At Crofton Infants School we aim to provide a high-quality art education, which will engage, inspire and challenge pupils, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to experiment, invent and create their own works of art, craft and design.
Art is concerned with the way we respond to, understand and interpret our world through our senses and emotions. Taking part in art allows us to investigate what we see; to make visual responses; to interpret and to reach decisions.
Art and design has its own language based upon visual and tactile elements and it is our aim to ensure all children have the opportunity to explore their own creativity and individuality.
Intent
- To provide a broad and balanced range of art activities.
- To show children’s progress of art skills through the work produced.
- To provide a varied arts curriculum, including experiences from other cultures and traditions.
- To raise and develop children’s self esteem through class and group activities and individual work.
- To give children the opportunity to work with other professionals from the arts community.
- To raise standards in Art so that every child makes best progress.
- To value and celebrate diversity in Art.
- To ensure equal opportunity – all children are provided with equal access to the Art curriculum. We aim to provide suitable learning opportunities regardless of gender, ethnicity or home background.
Whenever possible, we teach through a themed approach, to enable children to embed learning and make connections, which leads to a greater depth of understanding within the subject. The content is therefore chosen to make effective links with key themes, reflect expectations in the National Curriculum programmes of study and Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework and engage and inspire our children. The content may also be chosen based upon the needs or interests of specific cohorts or links to events which are taking place in the community or wider world .
We have in place for Art a comprehensive knowledge and skills progression document, which is used for planning, to ensure sequenced and appropriate content for specific year groups, as well as a build up of knowledge and skills.
Within these documents there are also opportunities for differentiation, in order to meet the needs of all learner.
Implementation
A long term maps out the coverage of the discrete teaching and learning opportunities for children to use and explore different media. Children explore working with paint, clay, textiles and sculpture and develop skills in drawing, printing and collage. This provides them with a wide range of discrete art experiences during their time in Key Stage 1.
Within each discrete block of art teaching, class teachers carefully plan the specific outcomes for their year group, based upon age appropriate knowledge and skills, as well as the needs of the cohort or individuals within it.
Our teaching and learning opportunities ensure all children are introduced to and reminded of key vocabulary. Questioning and assessments of skills are used to check their understanding and prior knowledge, before new concepts or skills are introduced.
Modelling is used by class teachers to clarify expectations, children are then given plentiful opportunities to consolidate, build upon and apply basic skills in order to produce a piece of work which showcases what they have learnt.
When children are learning about a subject through a discrete teaching sessions they are explicitly told that today they are going to be ‘artists.’ They are then reminded of the key skills that they will learn, use and develop within that subject.
In art these are
We are learning to:
- talk about colour, shape, pattern, tone and line
- use a variety of tools and materials
- express our own ideas and use our imagination
- talk about the work of others including well known artists
- evaluate our work and say how it might be improved
In addition to discrete teaching in art, opportunities and links are made to art knowledge, skills and concepts throughout the year, ensuring that elements of the art teaching are accessed by children continually as part of the curriculum on offer. Opportunities for art through additional projects, such as the Waterton Multi Academy Trust ‘Art on Tour’ project, ensure that children have the opportunities to showcase their work.
Sketch books are used in each class to develop drawing skills, based upon a particular theme each half term, e.g. portraits. This not only enables children to practise their skills throughout the year and use the language associated with the arts, it ensures that they have regular opportunities to learn about and reflect upon the work of famous and local artists.
Teaching Art in EYFS
The development of children’s artistic and cultural awareness supports their imagination and creativity. It is important that children have regular opportunities to engage with the arts, enabling them to explore and play with a wide range of media and materials. The quality and variety of what children see, hear and participate in is crucial for developing their understanding, self-expression, vocabulary and ability to communicate through the arts. The frequency, repetition and depth of their experiences are fundamental to their progress in interpreting and appreciating what they hear respond to and observe.
- Safely use and explore a variety of materials, tools and techniques, experimenting with colour, design, texture, form and function;
- Share their creations, explaining the process they have used.
Impact
Ongoing assessments of the children’s knowledge and skills is observed by the class teacher. Misconceptions are addressed and next steps carefully planned. Children’s outcomes are compared to the subject specific skills and knowledge documents. At the end of a block of discrete teaching (or term) subject leaders gather an overview of children’s outcomes in each subject area. This is used to plan appropriate next steps for their future learning, as well as provide an overview of learning within a subject area cross the whole school.
Participation in art activities develops physical skills including fine motor control and hand-eye co-ordination. It also has a positive effect on children’s well-being.
Through art children are enabled to discover how art has shaped our history and contributed to the culture, creativity and wealth of our nation and the wider world.
Wider opportunities
Children visit local galleries and discover local artists who have a place on the global stage such as Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth.
Each year we take part in the Waterton Multi-Academy Trust Art project, which allows our children to learn about a variety of Famous artists from the past and present, whilst developing their own skills through different media.