Art

Overview

As part of Tibshelf Schools federation, we work closely with colleagues at the infant school to ensure progression in Art.  At Town End we believe high quality arts opportunities should engage, inspire and challenge our pupils, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to help with their resilience and self- worth We believe children should develop positive mental health and believe art can be our way to facilitate this.   

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How do we teach Art and Design?

Intent:

A high-quality art and design education should engage, inspire and challenge pupils, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to experiment, invent and create their own works of art, craft and design., As pupils progress, they should be able to think critically and develop a more rigorous understanding of art and design. They should also know how art and design both reflect and shape our history, and contribute to the culture, creativity and wealth of our nation.

Art and Design teaching at Town End Junior School instils an appreciation and enjoyment of the visual arts.  Art and Design will stimulate imagination and creativity; involving children in a range of visual, tactile and sensory experiences, which enable them to communicate what they see, think and feel through the use of the elements of colour, texture, form and pattern.  Art and Design promotes careful observation and an appreciation of the world around us. Children explore ideas and meanings through studying the work of artists and designers. Through learning about the roles and functions of art, they can explore the impact it has had on contemporary life and on different periods and cultures. 

Implementation:

 We implement a curriculum that is progressive throughout the whole school.  Art and Design is taught as part of a termly topic, focusing on knowledge and skills stated in the National Curriculum.  At Town End, we ensure that art and design is given the same importance as the core subjects, as we feel this is important in enabling all children to gain ‘real-life’ experiences. Teachers plan lessons for their class using our progression of knowledge and skills document.  Teachers can use this document to plan their art and design lessons suitable to their class’s interests and what they want to learn.  The progression document ensures the curriculum is covered and the skills/knowledge taught is progressive from year group to year group.  When teaching Art and Design, teachers should follow the children’s interests to ensure their learning is engaging, broad and balanced.  A variety of teaching approaches are used based on the teacher’s judgement.  Sketchbooks are key to the teaching of art at Town End, they are a safe space for trying out new ideas and overcoming being cautious.  They become a space for personal discovery as children choose and try different resources and techniques. Our sketchbooks allow children to develop and share ideas, experiences and imagination, to develop techniques and will study a range of artists. They support and build a creative curiosity within our pupils.

Impact:

We focus on progression of knowledge and skills and discreet vocabulary progression also form part of the units of work.

We measure the impact of our curriculum through the following methods:

• Summative assessment of pupil discussions about their learning.
• Interviewing the pupils about their learning (pupil voice).
• Sketchbooks have a critical role to play in the development and assessment of children’s art skills. They are an important space to create critical thinking and enquiry skills and support creative and emotional development.  

The consistent outcomes that are seen across year groups in displays and arts week show that this is having a positive impact on learning and raising standards. The use of sketchbooks reflects the growing confidence within art to use critical thinking and reflection upon learning so that effective self-evaluation can take place.