design and technology, art, music and dance.

They safely use and explore a variety of materials, tools and techniques, experimenting with colour, design, texture, form and function.

Teaching of Art in Key Stage 1

Pupils in Key Stage 1 are taught to 

• to use a range of materials creatively to design and make products
• to use drawing, painting and sculpture to develop and share their ideas, experiences and imagination
• to develop a wide range of art and design techniques in using colour, pattern, texture, line, shape, form and space
• about 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.

Teaching of Art in Key Stage 2

Pupils in KS2 are taught to

• 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.
• to create sketch books to record their observations and use them to review and revisit ideas
• to improve their mastery of art and design techniques, including drawing, painting and sculpture with a range of materials [for example, pencil, charcoal, paint, clay]
• about great artists, architects and designers in history.

Children are taught art where possible through an artist study. Where explicit skills need teaching, these are taught explicitly. Children are given opportunities to practice and apply skills in drawing, painting, sculpture and printing.  

Impact:

Children will become creative learners, who have a web of knowledge about the great artists of the world. Creativity and uniqueness will be celebrated, and children will become astute at editing and improving the pieces they have created. As teachers, there will be an emphasis placed on individuality and children will be given the freedom to explore art using their imaginations. Children will have embedded the key art and design skills needed to allow them to produce inventive pieces of art and develop their own artistic style.   

We measure the impact of our curriculum through the following methods:

• Images and videos of the children’s practical learning.
• Interviewing the pupils about their learning (pupil voice).
• Moderation staff meetings where pupil’s books are scrutinised and there is the opportunity for a dialogue between teachers to understand their class’s work.

If you would like to find out more about our Art Curriculum, then please contact either your child’s class teacher or our Curriculum Leader k.westwood@smat.org.uk