Intent

At Trumps Green Infant School, we believe that art and design provide children with opportunities to explore, create, communicate and respond to the world around them. We want every child to develop their creativity alongside the knowledge, skills and vocabulary needed to use a range of artistic processes and materials with increasing confidence and control.

It is our intention that every pupil, regardless of starting point or individual need, develops the knowledge, skills and confidence to engage successfully with art and design. We have high expectations for all children, including those who are disadvantaged, have SEND, are known or have previously been known to children’s social care, or who face other barriers to their learning and/or wellbeing. Our curriculum is designed so that all pupils can access an ambitious range of artistic experiences, with appropriate adaptations, support and challenge where needed. We do not lower our expectations because of a pupil’s starting point; instead, we provide the teaching, resources and opportunities needed for every child to develop their artistic knowledge and skills.

What we intend pupils to know and do

We intend that pupils develop a secure and increasingly broad knowledge of art, artists, materials and artistic processes. They will explore drawing, painting, printing, collage, sculpture and other forms of making, developing an understanding of how different materials and techniques can be used to communicate ideas.

Pupils will develop increasing control and confidence in the use of materials, tools and techniques. They will learn to explore colour, line, shape, form, texture and pattern and begin to understand how these elements can be combined and changed to achieve different effects.

Alongside practical skills, pupils will develop their ability to look closely, observe, describe and respond to artwork. They will encounter the work of a range of artists and develop vocabulary with which to talk about their own work and the work of others. They will learn that artists make different choices and that art can communicate ideas, feelings, experiences and perspectives.

Our curriculum deliberately develops the relationship between artistic knowledge, practical skill and creative decision-making. Pupils learn about materials and techniques, practise and refine their skills, and then make increasingly purposeful choices about how to use them to develop and communicate their own ideas.

How art and design develops from Reception to Year 2

Our art and design curriculum is carefully sequenced from Reception to Year 2, with artistic knowledge, vocabulary, techniques and processes systematically introduced, practised, revisited and developed over time. As Year 1 and Year 2 pupils learn together in mixed-age classes, pupils revisit key skills and concepts while increasing their control, independence and ability to make purposeful artistic choices.

In Reception, pupils develop the foundations for art through exploring and experimenting with a wide range of materials, tools and processes. They develop increasing control when drawing, painting, modelling, joining and creating, and begin to talk about the marks, colours, shapes and forms they have produced. They experience art through both their own creative work and opportunities to look at and respond to artwork.

Across Years 1 and 2, pupils build on these foundations through a progressively sequenced range of artistic experiences. They develop greater control when drawing, painting, printing, collage and sculpture. They explore colour, pattern, texture, line, shape and form and increasingly combine techniques and materials to achieve particular effects.

Within the mixed-age curriculum, pupils revisit key artistic skills and concepts at increasing levels of depth and independence. Younger pupils are supported to secure essential techniques and vocabulary, while older or more experienced pupils are increasingly expected to select materials and techniques purposefully, refine their work, explain their artistic choices and evaluate the effectiveness of what they have created.

Pupils increasingly learn to develop ideas from observation, imagination and experience, experiment with possibilities, make changes and refine their work. They learn that artistic development involves experimentation, practice and reflection rather than simply producing a finished product.

Art and design and the wider curriculum

We intend that pupils understand that art and design are subjects in their own right and important ways of expressing ideas and understanding the world. Art provides opportunities for pupils to explore cultures, places, people, history and different perspectives.

Where appropriate, pupils make meaningful connections between art and other subjects, using artistic processes to represent and communicate learning in areas such as history, geography, science and English.

We want pupils to develop an appreciation of artistic diversity, encountering work by artists from different times, places and backgrounds. Through this, pupils begin to understand that people use art in different ways to communicate ideas, experiences and perspectives.

Intended end points

By the time children leave Trumps Green Infant School, we intend that pupils will have developed the foundational artistic knowledge, vocabulary and practical skills necessary for the next stage of their education.

They will be increasingly confident young artists who can:

· use a range of drawing, painting, printing, collage and sculptural techniques;

· use a variety of materials and tools safely and with increasing control;

· explore and use colour, line, shape, form, texture and pattern in their own work;

· experiment with materials and techniques and make changes to develop their ideas;

· develop ideas from observation, imagination, experience and the work of other artists;

· make increasingly purposeful choices about materials, tools and techniques;

· describe and discuss their own artwork using appropriate artistic vocabulary;

· look at and respond to the work of a range of artists and describe aspects of what they see;

· explain some of the choices they have made in their own artwork;

· evaluate their work and identify ways in which they could develop or improve it; and

· demonstrate curiosity, creativity, perseverance and confidence when experimenting and making.

Our art and design curriculum is therefore designed to ensure that all children make progress from their individual starting points, develop secure practical skills and artistic knowledge, and become increasingly confident in using art to explore, create, communicate and respond to the world around them.

Implementation

To ensure high standards of teaching and learning in Art and Design, we implement a curriculum that is progressive throughout the whole school. Art and design is taught as part of a half termly or termly topic, focusing on knowledge and skills stated in the 2014 Primary National Curriculum in England. This provides a broad framework and outlines the knowledge and skills taught in each Key Stage.

Teachers plan lessons for their class using our progression of knowledge and skills document. The progression document ensures the curriculum is covered and the skills/knowledge taught is progressive from year group to year group.

A variety of teaching approaches are used based on the teacher’s judgement to ensure lessons that are engaging, broad and balanced. We provide a variety of opportunities for art and design learning to take place inside and outside the classroom, making use of our outdoor learning areas.

In the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), 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.

In 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.

Impact

Teaching and learning is evaluated by learning walks conducted by subject leaders and SLT where applicable, drop-ins, planning and work scrutinies, moderation sessions and pupil interviews. It is our aim that all children will achieve age related expectations in Art & Design; ongoing assessments take place throughout the academic year, informing subsequent planning and enabling teachers to support and challenge pupils appropriately. Within Art and Design, we strive to instil an appreciation and enjoyment of the arts enriching each child’s learning experience.