At Cotford St Luke School, our Art curriculum aims to equip children with the knowledge and skills to experiment, invent and create their own works of art, craft and design. 

We are committed to providing all children with learning opportunities to engage in Art and Design and believe that every child within our school should have full access to the Art provision as laid down in the National Curriculum regardless of age, gender or ability. 

The intent of our Art education is to give pupils the skills, concepts and knowledge necessary for them to express their responses to ideas and experiences in a visual or tactile form. It should fire their imagination and be a fundamental means of personal expression.  While it is essentially a practical subject, art should provide opportunities for reflection and, with increasing sensitivity, pupils should acquire the ability to make informed and personal responses of their own work and that of others. There is great pleasure to be derived from Art learning and, through deeper understanding; pupils can gain access to cultural richness and diversity.

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.

Implementation

Our whole school curriculum provides children with opportunities to develop their skills in art using a range of media and materials. Children have the opportunity to explore and evaluate different creative ideas developing skills in drawing, painting, printing, collage, textiles, 3D work and digital art.

The appreciation and enjoyment of the visual arts enriches all our lives.  At Cotford St Luke, we believe that the learning of Art provides a valuable educational, as well as social and cultural, experiences for children of all ages. Pupils develop life skills and have the chance to extend their knowledge of a practitioner’s works.

Our Art and Design curriculum principles

• Sequences of learning in Art are linked with other areas of the curriculum to demonstrate to children how artists are inspired by the history, geography, science, maths etc. of our world.
• During every sequence of learning in Art, children will be introduced to a range of artists. These might be well-known and lauded or perhaps unfamiliar, as well as local artists. The artists we choose to study will be able to offer something to the children in terms of two things: firstly, the techniques and media that they use; secondly, the principles that the artists’ work to, i.e. using art as protest or highlighting something of significance within their culture or personal life.
• The children will learn about these artists and their techniques and use this new knowledge to create their own interpretations of that style or focus.
• In every unit, children will consider the concepts of Art / drawing / painting at the age-appropriate level. Teachers know they have to draw children’s attention to these as they introduce the artists’ works: line, colour and value, shape and form, texture, composition (scale and proportion, harmony…)
• We value the use of sketchbooks – teachers have their own as well to learn alongside the children. Children record their ideas, practise skills and annotate what they record for use in a final piece. Year 1 children begin with a sketchbook at the start of the year and develop these skills overtime.
• Art is taught three times each year and drawing is always a focus in every unit. There is a painting unit every year, a 3D sculpture unit every year and a mixed media unit every year.

Impact

Our Art and Design Curriculum is planned to demonstrate progression and to stimulate creativity. Pupils know about what the intended outcomes are and have a means to measure their own work against this, as a means of expression or to explore the styles of other artists that inspire our own work. In Art and Design, children are reflective and evaluate their own and each other’s work, thinking about how they can make changes to keep improving. This is meaningful and continuous throughout the process, with evidence of age-related verbal and written reflection.