Art

Purpose of study

Art, craft and design embody some of the highest forms of human creativity. A high-quality art and design education should 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. As pupils progress, they should be able to think critically and develop a more rigorous understanding of art and design. They should also know how art and design both reflect and shape our history, and contribute to the culture, creativity and wealth of our nation. 

                                                              Source: National Curriculum, 2014

Intent

At Ash we aim to provide an inspiring, creative and inclusive art curriculum that supports and enhances the wider curriculum whilst celebrating children’s individuality.

We strive to teach the key skills of both mark making and sculpture and develop them through a progressive curriculum which is both exciting and rewarding. The children will celebrate and explore the work of a range of artists from a range of cultures throughout history. 

Implementation

To ensure high standards of teaching and learning, we implement a curriculum that is progressive across the whole school and focusses on the knowledge and skills stated in the National Curriculum.

We teach Art through integrated experiences which link to topics and discrete lessons with a more focused outcome.

Children will be exposed to work from different artists and respond to these to develop the skills learnt year on year. We invite local artists in to share their knowledge and work; creating inspiring and powerful learning experiences for the children as well as opening their eyes to the role art has in society today and how the skills learnt can lead to a viable and rewarding career path.

We encourage reflection on their own and others work, verbally in Early Years and Key Stage 1 and through using sketchbooks in Key Stage 2, where children are also taught to develop their ideas.

Impact

The impact of our Art curriculum is measured by:

• Book scrutiny by the subject leader.

• Gathering pupil voice to check understanding, progression and confidence in discussing Art.
• Monitoring is used to identify gaps in the curriculum that may need to be addressed across the school, or within individual year groups. Monitoring is an ongoing cycle to ensure the best possible Art curriculum for all of our children.

By the end of their time with us, we aim for pupils to have learnt, improved and embedded a range of artistic skills. They will be aware of a broad range of artists and craftspeople and have had the opportunity to consider, appraise and learn from their work. Pupils should be confident to explore experiment and grow as artists, and be able to recognise and understand the value of the process of thought and application.
Ultimately, we want children to have become confident and find enjoyment in being creative and using self-expression.