Monksmead School

Respect, Reflect, Believe, Succeed

Art and Design

 

Intent

At Monksmead School, we value Art and Design as an important part of the children’s entitlement to a broad and balanced curriculum. Through the teaching of Art and Design, we aim to inspire pupils and develop their confidence to experiment and invent their own works of art. We aim for the pupils to develop their ability, nurture their talents and interests, express their ideas and thoughts about the world, and learn about art and artists across cultures and through history.

 

Implementation

In EYFS, within Expressive Arts and Design, children will have the opportunity to explore and use media and materials. They will be taught to safely use and explore a variety of materials, tools and techniques, experimenting with colour, design, texture, form and function. Children will be encouraged to be imaginative, using what they have learnt about media and materials in original ways, thinking about their uses and purposes. Children will also have opportunities to represent their own ideas, thoughts and feelings through art.

 

In Key Stage 1 and 2, the National Curriculum for Art and Design aims to ensure that all pupils produce creative work, exploring their ideas and recording their experiences. They become proficient in drawing, painting, sculpture and other art, craft and design techniques. It gives the opportunity for pupils to evaluate and analyse creative works using the language of art, craft and design. Pupils will also gain a knowledge of great artists, craft makers and designers, and understand the historical and cultural development of their art forms.

Our school follows the Kapow Primary’s Art and Design scheme of work. The scheme is written by experts in their field and supports pupils to meet the national curriculum end of key stage attainment targets.

The Kapow Art and Design scheme of work is designed with four strands that run throughout. These are:

  • Generating ideas
  • Using sketchbooks
  • Making skills, including formal elements (line, shape, tone, texture, pattern and colour)
  • Knowledge of artists
  • Evaluating and analysing

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 the 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
  • Sculpture and 3D
  • Craft and Design

The units fully scaffold and support age-appropriate sequenced learning. Creativity and independent outcomes are robustly embedded into the units, supporting pupils in learning how to make their own creative choices and decisions so that their art outcomes, whilst still being knowledge-rich, are unique to the pupils.

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 a highly visual record of the key knowledge and techniques learned, encouraging recall of skills processes, key facts and vocabulary.

Outside of Art and Design lessons, children have several opportunities during the year to enter art competitions, such as the annual NSPCC Schools’ Art Exhibition and various Christmas card design competitions. These are fantastic opportunities for children to put their art and design skills to use in a fun and purposeful way.

 

  

Impact

The intended impact of the teaching and learning of Art and Design at Monksmead School follows our school drivers:

  • Self-Awareness – Through experimenting, inventing and creating within Art and Design, pupils will enjoy being able to express themselves in different ways and take pride in what they’ve achieved. They will develop a growth mindset when they come across set-backs and be confident to ask for support when needed.
  • Embrace differences – Children will be inspired by and encouraged to hear about key artists from a wide range of ethnicities, languages, cultures, disabilities and other forms of diversity. In turn, this will help the children to embrace their own and each other’s differences.
  • Ambitious to take the next step – Children will be confident in their own ability to apply skills and techniques that they have learnt in Art and Design. They will be excited to try out new techniques and ideas, demonstrating a can-do attitude and a willingness to take risks.
  • Worldy-Wise – Children will have a strong understanding and appreciation of how Art and Design reflects and shapes our history, and contributes to the culture, creativity and wealth of our nation.