Art
Intent
“Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.”
Thomas Merton
Participation in the Arts contributes greatly towards our pupils becoming well-rounded, empathetic and confident individuals. Socially, the Arts are a way of bringing our school family (pupils, parents, staff, church and the local community) together to share ideas and experiences even though we may see the world in radically different ways.
We recognise and encourage the arts both within and across the curriculum because we believe that they give children the tools to make sense of the world as well communicate ideas and emotions. Education Endowment Fund research indicates that the impact of exploring ideas and emotions through art results in improved outcomes being identified in English, Mathematics and Science as well as having a recognisable and positive impact on children's mental and emotional health.
At Christ Church, our aim in Art is to encourage the children to:
- Produce creative work, exploring their ideas and recording their experiences through a range of media.
- Become proficient in drawing, painting, sculpture and other art, craft and design techniques.
- Evaluate and analyse creative works using the language of art, craft and design. Use their knowledge of art and artists to inspire their own work.
- Know how artists inspire the created environment (e.g. architects, designers) and how art can help us to interpret history.
Implementation
At Christ Church, we ensure that Art and Design is given the same importance as the core subjects as we feel this important in enabling all children to gain ‘real-life’ experiences. Therefore, in line with other foundation subjects, we teach Art in blocks as we believe this enables pupils to become immersed in their learning; helps embed concepts in their long-term memory and enables them to apply new knowledge, skills and understanding.
To ensure high standards of teaching and learning in Art and Design, we implement a curriculum that is progressive throughout the school. Across both key stages, the Art & Design Curriculum is built around 5 key areas: drawing, painting, printing, textiles/collage and 3d form. We use Knowledge Organisers which detail links to previous learning and encourage acquisition of key vocabulary and the sticky knowledge required to become an expert in the unit studied. Organisers are sent home in advance of studying a unit and are available in sketch books as a reference tool.
Within each unit, children are given an opportunity to present their sense of vision of Art and Design through observation, experimentation and illustrations which are created in sketch books. Final pieces are displayed in the classroom or around school which provides pupils with the opportunity to explore and celebrate the ideas of others. Links are made to Art and Design in other subjects studied. Opportunities are also provided for additional art and design learning outside the classroom and on educational visits.
Long Term Plan
Curriculum Policies
To see all of our policies concerning the curriculum click the link below: