Art
“Learning for life”
Art Curriculum
Intent
At Thornton Hough Primary School, we value Art as an important part of children’s entitlement to a broad and balanced curriculum. Our curriculum provides our children with the opportunities to develop and extend skills and an opportunity to express their individual interests, thoughts and ideas.
Art embodies some of the highest forms of human creativity. A high-quality Art curriculum should engage, inspire and challenge pupils, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to experiment 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. They should also know how Art reflects and shapes our history, and contributes to the culture, creativity and wealth of our nation.
It is our intention to embed our school values within this subject to build upon each child’s passion, curiosity, respect and appreciation for a range of art, design and crafts from different artists and cultures, as well as acquiring new skills along the way, which in turn, will impact on their own artwork as they transition through our school and beyond.
Implementation
At Thornton Hough Primary School, we use our own scheme of work that is in line with the National Curriculum with full content coverage throughout KS1 and KS2. All pupils in the EYFS are taught Art as an integral part of the play-based learning covered during the academic year.
Each year group has opportunities to explore and investigate elements of drawing, painting and mixed media. All of the Art projects follow a clear structure, beginning with research and investigation focus tasks, designing and developing their ideas, making and finally reflecting and evaluating their work. During Art projects, children will learn about cultural art as well as a range of great artists, their techniques and the impact/influence they have had. These opportunities are mapped out across the curriculum so that all children gain an understanding of historical and cultural development.
From Year 1 to Year 6 each child has their own sketchbook that they fill with beautiful Art work, which travels with them through the school.
More details can be found in our long-term Art curriculum map.
Impact:
Through following a clear and comprehensive scheme of work in line with the National Curriculum, it is expected that teaching and learning will show progression across all key stages within the strands of Art. Subsequently, children will achieve age related expectations in Art at the end of their cohort year and Key Stage. It is our aim that children will retain knowledge and skills taught within each project, remember these and understand how to use and apply these in their own art work, whilst also understanding what being an ‘artist’ means.
At Thornton Hough Primary School, we are able to measure the impact that Art has had for all children by:
- Determining the extent to which objectives are met within each lesson and overall, at the end of each project.
- Images and videos to show children’s practical learning.
- ‘Pupil Voice’ to find out children’s learning experience.
- ‘Sketchbook look’ to monitor evidence of Art across the school.
- Annual reporting of standards across the curriculum.
By the time children leave Thornton Hough Primary School, it is hoped that they will have developed a passion for Art and creativity. They will have grown in confidence when using a range of tools and techniques, becoming artists that can apply the skills and knowledge that they have developed throughout the years and respond critically to their own and other’s work.