Art and Design has an important place in the curriculum at St Mary’s First School. It allows for creativity, use of imagination and individual expression and it provides opportunities for collaborative work.  Art, craft and design embody some of the highest forms of human creativity. A high-quality art and design curriculum engages, inspires and challenges children, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to experiment, invent and create their own works of art, craft and design. As children 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. God created a beautiful world, and as Christians, we can maximise our awareness and appreciation for God's creation through art and design.

"Art is not just a subject to learn, but an activity that you can practise with your hands, your eyes, your whole personality." Quentin Blake

Intent

At St Mary's, our Art Curriculum is designed to enable every child to flourish, through developing their creativity and curiosity.  Children are exposed to a wide variety of art by a range of artists from all over the world, in order to inspire, engage and challenge them.  They are encouraged to think critically and respond to various works of art, enabling them to develop a deeper knowledge and understanding.  Children explore a range of media in each topic,drawing, painting, printmaking, art in ICT, textiles, sculpture and collage, ensuring the continual development of knowledge and skills as they progress through school.  Through exploration of a variety of techniques, self-expression is encouraged, resulting in enhanced self-esteem as children feel and are successful.  

Implementation

In Early years, Art and Design plays a very important role in the children’s’ development. Children are taught to represent their own ideas, thoughts and feelings through design and technology, art, music and dance.  They safely use and explore a variety of materials, tools and techniques, experimenting with colour, design, texture, form and function.

In KS1, children access art in blocked curriculum lessons each term, and are taught the skills: 

  • Use a range of materials creatively to design and make products
  • Use drawing, painting and sculpture to develop and share their ideas, experiences and imagination
  • Develop techniques using colour, pattern, texture, line, shape, form and space
  • Learn about a range of artists, crafts makers and designers.

In KS2, children 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. They have opportunities:

  • 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]
  • to know about great artists, architects and designers in history.

Impact

We aim for our fun, challenging and progression based Art Curriculum to engage and inspire our children to develop their creativity.  By exposing them to a wide variety of high-quality art work from a range of artists, we endeavour to ignite a love and appreciation of art in the world around them.  Children will leave each year group with a variety of creative skills enabling self-expression and creative art and design to achieve the end points.  Children are regularly encouraged to give feedback and constructive advice to their peers.  Skills are formatively assessed by teachers in order to provide support and further guidance to children, where necessary.

Policy for Art & Design 2022-24

Progression of Skills in Art & Design