Laying the foundations of lifelong learning
What does Art look like at Highweek?
Our Art & Design Curriculum Statement
Intent
At Highweek we offer a coherently planned sequence of lessons to help teachers ensure they have progressively covered the skills and concepts required in the National Curriculum. We believe that Art has a valuable role across the curriculum but also a key role in developing children’s critical abilities. The art curriculum, develops the children’s understanding of others and their own cultural heritage, through the study of a diverse range of artists. Children develop their understanding of the visual language of art through effective teaching of considered sequences of lessons. Key art and design skills and concepts are revisited throughout different units. An understanding of the visual elements of art and design (line, tone, texture, colour, pattern, shape, 3D form) will be developed by providing a curriculum which will allow the children to develop these technical skills and reach their full potential.
Implementation
The skills and knowledge that children will develop throughout each art topic are mapped across each year group and are progressive throughout the school. In order for children to know more and remember more in each area of art studied, there is a structure to the lesson sequence whereby prior learning is considered and opportunities for revision of skills are built into lessons. The emphasis on knowledge ensures that children understand the context of the artwork, as well as the artists they are learning about and being inspired by. This enables links to other areas, such as history, with children developing an understanding of individual artists, as well as individual works and movements. A similar systematic approach to the development of skills, means that children are given the opportunity to develop their creative imaginations, as well as practise and develop key processes of art: drawing, painting, printing, textiles and sculpture. A spiral curriculum allows for revision of skills to become part of good practice and ultimately helps build a depth to children’s understanding. Through revisiting and consolidating skills, our lesson plans and resources help children build on prior knowledge alongside introducing new skills and challenge. The revision and introduction of skill based key vocabulary is built into each lesson. Through these lessons, we intend to inspire pupils and practitioners to develop a love of Art.
Impact
The structure of the art curriculum ensures that children are able to develop their knowledge and understanding of the work of artists, craftspeople and designers from a range of times and cultures and apply this knowledge to their own work. The use of children’s sketchbooks means that children are able to review, modify and develop their ideas. Children learn to understand and apply the key principles of art: line, tone, texture, shape, form, space, pattern, colour, contrast, composition, proportion and perspective. The opportunity for children to refine and develop their techniques over time is supported by effective lesson sequencing and progression between year groups. This also supports children in achieving age related expectations at the end of their cohort year. Gaps in areas such as colour theory will be addressed through being reviewed in each year group. You will also be able to see the range of resources used across the school in classroom displays. Displays will also reflect the sense of pride children feel in their achievements in art. Whole-school and parental engagement will be improved through the use of skills taught being utilized in home learning tasks and opportunities suggested in lessons and overviews for wider learning. The Art curriculum at Highweek Primary School contributes to children’s personal development in creativity, independence, judgement and self-reflection.
