Art and Design

Our Art and Design curriculum is designed to equip pupils with a range of artistic skills and contextual knowledge which will enable them to create their own original works of art inspired by successful artists and well-known works of art as well as emerging local artists and creative practitioners. Artistic skills sit at the heart of our curriculum, where core component knowledge in the mediums of drawing, painting, printing, mixed media and 3D form are sequentially built upon within a spiral curriculum. When they leave us, pupils will have formed a strong foundation of Art and Design skills through mastery of a range of tools and skills which will be built on as they continue their journey as young artists.

We will deliver a knowledge-rich curriculum that:

• Systematically develops drawing, painting, printing, mixed media and 3D form.
• Focusses sequences of learning on discrete component skills and applies these to a meaningful composite outcome.
• Ensures children master the use and application of a range of tools and equipment.
• Gives children the opportunity to explore, develop and communicate their personal responses to experiences.
• Teaches pupils how art contributes to our country’s history and culture.
• Provides children with knowledge and understanding of historic, modern and contemporary artists.
• Equips children with an appreciation of art.

In the Early Years, pupils are taught the skills and knowledge to create artwork in various studied movements and styles.

In Key Stage 1, pupils are taught the skills and knowledge to create artwork in the following art movements and styles: self-portraits, sculpture, post-impressionism, cubism, surrealism and abstract art.

In Key Stage 2, pupils are taught the skills and knowledge to create artwork in the following art movements and styles: pop art, surrealism, sculpture, street art, fauvism, modernism, contemporary art, post-impressionism and perspective drawing.

Children will also learn about famous and notable artists. These include some of the works of Tariku Shiferaw, Mr Doodle, Oscar Ukonu, Christa Rijneveld, Dapo Adeola, and Nora Sherwood. The curriculum further exposes learners to various disciplines, such as the disabled artist Sarah Biffn, who created miniatures for royalty, a contemporary photographer from Benin, and ceramists Kate Malone and Vanessa Hodge. Children will study pottery from throughout history as well as from the modern day. They also meet artists involved in sustainability, such as architect Kathryn Larsen and digital artist Jeff Hong. More traditional artists such as Vincent van Gogh and William Morris also feature.