Curriculum Intent

At Istead Rise Primary School we strive to offer all children opportunities to explore and develop their own creative ideas. We follow the Kapow scheme of work which provides an excellent framework for art and design lessons across the school. We aim for children to become confident artists and designers, who are able to express themselves through various mediums. By the time they leave us in year 6, they will have developed a range of art and design skills and learnt about various artists from art history. This will enable them to move through secondary school and beyond with an understanding of what it means to both create, design and appreciate art.

We recognise the significance of art and design education within our school and in the context of the wider world and for this reason art and design lessons are inclusive of all children regardless of ability. By broadening the children's cultural horizons in this way, we hope to instil them with the awareness to express ideas and feelings that promote wellbeing and confidence.

The national curriculum for art and design aims to ensure that all pupils:

• 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.

Curriculum Implementation

At our school art and design lessons are taught on a weekly basis during alternate terms, with the other terms being dedicated to DT. Lessons follow a sequence of learning which allows children to build on previous learning and skills. We aim for every child to become both an independent and self-reflective artist in their own right by offering them both teacher guidance and artistic freedom during lessons to explore different materials and through exposure to different types of art such as sculpture, painting and drawing.

Within the framework of art lessons we want to allow the children to discover and explore transferable life skills in a stimulating way and to experience as many different areas of their creativity as possible. Children’s work is recorded in, but not limited to, sketchbooks. It also takes the form of modelling, larger drawings, paintings or sculpture. By providing the materials and inspiration we help children to understand their own creativity and encourage them to share their ideas and work with others in class and during whole school art experiences.

At the start of each unit the children are provided with a Knowledge Organiser which provides them with key information about everything they will be learning during the lessons. This is stuck into their sketchbooks and referred to during lessons as a way of helping children retain information.

During art lessons, teachers assess children’s progress by offering immediate verbal feedback to ensure that children are aware of what they are doing well and to offer them ideas on how to improve. By allowing children to develop their artistic skills independently, every child from every background is given the opportunity to realise their own potential and to create something unique to them. Istead Rise Primary School provides a strong foundation for children to advance forward into more in depth art design and technology work in secondary school and beyond.