Intent

At Lincoln Gardens Primary School, we believe that art is a vital and integral part of children’s education, providing them with the knowledge and skills to develop and express their individual creativity. Therefore, we provide a high quality art curriculum, which engages, inspires and challenges all pupils. This enables children to develop a natural sense of wonder and curiosity about the world around them. As pupils progress, they should be able to think critically and develop a more rigorous understanding of the different elements of art, including developing their proficiency in drawing, painting, printing and sculpture. Within our art curriculum, we explore various famous artists from different historic periods, examining how they reflect and shape our history, and contribute to the culture, creativity and wealth of our nation.

Curriculum

EYFS

The statutory framework outlines the following in the expressive arts and design section.

Exploring and using media and materials: children sing songs, make music and dance, and experiment with ways of changing them. They safely use and explore a variety of materials, tools and techniques, experimenting with colour, design, texture, form and function.

Being imaginative: children use what they have learnt about media and materials in original ways, thinking about uses and purposes. They represent their own ideas, thoughts and feelings through design and technology, art, music, dance, role-play and stories.

The National Curriculum outlines the following aims for Key Stages 1 and 2.

Key Stage 1

Pupils should be taught:

• to use a range of materials creatively to design and make
  products
• to use drawing, painting and sculpture to develop and share
  their ideas, experiences and imagination
• to develop a wide range of art and design techniques in using
  colour, pattern, texture, line, shape, form and space
• about the work of a range of artists, craft makers and
  designers, describing the differences and similarities between different
  practices and disciplines, and making links to their own work.

 

Key Stage 2

Pupils should be taught to develop 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.

Pupils should be taught:

• to create sketch books to record their observations and use
  them to review and revisit ideas
• to improve their mastery of art and design techniques,
  including drawing, painting and sculpture with a range of materials [for
  example, pencil, charcoal, paint, clay
• about great artists, architects and designers in history.

Coverage and Progression

In order to meet the aims of both the EYFS framework and the National Curriculum, the art subject leader will provide class teachers with an Art Whole School Curriculum Map (See appendix 1) and Art Knowledge Mats (see appendix 2). These will outline the progression of key skills including drawing, painting, printing, collage and sculpture for each year group and include key vocabulary for each year group. They will also identify artists related to each skill/area. Teachers can choose to link these key skills to their current curriculum topic or choose to teach the skill as a stand-alone lesson.

The sequencing of art lessons should follow these series of steps:

1. Look at artwork of a relevant artist and evaluate within sketchbooks (artists will be varied in gender, date and culture to ensure children are exposed to a variety of artists).
2. Introduce a specific skill as the focus of the lesson. Demonstrate how to complete via teacher modelling / video tutorials etc. Allow children time to experiment and practice this skill within their sketchbooks (Y1-6). Encourage children to be creative and swap between mediums. Children in years 1-6 should be annotating these trials throughout their sketchbooks, formulating their own opinion of their work.
3. Create a final piece of artwork. If not completed in sketchbooks, ensure photos are taken to stick in to show final work. Children should be able to show the skill they were taught independently whilst also using prior knowledge of other skills. They should be independent when choosing materials and equipment to show their understanding.
4. Evaluate their final piece of artwork, ensuring they are evaluating at the suitable
   level for their year group expectations.

Inclusion and equal opportunities

Art plays an important part in the life of our school where children are able to enjoy and achieve. Opportunities are available to every child and all children take part in creative activities; making a positive contribution to the life of the school and local community. Activities both within and outside the classroom are planned in a way that encourages full and active participation by all children, matched to their knowledge, understanding and previous experience. Children have equal opportunities to develop their understanding and enjoyment of art regardless of race, gender and ability. Every effort will be made to ensure that activities are equally interesting to both boys and girls. Art from all cultures is valued and teachers ensure that all pupils have access to a diverse range of resources. Teachers ensure that the curriculum is appropriate for the needs of the children.

Enrichment

At Lincoln Gardens we are proud of our artwork and want to share the successes of the children whenever possible. Every term, the pupils at Lincoln Gardens will complete a WOW event and we will share this with parents/carers through art exhibitions, work shared on our website and work in local art galleries. We are also proud to offer extra enrichment activities such as our weekly art club during lunch times.

Assessment and Recording

All children will be provided with a sketchbook, which stays with the child throughout their school journey. This will enable teachers to see progression in the pupils’ skills. Class teachers should assess the child’s work on a continual basis, following the assessment document in the back of pupils sketchbooks. Teachers can obtain this evidence by direct observation of children at work, questioning pupils or listening to their conversations, and by photographing and recording their finished products. This assessment process should provide enough information to inform the next teacher of progress made, and to be of use in preparing the annual report to parents.

Monitoring and Review

To maintain high standards in art across the school, the art subject leader will monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of Art teaching and learning by observing lessons, conducting sketchbook scrutinies and completing pupil voice and annual staff questionnaires. The subject leader will attend a governors meeting annually to update them on the progress of the subject to allow governors the opportunity to challenge as necessary. The subject leader will also attend an annual meeting with the head teacher and the deputy head teacher to discuss yearly progress of the subject.

To support staff in their delivery of art lessons, the subject leader will organise staff art CPD and offer guidance to staff. The subject leader will lead an annual subject staff meeting.

An annual review and update of the art policy, the whole school curriculum map and the art knowledge mats will be undertaken by the art subject leader.