Art & Design

 

Intent

Our intentions in the teaching of art and design at Huntington are:

• to provide the children with opportunities to explore, develop and produce pieces of art work across six skills: drawing, painting, collage, sculpture, textiles and printing
• to enable children to record from first-hand experience and from imagination
• to select their own ideas to use in their work and/ or use the ideas of existing artists to create their own work
• to evaluate and analyse creative works using the language of art, craft and design
• to develop creativity and imagination through a range of activities
• to improve the children’s ability to control materials, tools and techniques
• to increase their critical awareness of the roles and purposes of art and design in different times and cultures
• to develop increasing confidence in the use of visual and tactile elements and materials;
• to foster an enjoyment and appreciation of the visual arts, and a knowledge of artists, craftspeople and designers
• to develop the cross-curricular use of art and design in all subjects

 

Implementation

Our principal aim is to develop the children’s knowledge, skills and understanding. We ensure that the act of investigating and producing something includes exploring and developing ideas, and evaluating and developing work. We do this best through a mixture of whole-class teaching and individual or group activities. Teachers draw attention to good examples of individual performance as models for the other children. They encourage children to evaluate their own ideas and methods, and the work of others, and to say what they think and feel about them. Children also have the opportunity to use a wide range of materials and resources.

We recognise the fact that we have children of differing ability in all our classes, and we provide suitable learning opportunities for all children by matching the challenge of the task to the ability of the child. We achieve this through a range of strategies:

• setting tasks that are open-ended and can have a variety of responses;
• setting tasks of increasing difficulty, where not all children complete all tasks;
• providing a range of challenges with different resources;
• having more adults support the work of individual children or small groups;
• providing specialist support where individual children have particular gifts or talents.

The Foundation Stage

We encourage creative work in the Foundation Classes, as this is part of the Early Years Foundation Stage We relate the children’s creative development to the objectives set out in the Early Learning Goals, which underpin the curriculum planning for children aged three to five. The children’s learning includes art, music, dance, role-play and imaginative play. The range of experience encourages children to make connections between one area of learning and another, and so extends their understanding. We provide a rich environment in which we encourage and value creativity. Children are engaged in a wide range of activities, and their responses involve the various senses.

Key Stage 1

The children in Key Stage 1 begin to explore the skills, use a variety of materials and resources suitable for their age group and begin to develop their understanding of artists and the work they produce. They develop their understanding and knowledge of the language used in art, begin to use the correct vocabulary and learn through exploration and then focused activities. They are often encouraged to produce their art work in the style of an artist the class teacher has introduced after exploring their techniques and materials used by the artist. Children in Key Stage 1 will learn about a range of artists, designers and craftspeople, describing the differences and similarities between different practices and then making links to their own work.

Key Stage 2

The children in Key Stage 2 will be taught how to develop and refine their techniques, including the control and use of materials, decision making on what to use, further experimentation of a wider range of materials and resources suitable for their age group. They will continue to develop their knowledge and understanding of vocabulary used when discussing art work, correct terminology for practises and materials used and continue to develop their knowledge of what materials they could use and how to use them creatively. In Key Stage 2, the children begin to take responsibility for their own sketchbooks and are often encouraged to use these to explore, test and evaluate the techniques and materials.  The children will learn about a range of great artists, architects and designers throughout history and how their work may have had a wider impact.

 

Impact:

• We assess the children’s work in art and design while observing them working during lessons. Teachers record the progress made by children against the learning objectives for their lessons.
• At the end of a unit of work, the acquisition of knowledge, skills and understanding in art and design will be measure using formative and summative teacher assessment. Attainment and progress will be measured and recorded against assessment objectives for each year group which has been developed with a whole-school progression. This method of recording also enables the teacher to make an annual assessment of progress for each child, as part of the child’s annual report to parents and carers. We pass this information on to the next teacher at the end of each year.
• Children are encouraged to assess and evaluate both their own work and that of other pupils. This helps them to appreciate how they can improve their performance, and what their targets should be for the future.
• The art and design subject leader keeps evidence of the children’s work in a portfolio of photographs. This demonstrates the expected level of achievement in art and design in each year of the school.
• Lesson observations, planning and sketchbook reviews will take place.
• Any developments will be identified and results will be incorporated into the art and design action plan shared with staff and school governors.

Art and design and inclusion and equality

We teach art and design to all children, whatever their ability and individual needs. Art and design forms part of our school curriculum policy, which is to provide a broad and balanced education for all our children. Our teachers provide learning opportunities that are matched to the needs of children with learning difficulties. We strive to meet the needs of all pupils with special educational needs, disabilities, special gifts and talents, and of those learning English as an additional language. We enable all pupils to have access to the full range of activities while studying art and design. Where children participate in activities outside the classroom (a visit to an art gallery, for example), we carry out a risk assessment beforehand, to ensure that the activity is safe and appropriate for all pupils.

 

How can I support my child with art?

1. Get messy!

Try to get hold of as many different types of drawing and painting resources as you can to let your child get creative and explore creating art using different materials. Paints, chalk, crayons, pens, pencils, modelling clay and much more can be found in discount shops. Just don’t forget to put lots of newspaper down first!

2. Use household objects creatively

Alternatively, instead of buying materials, let them get creative using things around the house – for example, pasta and pulses to create pictures using glue. You could even experiment with colour-changing art – find out more here.

3. Keep a sketch book

Encourage your child to keep a sketch book. Suggest that they take it with them when they go out so that they can look for things to sketch – a tree, a building, a scene. Alternatively, if they see something they would like to draw, take a photo on your phone and let them sketch from it when they are home.

4. Celebrate your child's art

Praise your child’s creations and encourage them not to get disheartened if they feel they have made ‘mistakes’. Explain that art is about being creative and trying out different things. There is no right or wrong way to do things. You could even ‘frame’ their work using coloured paper or card and create a little gallery on the kitchen wall or in their bedroom to display their work.

5. Discuss and enjoy art together

Find out about local art galleries or museums that you can visit with your child. Encourage them to talk about what they see and to share their opinions – about subject matter, colours, what materials the artist used, and so on.