St. Thomas More Primary Art Curriculum
Through our provision of excellent Catholic education, our aim is to ensure that we deliver a high-quality art and design curriculum that engages, inspires and challenges pupils, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to experiment, invent and create their own works of art, craft and design.
As pupils progress, we believe that 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.
Our school curriculum for art and design ensures that all pupils: produce creative work, explore their ideas and skills while 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. They will be introduced to a range of works from different artists and develop knowledge of the styles and techniques used by them covering different genders. This will support children to develop an understanding of the historical and cultural background of their art forms. This will support children to be able to feel valued and express themselves.
The skills the children acquire will be applied throughout lessons, allowing them to use their art skills to reflect in greater depth: for example, by sketching historical artefacts in detail or researching geographical locations to support their work on landscape painting. Their skills will also be developed using art as a means of expressing their emotions and enhance their personal, social and emotional development.
Work in art is purposeful and used as a means of expression, to explore the styles of other artists that inspire their own work. Children should be clear what the intended outcomes are and have a means to measure their own work against this. They should develop a preference for using some media over others, showing enjoyment of the subject.
Children are expected to be reflective and evaluate their work, to think about how they can make changes and keep improving. Children will be encouraged to take risks and experiment and to reflect on why some ideas and techniques are successful or not.
Implementation:
Our curriculum is implemented through:
- Children learning and practising techniques of drawing, painting, printing, collage, textiles, sculpture/3-D work and digital art in all year groups.
- A cycle of lessons for each area of art, which carefully plans for progression and depth.
- Finished products suitable for display in some areas of art; in others, the work may be more experimental and will show progression of skill and technique.
- An agreed technical vocabulary for each art technique, which is revisited and added to in subsequent years.
- Challenge questions for pupils to think about and apply their learning in an open manner.
- Trips and visiting experts who will enhance the learning experience.
- Displaying and celebrating children’s artwork in their class and shared areas.
Impact:
Our art curriculum is designed to demonstrate progression. We measure the impact of our curriculum through:
- A reflection on standards achieved against the planned outcomes.
- A celebration of learning for each term, which demonstrates progression across the school.
- Pupil discussions about their learning, demonstrating their thoughts, ideas and evaluations of work.
