Art and Design

Curriculum Overview

At Churchfields Primary School, we value Art and Design as an important part of the children’s entitlement to a broad and balanced curriculum. Art and Design provides the children with the opportunities to develop and extend their knowledge and skills and an opportunity to express their individual interests, thought and ideas.
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.
 
The national curriculum for art and design aims to ensure that all pupils:

1.  produce creative work, exploring their ideas and recording their experiences
2.  become proficient in drawing, painting, sculpture and other art, craft and design techniques
3.  evaluate and analyse creative works using the language of art, craft and design
4.  know about great artists, craft makers and designers, and understand the historical and cultural development of their art forms.

Curriculum Intent

The teaching and implementation of the Art and Design Curriculum at Churchfields Primary School is based on the National Curriculum, ensuring a well-structured approach to this creative subject.
The children are taught Art in skilled lessons which can be taught as stand alone or as part of their termly topic work. There is clear progression throughout drawing, painting and sculpting.
The work of famous local, national and international artists are explored to enhance the children's learning.
Gifted and talented pupils are invited to an annual Saturday workshop (Art on Saturday) which focuses on an artist and a particular skill.

The children's learning is further enhanced with a whole school arts week in the summer term where the children have the opportunity for collaborative working and exploring the different styles and techniques of a range of artists.

Teaching sequence

At Churchfields the unit of drawing is taught in the Autumn term across all year groups.  The best approach to develop skills as an artist is to learn to draw first and then to build on your skills by learning how to paint. Drawing enhances a child's motor skills from a young age, starting them as early as possible will help them improve their hand and eye coordination, while fine-tuning their finger muscles.
Drawing enables a child's imagination to become more active. Each time they draw they access their imagination and make physical representations of what's in their mind. Learning to draw is paramount to your journey as an artist. It not only provides a strong foundation as you identify your style but also enlightens you on critical aspects such as shape, form, light, and shadow. Painting is a multi step process.

Sculpture is taught in the Summer term. Drawing sculpture and sketching ideas is often the first step any sculptor will take before creating a piece.

Collage One week, in summer term the whole school spends their ‘topic’ lesson time on collage.  This ensures that all children explore, investigate and create art works with collage as the main media.  It also allows them to utilise, previous knowledge, skills and techniques learned and allows a dedicated amount of time spent on the process of creating a finished piece of art work.

Rationale:  Making a collage helps children build fine motor skills. It's also a fun way to encourage children’s awareness of colour and texture. Collage is a wonderful place to start, because it nurtures a child’s natural desire to explore the world through their sense of touch.  It also allows a certain level of flexibility and creativity.

Sketchbooks

At Churchfields, we use sketchbooks as a creative tool. The sketchbooks are owned by the pupils, and are at the centre of the pupils’ creativity. Sketchbooks are used to gather, collect, experiment and reflect.  They are a place to put unresolved ideas into the world, which can be assimiliated later.

As the National Curriculum states:

Early Years Foundation Stage
Pupils explore and use a variety of media and materials through a combination of child initiated and adult directed activities. They have opportunities to learn to:
•  Explore the textures, movement, feel and look of different media and materials
•  Respond to a range of media and materials, develop their understanding of them in order to manipulate and create different effects.
•  Use different media and materials to express their own ideas
•  Explore colour and use for a particular purpose
•  Develop skills to use simple tools and techniques competently and appropriately
•  Select appropriate media and techniques and adapt their work where necessary

Key stage 1

Pupils are taught:
1.  to use a range of materials creatively to design and make products
2.  to use drawing, painting and sculpture to develop and share their ideas, experiences and imagination
3.  to develop a wide range of art and design techniques in using colour, pattern, texture, line, shape, form and space
4.  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.   

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.
 
Pupils are taught:
1.  to create sketch books to record their observations and use them to review and revisit ideas
2.  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]
3.  about great artists, architects and designers in history.

Curriculum Impact

Teachers make assessments against the crucial knowledge taught. Teachers use this information to inform future lessons ensuring children are ably supported and challenged appropriately.  The Curriculum Leads ask staff to provide examples of children’s work at the end of each unit to assess the success that have been achieved across the school.

Downloads

EYFS

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

Year 4

Year 5

Year 6