Art
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. (National Curriculum 2014)
Wheatfields Juniors Annual Art Exhibition showcasing art to celebrate the Queen's Platinum Jubilee
Intent of the Art Curriculum at Wheatfields Juniors
At Wheatfields Junior School, we believe that Art and Design play an important role in the curriculum and provide the opportunity for creativity and individual expression. Our lessons aim to engage, inspire and challenge pupils while equipping them with the knowledge and skills to experiment, create and critically evaluate their own works of art. During their time at Wheatfields, children are given regular opportunities to become proficient in drawing, painting, printing, collage and 3D art through a curriculum which is designed to allow children to revisit and revise skills taught in previous years. Our curriculum is designed to allow the children to explore and critically evaluate a broad and diverse range of both classical and contemporary artists and their work. During an art lesson at Wheatfields Junior School, the children are encouraged to express what they see, feel and think through the use of a wide variety of media and techniques as our hope is that we ignite a passion for the subject within our pupils, as well as allowing them to be actively involved in shaping their creativity, curiosity and appreciation of artists and their work. Our art curriculum is enriched by our annual Art exhibition, where art is created around a common theme across the whole school.
Implementation - What does Art look like at Wheatfields Juniors?
- At Wheatfields Junior School, every child is given their own sketchbook. This is because we believe that a sketchbook is a space where children can freely express, create, develop and learn, often with limited guidance from the teacher. The child’s sketchbook is at the centre of their creativity.
- At the beginning of each unit, every child is given a knowledge organiser which allows them to refer back to key vocabulary and skills when needed. These also give children an insight towards what each unit will be about and the knowledge they will develop.
- In order to develop confident art critics, the children learn to share their opinions of artwork and make informed observations and evaluations of both their own artwork and the artwork of their peers. Children will also be encouraged to compare key artwork that they have been exposed to during each unit of art, as well as artwork they have evaluated in previous year groups.
- Through in-depth discussions, children are able to explore how their artwork can share commonalities and dissimilarity with famous art and use subject-specific vocabulary to discuss key artwork and their own art work.
- During an Art lesson, children will be given opportunities for new experiences, balanced with time for repeated practice and structured learning with space for personal exploration. They accumulate technical skills and contextual knowledge, along with a growing self-awareness of what it means to be creative.
- Art is taught discretely and where possible linked to learning in other areas of the curriculum.
- Art days provide children with the opportunity to work collaboratively with their peers.
- Teachers adapt resources, where necessary, to meet the needs of the child
Impact
The impact of the Art and Design curriculum at Wheatfields Junior School will lead to outstanding progress over time for every child. Our curriculum will lead children to be enthusiastic Art and Design learners which will be evidenced in a range of ways: pupil voice, the build-up of knowledge in their sketchbooks and their final pieces. All children are taught to use technical vocabulary accurately and pupils are expected to know, apply and understand the knowledge taught in both new and previous units to ensure we are building on previously acquired knowledge. Children will become more confident in evaluating their work and giving their opinion on their own artwork and that of artists and their peers. Through continually evaluating and improving their work, the children’s resilience and perseverance will continue to grow with each unit of work. Classroom displays and displays across the wider school will reflect the children’s sense of pride in their art work which is also demonstrated by creative outcomes across the wider curriculum.
By the end of Key Stage 2 our children will have:
- developed 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.
- Used their sketch books as a way to record their observations and to review and revisit ideas
- improved their mastery of art and design techniques, including drawing, painting and sculpture with a range of materials [pencil, charcoal, paint, clay, fabric]
- developed knowledge about great artists, architects and designers in history.