Intent
At Eythorne Elvington our art and design curriculum is designed to engage, inspire and challenge children, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to participate in, experiment with, invent and create their own works of art, craft and design. Children will be empowered to think creatively and critically. They will investigate and evaluate a wide range of creative outcomes from the past and present to develop rigorous understanding of the many disciplines within art, craft and design and how they shape our past and future.
In line with our whole-school curriculum intent of bringing learning alive – we take these opportunities to give children as many real-life, practical, engaging activities from which to secure their understanding of knowledge and skills around art. Through this means, the children produce art that is showcased in the local community; design and create products which then meet a purpose in their lives; get the opportunity to meet real life artists and designers and be inspired by them.
Our school core values are as always interwoven through the art and design curriculum. Children are given the confidence to believe in their own artwork and that in this area of the curriculum there is no “right” or “wrong”. Pupils develop ambition to think big when planning a design and to follow the process through showing perseverance along the way when challenges come in their path. Staff model to pupils the importance of showing empathy to others particularly within an environment of varying abilities for art. Finally, they are shown the way to celebrate their successes in art through whole school art galleries and presenting work within the school community.
Implementation
At Eythorne Elvington our Art and Design curriculum is built around essential knowledge, understanding and key skills. These are broken into year group expectations and show clear continuity and progress.
As a school and in accordance with the National Curriculum’s expectations, we aim 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.
Following our whole school approach to teaching and learning:
REVIEW | TEACH | PRACTICE | APPLY
Sessions begin by evaluating previous performances and pulling on prior subject knowledge and skills. This is then then further progressed through first quality teaching and learning with one teachers delivering all sessions across the school. High standard modelling is key to demonstrate the skills and knowledge required t to reach the end outcome. Through small group work with adult support, pupils practice the skills using self, peer and teacher assessment regularly. Pupils show their understanding of knowledge and skills through application aspect of the session, where they will either demonstrate skills through a final piece; evaluate an artist’s viewpoint; analyse designs from themselves and/or others.
Impact
The impact of our art and design curriculum can be seen not only in our children’s sketch books but also through classroom displays and the school environment. These books are a gallery for showing progression across units and through year groups of school. Children take pride in their work and the standards that are set in terms of effort and application are high. Work is assessed constantly by staff and verbal feedback is given to strengthen the understanding and knowledge that the pupils finish sessions with.