Culmstock Primary School

Intent

At Culmstock we value Art as an important part of a broad and balanced curriculum. We teach our children the skills to be an artist and the knowledge to be able to appreciate art. Children are taught to explore and evaluate different creative concepts, all whilst being an artist themselves. Through focusing on specific local, national and international artists, children are taught how to be proficient in design, drawing, painting and sculpture.

Our Art Drivers

1. To give our pupils skills to be an artist, and knowledge to appreciate art in all its various forms.
2. For our pupils to explore and evaluate different creative concepts. 
3. For our pupils to learn about local, national and international artists.
4. For our pupils to have opportunities to exhibit their artwork to peers and the community. 
5. For our pupils to progressively develop to be proficient in design, drawing, painting and sculpture. 

Our Design and Technology Drivers

1. For our pupils to learn about innovative designs from history and the modern day
2. For our pupils to think innovatively and inquisitively.
3. For our pupils to generate ideas and opportunities to make products.
4. For our pupils to design and evaluate for form and function.
5. For our pupils to be creative problem solvers as individuals and as part of a team.

Implementation

To ensure high standards of teaching in art, we implement a curriculum that is progressive throughout the whole school, following the aims and objectives of the National Curriculum.

Art is taught in half termly units focusing on knowledge and skills. Purposeful links are made to current topics so that products produced are meaningful. Teachers model new techniques and skills to the children. New and relevant vocabulary is introduced progressively across the year groups and is displayed in classrooms.  Every child has a sketch book which follows them through the school. Sketch books contain experimentation, photographs and reflections, showing ideas and development. Children are assessed throughout a unit and where possible knowledge organisers and ‘Quizzes’ are used to support long term general knowledge.

Impact

We deliver a high quality art curriculum with a progressive skills focus. Children develop the skills to design and create high quality products. These products are meaningful to the children, demonstrate age appropriate skills and their individual creativity.

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. NC 2014

The national curriculum for art and 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.

As there are no statutory requirements on time allocated for the teaching of art and design. We have reviewed our curriculum plan to ensure time is given to this study. We strongly feel that children should be introduced to the broad and eclectic world of artists, architects, crafts people and designers in the world (both past and present). We feel it is vital that our pupils are regularly exposed to art, artists and creativity and that art is as valued as other subjects.

In Key Stage 1 pupils are taught:

• 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.

           In Key stage 2 pupils 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.

We live in a visual world and as human beings we are constantly interpreting images and inferring meaning from our visual environment. A world that is rich in cultural histories; arts and crafts, museums etc. We have growing contemporary art and design industries and, increasingly, organisations of all sorts recognise the potential of creative thinkers to grow businesses. We believe that by Learning skills and techniques in art and design gives children an additional language, a visual one, that provides another means by which to express ideas and process their thoughts.