Art : St Giles CofE Primary Academy

Introduction

‘Art’ should be interpreted as ‘art, craft and design’ and artists should be interpreted as artists, crafts people and designers throughout . The art policy follows whole school guidance on the curriculum and how it is managed, organised, delivered, assessed and evaluated. It also reflects agreed approaches to the whole school issues, i.e. teaching and learning strategies, differentiation, behaviour and discipline, special educational needs and equal opportunities. The implementation of the policy is the responsibility of all the teaching staff.

Rational and purpose

At Primary School, art, craft and design has a significant and valuable role to play in the overall ethos of this school. Art is an ongoing process through which all children are given opportunities to develop specific skills, knowledge and understanding to enable them to work in variety of media, style and form. It enables children of all abilities to use their creative imagination to achieve their potential with guidance and given criteria. Children work individually and within a group to develop the social and personal skills. Art is not taught in isolation, although it retains its creative base and its skills and techniques. Wherever appropriate it is linked to other areas of the curriculum and gives children the opportunities to develop specific art skills and reinforces skills already established.

Intent

At St Giles CE Academy, 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 skills and an opportunity to express their individual interests, thoughts 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.

Implementation

The teaching and implementation of the Art and Design Curriculum at St Giles CE Academy is based on the National Curriculum and aims to provide children with the following skills and experiences:

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 should be 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 should be 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 should be 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

The children are taught Art as part of their termly topic work. Areas covered include sculpture, mosaics, printing based on topic work, such as the Tudor houses, nature, cultural art, Christian art and symbols, painting, pointillism and the works of the various artists. The work of famous local, national and international artists are explored to enhance the children’s learning. The children’s learning is further enhanced with a whole school arts week where the children have the opportunity for collaborative working and exploring the different styles and techniques of a range of artists.

Impact

Summative assessments take place throughout the year and teachers record the progress and attainment against the National Curriculum expectations of attainment. Teachers use this information to inform future lessons; ensuring children are supported and challenged appropriately. This data is analysed on a termly basis to inform and address any trends or gaps in attainment.

Further information is gathered through pupil questionnaires; highlighting strengths and achievement and any improvements, knowledge and skills that still need to be embedded.

Final end of year assessments are made using assessment criteria that has been developed in line with the national curriculum and is recorded on Insight Tracking Thus identifying the level in which the child is working.

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