Our Art curriculum provides children with opportunities to express themselves both collaboratively and independently. As a result of this, children are able to develop and master pivotal techniques which enable children to thrive artistically. Furthermore, Art lessons cater for SEND children and are fully inclusive to every child.

We cover the full scope of the Art National Curriculum. Our curriculum supports children’s understanding of the diverse art forms so that they can experience drawing, painting, collage, printmaking and digital media. Underpinning our ambitious curriculum are three key artistic strands: drawing, painting, sculpture, printing, mixed media and digital media. We use these strands to ensure a progression in knowledge and skills through the curriculum.

Art is a vital and integral part of children’s education. It provides them with opportunities to develop a range of ways in which they can share and express their individual creativity, whilst learning about and making links with a wide spectrum of different types of art in our society. Art contributes to children’s personal development in creativity, independence, judgement and self reflection. Through the study of Art, children develop a natural sense of wonder and curiosity about the world around them and therefore links strongly to our school values. The focus is in developing proficiency in drawing, painting, understanding colour, shade and sculpture, with the overall aim of developing a rigorous understanding, critical awareness and inspiration of art and design.

The art curriculum will develop children’s critical abilities and understanding of their own and others’ cultural heritages through studying a diverse range of male and female artists and designers throughout history.

Children will develop their understanding of the visual language of art with effective teaching and carefully thought out sequences of lessons and experiences. Understanding of the visual elements of art  (line, tone, texture, colour, pattern, shape, 3D form) will be developed by providing an accessible and engaging curriculum which will enable children to reach their full potential.

In EYFS children are first introduced to Art and this enables them to explore a range of materials to achieve a desired outcome. They explore different colours, select appropriate resources and represent this through their ways of thinking. Children are encouraged to develop their skills by taking their time to adapt their work throughout EYFS. 

In Year 1 children learn about wax resist techniques inspired by the work of Andy Goldsworthy. They explore observational drawing techniques followed by an immersive exploration of colour and scale using wax crayons and Brusho Crystal Colours. This unit will help children achieve beautiful results with wax resist techniques, inspired by the rich colours and shapes of Autumn leaves. During their time in Year 1, children also study about chalk and oil pastels specifically focusing on drawing spiral snails by Tracy McGuinness-Kelly. Children are encouraged to develop their drawing skills by trying different qualities of line such as smudging, colour blending, creating independent designs within the limitation of a spiral. They will improve their dexterity in mark making, making gentle delicate lines, pressing on hard to get really strong colours, crumbling tiny crumbs and then smudging. They will experience the visual delight of working with contrasting colours, lights and darks. Towards the end of the year, they will use a combination of multimedia creating features of a seaside. They will focus on creating sculptural birds and shell print making. This unit of work incorporates drawing, collage and sculpture which will enable pupils to create a whole flock of individual birds inspired by Antony Gormley.  Shell print making will allow the use of plasticine and ink pads as this technique is easily accessible to all children in Year 1. 

In Year 2, children build on their previous learning by exploring with different colours, collage and create fantastical minibeasts. This unit of work will help to develop dexterity which is inspired by the work of the famous artist Pablo Picasso. Pupils will focus on observational drawings (feathers and magic spells). Further in the year, children are introduced to digital media inspired by David Hockney. This will help children learn to recognise that different devices can be used to capture photographs and will gain the experience of capturing, editing and improving photos. Finally, they will use this knowledge to recognise that images they see may not be real.

In Year 3, pupils begin by studying the figurative drawings of Quentin Blake. This unit of work will allow pupils to explore how exaggeration is used as a tool to help convey the intention of their drawings. They will elongate different parts of the human body and create their own versions. Following this, pupils will develop their Art skills by using charcoal to create charcoal robots.  Furthermore, children will focus on the work of Henry Moore Augusta Savage by creating Fruit Clay Tiles. The children will create their own clay tiles focusing on design and pattern. 

Throughout Year 4, children will be creating their own coil pots focusing on design and pattern, continuing to build on their skills from the previous year. The children are introduced to the work of Frida Kahlo, continuing to build on their drawing skills. Children at this point are expected to recreate Kahlo’s work using the skills and techniques they have acquired. Children will revisit and build on their photography skills from Year 2 by creating digital Art focusing on the work of the award winning Shanth Kumar. They will be taking pictures of plastic and pollution within the environment using various devices.  As part of their topic children will investigate plastic pollution and the impact on the environment. 

In Year 5, children will familiarise themselves with the work of  different artists such as Banksy, Jean-Michel and Basquiat. Children will focus on mastering different skills by creating Art Wax Resist Graffito on a foam board. This Art project will enable children to use a range of Art skills, including drawing, transferring images onto a foam board.They will be mark-making and applying the wax resist technique covered in Year 1, but with more intricate details. Finally, they will complete by using ‘scratching scraffito’ into pastel. They will then move on to metal printing art, they will focus on using aluminium foil and produce printing inspired by Paul Carney. Again the children will use their intricate drawing skills from previous Art units to create their own version of foil printing. Towards the end of the academic year, children will build on their sketching and sculpture skills by making supersized jewellery. This unit of work will be inspired by Speilberg’s BFG and give children the opportunity to think of their own designs. 

In Year 6, children will study the artwork of Van Gogh and create their own paintings of the storm by exploring the use of water colours.  Children will revisit and build on their painting skills from Year 2  by developing their skills further. In Spring, children will research the work of William Morris and Zeena Shah and create their own lino printing inspired by this designer. This unit of work will allow children to develop their design and printing skills using ink pads and lino tools. They will then move on to studying Kehinde Wiley who is America’s most prominent  contemporary portrait artist. Wiley is known for his larger than life paintings celebrating black and brown skin tones. In this unit children will build on their skills from Year 2, by producing portraits, but also advancing their skills set by creating backgrounds within their portraits. They will also touch upon the ethnic minorities and their achievements.