Subject Lead: Mrs Heritage 

Art & Design

Statement of intent

Uniqueness is part of Holtspur School’s values and we believe that Art and Design encourages children to develop their creativity, nurture their imagination and provide children with a variety of ways to express their thoughts, feelings and emotions. It also contributes significantly to their mental well-being.

At Holtspur, we believe that Art and Design education should develop children’s confidence by 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.

Our pupils’ understanding of Art and Design is developed through knowledge, understanding and appreciation of the work of other artists past and present and from different cultures. Our children are encouraged to express their creative ideas in a secure and appreciative environment.  They are shown how to work with a range of materials and equipment and are taught various techniques in areas such as printing, painting and mark marking. Pupils also learn to appreciate works of art and use artistic language to describe paintings, sculptures and other artefacts. 

At Holtspur School, we hope to foster and continually grow a love of Art and Design as the children progress through the primary years, giving all of our pupils the opportunities and skills needed to develop their understanding and techniques.

We follow the Kapow scheme of work which is designed to support pupils to meet the National curriculum end of key stage attainment targets and has been written to fully cover the National Society for Education in Art and Design’s progression competencies.

Implementation

The Kapow scheme of work is designed with five strands that run throughout. These are:

● Generating ideas

● Using sketchbooks

● Making skills, including formal elements (line, shape, tone, texture, pattern, 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 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 are organised into four core areas:

• Drawing
• Painting and mixed-media
• Sculpture and 3D
• Craft and design

The children will be visiting the drawing and painting units each year, with craft and sculpting alternating yearly.

The units are fully scaffold and support essential and age appropriate, sequenced learning. Creativity and independent outcomes are robustly embedded supporting students 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 pupil and personal.

Lessons are always practical in nature and encourage experimental and exploratory learning. Children use sketchbooks to document their ideas and examine the key elements of line, colour, texture, shape, form, space, tone and pattern. They are also supported to develop their abilities, nurture their talent and interests and express their ideas and thoughts about the world. Differentiated guidance is available for every lesson providing a highly visual record of the key knowledge and techniques learned, encouraging recall of skills processes, key facts and vocabulary.

Impact

To raise the profile of Art within the school.

That children are involved in evaluation, dialogue and decision making about the quality of their outcomes and the improvements they need to make.

That they will not only know facts and key information about art, but they will be able to talk confidently about their own learning journey.

That pupils will leave primary school equipped with a range of techniques and the confidence and creativity to form a strong foundation for their Art and design learning at Key Stage 3 and beyond.

By following the Kapow Primary Art and design scheme of work is that children will:

• Produce creative work, exploring and recording their ideas and experiences.
• Be proficient in drawing, painting, sculpture and other art, craft and design techniques.
• Evaluate and analyse creative works using subject-specific language.
• Know about great artists and the historical and cultural development of their art.
• Meet the end of key stage expectations outlined in the National curriculum for Art and design.