Art and Design

Intent

At St John’s, we believe that every child is entitled to an art, craft and design education that allows them to develop and express their individuality, imagination and interests. It is essential that children are given the opportunity to communicate their own ideas in their own works of art using the knowledge and skills they have acquired through carefully constructed lessons that aim to engage, challenge, inspire and motivate. We have recognised the need to ensure that children acquire a strong foundation in the areas of drawing, painting, sculpture and craft. By providing a high quality education that puts these areas at the heart of the learning, we will ensure that children develop the knowledge, skills, vocabulary and confidence to express their ideas in high quality pieces of work that they can feel proud of. Furthermore, it is important that children learn about the history and future of art; how it has shaped and reflected our culture and nation, and how it will continue to do so. Children will become aware of how they fit into this and the part they can play in contributing to the creativity and culture of our nation in the future.

Implementation 

Within the classroom, teachers will create a positive attitude to art, craft and design; encouraging imagination, celebrating individuality and reinforcing high expectations with regards to the belief that every child is capable of achieving the highest standards in their artwork.

Art lessons will occur weekly, every other short term. Units of lessons are sequential, allowing children to build their skills and knowledge, applying them to a range of outcomes. The formal elements, a key part of the National Curriculum, are also woven throughout units. Key skills are revisited again and again with increasing complexity in a spiral curriculum model. This allows pupils to revise and build on their previous learning. Units in each year group are organised into four core areas:

• Drawing
• Painting and mixed-media
• Sculpture and 3D
• Craft and design

Lessons are always practical in nature and encourage experimental and exploratory learning with pupils using sketchbooks to document their ideas. Differentiated guidance is available for every lesson to ensure that lessons can be accessed and enjoyed by all pupils and opportunities to stretch pupils’ learning are available when required. Knowledge organisers for each unit support pupils by providing key knowledge, encouraging recall of key facts and vocabulary.

Impact

Pupils should leave St. John’s equipped with a range of techniques and the confidence and creativity to form a strong foundation for their Art and design learning at Key Stage 3 and beyond.

The impact of our curriculum is that children will:

• Produce creative work, exploring and recording their ideas and experiences.
• Be proficient in drawing, painting, sculpture and other art, craft and design techniques.
• Evaluate and analyse creative works using subject-specific language.
• Know about great artists and the historical and cultural development of their art.
• Meet the end of key stage expectations outlined in the National curriculum for Art and design.