Art

“Art washes away from the soul, the dust of everyday life.” – Pablo Picasso

INTENT

At Millbrook, our intention is to ensure that children are engaged, inspired and challenged throughout each art and design topic. We believe that art stimulates creativity, imagination and inventiveness. We believe that art gives our pupils the knowledge and skills necessary for them to respond artistically to their ideas and experiences. In short art fires their imagination! Art should enable the children to communicate what they see, feel and think. Children should experiment with and develop their ideas, their use of colour, texture, form, pattern and different materials and processes, therefore enabling them to continue to develop their skills and become more proficient in drawing, painting, sculpture and other art, craft and design techniques.

At Millbrook, children are encouraged to use their skills to create their own independent works of art, craft and design as well as developing their understanding of key ideas in art through a progression of skills which extends and challenges their creativity. In order to achieve their best potential, the children have access to a range of good quality resources that support each topic and enable a confident approach. We aim to provide the opportunity to develop a deeper understanding of art and design by exploring various artists, craft makers and designers. We develop children’s understanding of how art and design records, reflects and shapes our history and contributes to the culture, creativity and wealth of our nation.

IMPLEMENTATION

Our curriculum is designed with five strands that run throughout. These are:

• Generating ideas
• Using sketchbooks
• Making skills, including formal elements (line, shape, tone, texture, pattern, colour)
• Knowledge of artists
• Evaluating and analysing

Units of lessons are sequential, allowing children to build their skills and knowledge, applying them to a range of outcomes. The formal elements, a key part of the National Curriculum, are also woven throughout units. Key skills are revisited again and again with increasing complexity in a spiral curriculum model. This allows pupils to revise and build on their previous learning. Units in each year group are organised into four core areas:

• Drawing
• Painting and mixed-media
• Sculpture and 3D
• Craft and design

IMPACT

By taking part in our regular discussions and decision making processes, children will not only know facts and key information about art, but they will be able to talk confidently about their own learning journey, have higher metacognitive skills and have a growing understanding of how to improve. After the implementation of our Art and design curriculum, pupils should leave primary school equipped with a range of techniques and the confidence and creativity to form a strong foundation for their Art and design learning at Key Stage 3 and beyond. The expected impact of our Art and design curriculum is that children will:

•  Produce creative work, exploring and recording their ideas and experiences.
•  Be proficient in drawing, painting, sculpture and other art, craft and design techniques.
•  Evaluate and analyse creative works using subject-specific language.
•  Know about great artists and the historical and cultural development of their art.
•  Meet the end of key stage expectations outlined in the National curriculum for Art and design.