Art

 

Intent

Our intent at Lowtown is to inspire pupils and provide the children with the opportunities to develop and extend skills whilst expressing their individual interests, thoughts and ideas.  We strive to deliver a curriculum that inspires, engages and challenges children whilst allowing them to experiment and invent their own works of art, craft and designs. Our holistic curriculum nurtures creative thinking skills and helps ensure that pupils learn through art, as well as about art. We want our pupils to become critical thinkers and master a wide range of techniques when using different materials. As they progress, we will also provide pupils with the opportunity to critically evaluate and analyse artwork, form opinions and encourage them to use artistic language in discussions. We seek to deliver a curriculum that is broad and balanced, adapted and designed for pupils with a diversity of needs.

 Aims

• Produce creative work, exploring their ideas and 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
• Know about great artists, craft makers and designers, and understand the historical and cultural development of their art forms.

Implementation

The teaching and implementation of our art and design curriculum at Lowtown is based on the National Curriculum and Accessart scheme to ensure a well-balanced approach to this creative subject.  We advocate the importance of pupils being able to follow their own creative pathway and how to enable that exploration is the key to a successful art education. 

From Year 1 to year 6 the subject of art is “blocked” into alternate half terms.   Every other half term classes will complete a unit of art.   Art will take place over a whole afternoon to enable children to build up to a final piece.   It will offer opportunities for new experiences balanced with time for repeated practice. We deliver using a structured learning which is also balanced with space for personal exploration. Our curriculum is to enable individuals to make appropriate choices regarding materials and processes and become empowered towards making a personal and creative response.

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, use and refine a variety of artistic effects to express their ideas and feelings.
• Return to and build on their previous learning, refining ideas and developing their ability to represent them.
• Create collaboratively sharing ideas, resources and skills.
• Safely use and explore a variety of materials, tools and techniques, experimenting with colour, design, texture, form and function.
• Share their creations, explaining the process they have used.

 Key stage 1

Pupils are taught:

 To use a range of materials creatively to design and make products

 To use drawing, painting and sculpture to develop and share their ideas, experiences and imagination

 To develop a wide range of art and design techniques in using colour, pattern, texture, line, shape, form and space

 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:

• To create sketch books to record their observations and use them to review and revisit ideas
• 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]
• About great artists, architects and designers in history.

Impact

We understand that if appropriate opportunities are created, then pupils will progress. Our outcome focuses on pinpointing the stages of opportunities and observing and facilitating that creative journey that children need the freedom to explore.

Assessment of children's learning in Art and Design is an ongoing monitoring of children's understanding, knowledge and skills by the class teacher, throughout lessons. We aim for a conversation-based assessment in art which takes place on an ongoing basis.  The conversations might take place as a class, as a group, or one to one and will feed into processes of reflection and evaluation. These are not activities which should just take place at the end of projects, but throughout the creative process. This assessment is then used to inform differentiation, support and challenge required by the children.

Art and Design is also monitored by the subject leader throughout the year in the form of sketch book monitoring, looking at outcomes and pupil interviews to discuss their learning and understanding and establish the impact of the teaching taking place.

Children in Foundation Stage are assessed within Expressive Arts and Design and their progress is tracked termly. Age related expectation levels are reported to parents at the end of the reception year.

Long Term Plan

lowtown art long term plan 2022 2023.pdf