Art Intent Statement:
At Birches First School, we value and understand the importance of Art and Design in providing children with a broad and balanced curriculum that can be tied in with many other subjects. Art and Design allows the children to experiment and develop their artistic skills, whilst enabling the children to express their own individual interests and opinions. Through Art and Design it is intended that children will be exposed to, and develop a greater understanding of, the different cultures that have or are currently influencing societies and the diverse range of artistic styles used by both male and female artists. This includes children developing a greater competency of creating art through the use of digital media. This range of study is intended to help develop the children’s’ independency and reflection as they will be able to create their own art using the techniques learnt from a variety of different artists.
Art and Design saw a surge during the lockdown period (2020) with more people than ever turning to art to help support their mental health. This indicates that children will benefit from a robust and engaging art curriculum. By providing children now with high-quality Art and Design provision, we should be equipping them with the knowledge and ability to experiment and create their own artwork, using a variety of techniques. As pupils progress throughout their years of study, they should be able to develop a greater understanding of Art and Design and understand how art reflects what was happening in the world when it was created.
Art Implementation:
At Birches First School, the teaching and implementation of Art and Design is based on the National Curriculum (2014) and supported by the teaching site KAPOW primary. Art is taught as a stand-alone subject (unless real links can be made e.g., Christmas crafts) following the schemes in blocks to ensure coverage of skills for each year group are covered. Using KAPOW as our framework each year group has a breakdown of the skills that need to be covered throughout the year and suggestions of ways that this can be achieved.
Areas covered throughout each year include Formal elements of Art, Art and Design skills, Landscapes using different media, Human art, Prehistoric art, Crafts and Sculptures. The Birches Art curriculum is designed to develop the key principle skills of drawing, colour, texture, form, printing and pattern. Each year group covers similar topics throughout the year but allows for greater progression of skills, allowing children to build upon their prior knowledge.
The Children’s learning and appreciation for art is further enhanced and embedded by providing the children with the opportunity for a whole school Arts Day. This allows children to work collaboratively, explore the work of different artists and the range of techniques used to create different masterpieces. Themes in the past have included African Art and Chinese New Year inspiration.
The type of study that children will be covering will be discussed and analysed by Art Leaders across the MAT to ensure that children are receiving a strong, beneficial education in Art and Design.
Impact:
Summative assessments take place throughout the year and teachers record the progress and attainment against the National Curriculum expectations of attainment. Teachers use this information to inform future lessons; ensuring children are supported and challenged appropriately. Further information is gathered through pupil questionnaires; highlighting strengths and achievement and any improvements. This also forms a basis for teachers to know if any knowledge and skills still need to be embedded. Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage are assessed within Expressive Arts and Design and their progress is tracked termly using the Tapestry assessment system. Attainment against age related expectations are reported to parents at the end of each academic year.
Children develop an understanding and appreciation of the Arts and have the skills and confidence to express themselves, their thoughts, feelings and opinions creatively.