Intent

The intention of the Art and Design curriculum, at St Andrew the Apostle, is for pupils to develop learning resulting in the acquisition of knowledge and skills. This is to enable pupils to have an understanding in exploring and investigating, creating and evaluating artwork as set out in the National Curriculum so that pupils can realise their potential at our school. As a result, pupils will be able to produce ‘creative work, exploring their ideas and recording their experiences to:

• 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’.

Implementation

Art and Design is taught through a topic-based approach where relevant. To ensure high standards of teaching and learning in art and design, we implement a curriculum that is progressive throughout the whole school. Art and Design is taught as part of a termly topic, linked to the Power of Reading books, or as a stand-alone subject, focusing on knowledge and skills stated in the National Curriculum.   Alongside our curriculum provision for Art and design, we also provide pupils with the opportunity to participate in Art based after school clubs. See Art curriculum overview.

Impact

The Impact of our Art and Design curriculum is measured by ensuring that the skills taught in each year group are progressive so that pupils are being appropriately challenged and guided through to the next level of learning and expertise. Through following a clear and comprehensive scheme of work in line with the National Curriculum, it expected that teaching and learning will show progression across all key stages within the strands of Art and Design. Subsequently, more children will achieve age related expectations in Art at the end of their cohort year and Key Stage. It is our aim that children will retain knowledge and skills taught within each unit of work, remember these and understand how to use and apply these in their own art work, whilst beginning to understand what being in ‘artist’ means.

We are able to measure the impact that Art and Design has had for all children by:

• Determining the extent to which objectives are met within each lesson and overall, at the end of each unit.
• Summative assessment of pupil discussions about their learning.
• Images of the children’s practical learning.
• Interviewing the pupils about their learning (pupil voice).
• Moderation staff meetings where pupil’s books are scrutinised and there is the opportunity for a dialogue between teachers to understand their class’s work.

By the time children leave St. Andrew the Apostle Catholic Primary School, we want them to have developed a passion for art and creativity, working both independently and collaboratively. They will have grown in confidence when using a range of tools and techniques, becoming artists that can apply the skills and knowledge that they have developed throughout the years and respond critically to their own and other’s work.