Art Curriculum Statement
Our Intent
‘We do not want art for a few, no more than we want education for a few or freedom for a few. ‘
William Morris
Willow Brook staff value the importance of the arts provision to educate and nurture the whole child. Art, craft and design embody some of the highest forms of human creativity. As one of our 5C’s, we place Creativity at the heart of our cross-curricular approach and value the opportunity this subject gives in its own right to engage, inspire and challenge our children. We believe it allows each individual to use their imagination, to explore, to take risks and extend their cultural understanding. Working with different materials, processes, tools and technologies sparks pupils’ curiosity, provides intrinsic motivation, pride in their work and developing skills. This will promote memorable learning experiences and develop an individual’s knowledge and appreciation of the world in which they live. We also believe that it allows for self-exploration and promotes mental well-being.
Our Aims and Objectives
The aims of Art and Design at Willow Brook Primary are to:
- Stimulate creativity and imagination to enable children to express their ideas, thoughts and feelings through practical experience in a variety of 2 and 3-dimensional media.
- Explore our local heritage as well as supporting children in understanding and appreciating art from a variety of cultures, styles and periods of time.
- Promote children’s enjoyment of Art through a broad and balanced curriculum which builds on previous work and achievements.
- Enable children to develop non-verbal means of organising ideas and expressing thoughts and feelings and record, communicate and express these ideas in different ways.
- Encourage the development of visual perception and visual literacy.
- Extend and broaden the individual’s knowledge about the arts by exploring a wide range of artists, sculptors and architects.
- Provide the children with opportunities to further their understanding of Art by going on school trips, having visitors to school or taking part in community-based art initiatives.
- Develop an individual’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural development through thought-provoking activities and time for self-reflection.
Our Vision for Implementation
Our Creative Curriculum approach encourages teachers to intertwine subjects to form one coherent cross-curricular theme. Taught techniques, learning experiences and knowledge are inextricably linked to strengthen all areas of the curriculum. Pupils will, however, understand the importance of art as a subject and will be encouraged to see the value of creative thinking and learning both as a part of schooling and as a potential career.
The National Curriculum’s Aims and Programmes of Study form a strong foundation for our Art work. Annual whole-staff reviews match core content with topic work and ensure that other areas are taught as stand-alone units of work. The subject co-ordinator is responsible for ensuring that the curriculum planning is thorough and that the standard of work is both comprehensive and progressive.
When we search for Impact…
Our Art Curriculum is well thought out and is planned to provide opportunity, quality and progression. If children are truly experiencing a rich curriculum, they are deemed to be making good or better progress.
Assessing our planning and successes collaboratively allows staff of all experiences to appreciate and develop professionally.
In addition, we endeavour to measure the impact of our curriculum through the following methods:
- Reflecting together regularly as teachers on outcomes and plans
- Showcasing curriculum-based artwork at the end of whole school topics to demonstrate specific learning and progression across the school
- Include pupil discussions/critiques and self-reflection about their learning; which includes discussion of their thoughts, ideas, processing and evaluations of work.
As a school we define the knowledge our pupils need and scaffold our curriculum in such a way that children revisit skills and build upon them each year, tackling increasingly challenging concepts. As each step in a learning journey develops, it incorporates a deeper understanding of prior learning. Progress is documented through simple sketchbooks and journals which visibly outlines on-going knowledge, key concepts and ideas.
Please find our Art curriculum small steps target tracker version.