Art & Design

Intent 

At Aylesham Primary School, we value Art and Design as an important part of the children’s entitlement to a broad and balanced curriculum. Underpinning the Art Curriculum is Creativity, one of the schools four key values, and a skill we believe will support the children to prepare for an ever-changing future. Through our Art and Design Curriculum we want to enable all pupils to feel able to think and act creatively. That means exploring all aspects of creativity: personal and social, exploring art for a variety of reasons, in varying contexts. Most importantly, it means enjoying the journey, so that pupils want to engage in creative activities, and so that they can grow to appreciate and value the importance of art as a highly subjective and individual experience, but one which is capable of being shared to bring people together. 

The Art and Design Curriculum at Aylesham Primary School assists pupils in becoming visually literate, developing their powers of observation and aesthetic sensibilities in order to make judgements about art and knowledgably communicate their ideas, opinions and feelings about their own work or others’. The curriculum aims to encourage the use of imagination and original thought, while also providing opportunities to learn about the world in which we live. It should equip children with the knowledge that there are many kinds of art made for different purposes, by different craftspeople.  

Our Art curriculum provides children with opportunities to develop their skills progressively using a range of materials and media. Children learn the skills of drawing, painting, printing, collage, textiles, sculpture/3D work and digital art. The children will be introduced to a range of works and develop knowledge of styles and vocabulary. The curriculum will enable children to communicate what they see, feel, and think through the use of colour, texture, form, pattern and different materials and processes. Through this the children learn to make informed judgements and aesthetic and practical decisions.  

It is important that all work in Art lessons are purposeful; be this as a means of expression, exploring the styles of other artists or finding inspiration for their own work. Pupils should hold a clear understanding of what the intended outcomes are, and have a means to measure their own work against this. In Art, children are expected to be reflective and evaluate their work, thinking about how they can make changes and keep improving. This should be meaningful and continuous throughout the process, with evidence of age-related verbal and written reflection. Children are encouraged to take risks and experiment and then reflect on why some ideas and techniques are successful or not for their project.  

Art will not always be taught in isolation, though it will retain its creative base, skills, and techniques. Wherever appropriate it is linked to other areas of the curriculum, giving the children the opportunities to develop specific art skills and reinforce skills already established.  
 

Implementation 

Art and Design at Aylesham Primary is taught termly, throughout the year, so that children can achieve depth in their learning. Art is linked as closely as possible to the topic for the term, to ensure relevance and context. We have identified the key knowledge and skills of each blocked topic and these are mapped across the school. Teaching is pre-dominantly skills-based and covers drawing, painting, sculpture, textiles, printing and digital art. Skills are revisited and honed in a spiral curriculum, which progresses in terms of depth and challenge, to build on children’s previous learning and ensure development is systematic. Understanding and knowledge is checked by teachers through consistent use of Assessment for Learning, ensuring that each child develops their skills and techniques in a way appropriate to them, through clear differentiation and support, active and purposeful experiences, and using a variety of art materials and teaching strategies, in line with the school's commitment to inclusion.  

Each child has a sketchbook. We give the child ownership of their sketchbook in order to foster their sense of creativity and develop their own artistic identities. The children use their sketchbooks to make initial sketches, develop skills, record ideas and develop opinions. Through in-depth discussion, the pupils will explore how their art can share commonalities with famous art and use subject specific vocabulary to discuss key artworks and their own work. They will develop as confident art critics, sharing their own opinions and making informed observations about what will improve their own practical work.  

Cross curricular outcomes in Art and Design are specifically planned for, such as in our “project week” this year entitled “a View from a Window”. Cross Curricular links allow all children to deepen their understand across the curriculum, including the use of technology, and artworks, from specific historical, geographical and scientific contexts. Effort, progress and outcomes are all encouraged and celebrated through displays, class exhibitions and enrichment activities, such as trips, clubs and our direct work with the Ootiboo Organisation. Most recently the school took part in Sky Arts week and we held our own exhibition through the school. This highlighted to the children that their art has purpose and impact and we hope to invite the wider community to view a whole school exhibition in the future. 

The Art and Design provision is well resourced and staff have access to a range of planning including support from AccessArt. Effective CPD and standardisation opportunities are made available to staff to ensure high levels of confidence and knowledge are maintained.  

Impact 

By the end of their time with us, we want pupils to have learned, improved and embedded a range of artistic skills. They should have an awareness of a broad range of artists and craftspeople, and be able to consider and discuss the artworks they come across. We want our pupils to be confident to explore, experiment and take risks, placing value on the process and journey that they take, not just on the finished product. The impact of this curriculum design will lead to outstanding progress over time across key stages relative to a child’s starting point and their progression of skills. Children will therefore be expected to leave Aylesham Primary reaching at least age-related expectations for Art and Design. Our Art and Design curriculum will also lead pupils to be enthusiastic Art and Design learners evidenced in a range of ways, including pupil voice, their final pieces and sketchbooks. We ensure that children who are achieving well, as well as those who need additional support, are identified, and additional provision and strategies are planned in and discussed with the class teachers. Achievements are celebrated in classrooms, corridor displays, assemblies and with parents, and by building increasing connections with local organisations such as Ootiboo, we aim to develop our future artists and their appreciation of the art opportunities that surround them. We hope to give them experiences beyond the planned curriculum through external links and extra planned projects throughout the year, such as Project week and Sky Arts week. Our work with Ootiboo openly promotes art and design as a possible further study or career choice, beyond the children’s time at Aylesham Primary.