At WDPS, we believe that when children are given the opportunity to foster a love of challenge, adventure and creativity in and beyond the classroom - developing skills that will equip them for all walks of life - they will become life-long learners with resilience, passion and a thirst for knowledge.

Intent

At West Denton Primary School (WDPS) we believe that Art and Design is an important part of the children’s entitlement to a broad and balanced curriculum. Our Art curriculum engages pupils in exploring their own creativity as well as learning about artists past and present. By encouraging our children to explore and develop their own skills, we will promote a lifelong love of learning and children who are prepared to embrace the ever-changing world around them.

Life Skills and Resilience  

Lifelong learners

At WDPS we have created an exciting Art curriculum that will develop a thirst for learning and knowledge in our children. The curriculum is enhanced with outside expert visitors, educational trips to local galleries and access to a range of hands on resources.

WDPS believes a high quality Art and Design curriculum engages, inspires and challenges our pupils and equips them with the knowledge and skills to experiment, invent and create their own works of art, craft and design. They also learn how Art and Design reflect and shape our history and contribute to the culture and creativity of society.

WDPS Core Values- Positive Contributors and Citizens

Through our Art curriculum, each child will be encouraged to develop their own talents to the full. They will show their creativity and take risks by coming up with their own ideas and gain independence by thinking and doing things for themselves. Our children will also learn to work together on group projects, which will encourage their respect for others and their adaptability. When studying a certain artist or movement, they will demonstrate their curiosity by asking questions. Through experimenting and communicating their ideas through a range of media they will grow in knowledge and confidence as they develop their own style. They will be open minded as they view artistic preferences from different perspectives.

At WDPS, our curriculum is aimed toward developing the whole child in a nurturing and secure environment where academic success is also an important element of this vision. By building on children’s prior knowledge, they then acquire the necessary skills to grow academically on their journey through school. We strive to equip all children with the skills they need to progress to the next stage of their school life with confidence and pride.

Academic Commitment

The National Curriculum for Art and Design aims to ensure that all pupils:

• Produce creative work, exploring their ideas and recording their experiences
• Become proficient in drawing, painting, sculpture and other art, craft and design techniques
• Evaluate and analyse creative works using the language of art, craft and design
• Know about great artists, craft makers and designers, and understand the historical and cultural development of their art forms.

Our high quality Art education supports our aim of developing the whole child by encouraging them to develop their own talents. The Art curriculum is planned to ensure full coverage of the National Curriculum, making maximum use of local facilities such as galleries. The curriculum is planned on a two year rolling program to accommodate our mixed age classes. Progression is seen through the Art skills. Through the organisation of the units, there is also cohesion between Phases, allowing the children to develop and build on their previous knowledge and skills and apply it further.

Implementation

We adopt a practical approach to learning and teaching in Art which develops our pupils as young artists. To ensure high standards of teaching and learning in Art and Design, we implement a curriculum that is progressive throughout the whole school. Art and Design is either taught as part of a topic or as a discrete subject, but always focuses on knowledge and skills stated in the National Curriculum. We ensure that Art and Design is given the same importance as the core subjects, as we feel this is important in enabling all children to gain ‘real-life’ experiences.

Teachers plan lessons for their class using our progression of knowledge and skills document. Teachers can use this document to plan their Art and Design lessons suitable to their class topics and interests. The progression document ensures the curriculum is covered and the skills/knowledge taught is progressive from year group to year group.

At WDPS, we provide a variety of opportunities for Art and Design learning to take place inside and outside of the classroom. We encourage opportunities for cross-curricular Art experiences and frequently use our extensive outdoor facilities for the children to develop their creativity; for example using our allotment and Bushcraft areas to create artwork using natural materials. Educational visits are another opportunity for the teachers to plan for additional Art and Design learning outside the classroom. The children have visited local art galleries and had visitors into school to share learning and have hands on experiences.

Impact

In Art, children are reflective and evaluate their own and each other’s work, thinking about how they can make changes to keep improving. This is meaningful and continuous throughout the process, with evidence of age-related verbal and written reflection.

At the end of each unit of term, we make a summative judgement about the achievement of each pupil and input these into the WDPS Foundation Subjects Tracker.  At this point teachers decide upon a ‘best fit’ judgement as to whether the pupil has achieved and embedded the expected learning goals, exceeded expectations or is still working towards the goals.  These decisions are based on the professional knowledge and judgement that teachers possess about the progress of each pupil, developed over the previous three terms, which allows an informed and holistic judgement of attainment to be made. Achievement against the learning goals for art at the end of the year is used as the basis of reporting progress to parents and carers.