Art
At Kingsmead Primary School, Art & Design is a vital part of children’s learning, enjoyment and achievement. Our curriculum is designed to challenge all pupils to persevere and work hard over time, making work of which they are proud. Children are encouraged to express themselves creatively, which combines technical skill alongside imaginative and intellectual thinking. Direct teaching of technique across drawing, painting and sculpture enables all children to produce their own high quality work, to which they bring their own imagination and flair. Studying the work of artists and art movements throughout history, provides children with inspiration and cultural knowledge and develops their ability to observe and listen purposefully.
The National Curriculum for Art & Design aims to ensure that 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.
LKS2: “Art sets our minds free after lots of tricky learning”
“We learn about lots of different artists and how to draw like them”
“In KS1 I learnt how to draw and now I’m improving”
At Kingsmead Primary School, teachers have access to a bespoke termly scheme of work which has been planned by a subject specialist. These units consist of small steps which have been planned to build upon children’s previous learning and ensure a wide coverage of skills, genres and artists. Each unit focuses on at least one artist/art movement and is designed to allow children to draw from this inspiration in order to create their own final pieces.
Teachers are encouraged to create their own sketchbook to assist their teaching of the subject - helping children consider how to present their own work and allowing them to learn from their teacher’s own learning journey.
From KS1, children have their own sketchbooks in which they record their ideas and learning journey. These allow children to reflect on and improve their artwork and will increasingly include annotations to express their thinking as they progress through school.
Children are given opportunities to work with a range of media and gradually become more independent in their selection of tools and media as they begin to understand the potential and limitations of each material.
In EYFS, children are introduced to a range of media in their learning of Expressive Art & Design. They learn through some direct teaching but also very much through their child initiated experimentation. They look at artists, usually through consideration of a single work and may apply this to their own work. Children experiment with colour mixing and learn that there are three primary colours.
In Key Stage 1, children build upon their knowledge and skills from EYFS. Children begin to learn about specific artists and incorporate their styles into their own creations. Children use their sketchbooks to record their ideas and begin to reflect on their artwork, adapting and improving their ideas. Children develop new techniques across drawing, painting and sculpture and apply these to different subjects including portraits and landscapes. Children mix a wider range of colours and begin to add black and white to create shades and tints.
In Lower Key Stage 2, children learn to distinguish between certain art movements throughout history and are introduced to a wider range of artists and encouraged to give their own opinions on the artwork. Children develop how they record their work in their sketchbooks, annotating their ideas and making improvements to their artwork. Children experiment with a greater range of media across drawing, sculpture and painting. Children gain a deeper understanding of the colour, learning about warm and cold colours, tertiary colours and complementary colours.
In Upper Key Stage 2, children build on the knowledge they have acquired throughout school and are given more freedom to experiment and develop their own style. Children are able to consider art as something more than aesthetic beauty and comment on their interpretation of themes and messages behind artwork which is reflected in their sketchbook annotations. Children increasingly consider limitations and potential of different media for their purpose and are encouraged to to select their own media for purpose. Children reflect purposefully on the work of artists and their peers and use this to further develop their own artwork.
UKS2: “I love that I can present my sketchbook in my own way using my own ideas”
“I’ve learnt different techniques every year which I add to my artwork”
KS1: “I like putting lots of detail into my work”
“If it's not right, you just keep practising”
“My painting has got so much better!”
We will be able to see that children build on the technical skills and knowledge they have learnt throughout school to develop high quality artwork across drawing, painting and sculpture. We will see that children are able to comment on an artist’s work and make links with other artists and movements they have learnt about, bringing these styles into their own work.
From KS1, children’s learning will be recorded in their sketchbooks which display greater freedom of expression and more detailed annotation as the children progress through school. Children’s final pieces will be recorded using different media on a range of surfaces and scales.
Children will be able to communicate their ideas creatively and produce work they are proud of, demonstrating imagination and flair. Children will be able to discuss the work of contemporary artists and artists through history and draw on their styles as inspiration for their own creations. Children will be able to reflect thoughtfully on their artwork and appraise the work of their peers, coaching and offering suggestions.
If you were to walk into an Art lesson at Kingsmead you would see:
Children who are enthusiastic about their learning and are producing work with a range of media
Children who are able to discuss their artwork and the artist/art movement that has inspired their creations
Children who take pride in their work and are keen to showcase their taught skills