Art

Curriculum

At Wheelock Primary School 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. They should be able 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.

The aims of Art and Design is to ensure all children:

• 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.

Pedagogy

Wheelock Primary Schools Art and Design curriculum is built around essential knowledge, understanding and key skills.  These are broken into key stage expectations and show clear continuity and progress. We plan our teaching as a learning journey providing children with opportunities over a two year curriculum.

Children are taught the knowledge, skills and understanding within three key concepts;

• developing ideas
• master techniques
• take inspiration from the greats (classic and modern)

These key concepts enable pupils to build upon prior learning, make connections and develop subject-specific vocabulary.

Art is taught through themes in relation to our topics in English, Science, and Humanities.

Sketchbooks

All children in KS 1& 2, have a sketchbook to record their thoughts, ideas, sketches, experimentations, plans, final pieces along with annotations. These sketchbooks are not written directly in by teachers as these are children’s own personal space for art. Any written feedback is recorded on a post-it note and stuck into their sketchbook. Reception document their process via Tapestry.

Teachers in school also get a sketchbook to model work to the children.

Assessment

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.

We measure the impact of our curriculum through the following methods:

• Feedback in sketchbooks.
• Images of the children’s practical learning.
• Interviewing the pupils about their learning (pupil voice).
• Pupil’s books are scrutinised and there is the opportunity for a dialogue between teachers to understand their class’s work.
• Annual reporting of standards across the curriculum.