Art & Design

Art & Design Statement of Intent

The aim for Art and design at Half Acres Primary Academy is to ensure that all pupils produce creative work, exploring their own ideas and recording their experiences.

Teachers use the National Curriculum to design and plan lessons with appropriate subject knowledge, skills and understanding in exploring and investigating, creating and evaluating artwork. They use carefully created progression grids to build on previous knowledge and skills and to acquire new ones. Thus ensuring that children can reach and exceed their potential.

Teachers aim that the children have experience of and become confident in different media and techniques to produce pieces of works in art: – drawing, painting, collage, printing, 3D and textiles and digital media.

Teachers plan to introduce the pupils to the works of great from artists some from different cultures. The children learn about the artist’s work and then imitate it in lessons. Teachers also plan for opportunities to evaluate pieces of famous art and for the children to express preferences.

Implementation

Early Years

In Early Years at Half Acres Primary Academy, art is readily available for all children to access in well planned continuous provision areas. Art is encompassed and taught under the banner of ‘Expressive Art and Design’ within the new EYFS Profile. Children have the opportunity to experience a wide range of materials, tools and techniques to begin to develop their skills in this area. Children are taught from Nursery how to use specific artistic resources such as powder paint and are taught key art skills during star challenge time / focus activities.

Key Stage One and Two

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.

At Half Acres Primary Academy, evidence of the children’s learning can be found in their sketchbooks, classroom displays and in corridor displays. During an Art topic, a knowledge organiser is sent home to parents/ guardians which contains key information about what the children are going to be learning about. This will contain facts about famous artists and will include a glossary of subject specific vocabulary linked to art. This enables children to have access to key knowledge, language and meanings in order to understand and readily apply to their work in Art and across the wider curriculum. Children will take part in knowledge organiser quizzes to test what they know and remember. At the beginning of a unit, all pupils are given the opportunity to read and research the specific artist and their artistic style. A typical art lesson would follow this sequence: a knowing and remembering activity, a teaching or re-visiting of a skill e.g. colour mixing, opportunities for the children to practise the skill and then opportunities for the children to apply the skill independently.

Impact

The quality of the children’s work demonstrates appropriate pitch and challenge and it is evident that children’s knowledge has increased in comparison to previous years. Children are able to apply their knowledge and are creative artists. At the end of each unit of work, evidence of the skills are shown in children’s sketch books. Throughout the unit, children are given lots of opportunities to self and peer assess their work. The art subject leaders monitor outcomes regularly and give constructive feedback to other members of staff. Pupil voice is examined and the children will articulate knowledge about a range of artists, evaluate different pieces of art and express a preference.