Art & Design
Our art and design curriculum is planned to inspire, engage and challenge pupils, equipping them with the knowledge of visual elements, art forms, artists and art movements. Furthermore, children at Stoke-On-Tern learn the skills and confidence needed to experiment, invent and create their own works of art, craft and design.
Pupils are also encouraged to use their art and design skills across the curriculum and are provided with opportunities to create work using a wide range of media including: charcoal, pencil, pastels, paint, clay and digital technologies.
As part of our art lessons, pupils learn about famous and influential artists and designers throughout time and develop an understanding of how art and design both reflect and shape our history, and contribute to the culture, creativity and wealth of our nation.
Our curriculum comes in the form of projects across the year. Projects are placed alongside other subject projects where there are opportunities for making meaningful connections.
Art & Design in EYFS
Pupils in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) begin to build a foundation of the fundamental aspects of art and design through exploration and discovery. Overarching projects allow pupils to create, build and learn using materials to encourage expression and imagination. Pupils are introduced to the primary colours and begin to explore colour mixing. They begin to manipulate dough to make shapes and use drawing and mark making to explore line.
The pupils are introduced to simple painting techniques and are supported in painting from memory, observation and their imagination. Basic physical aspects of art and design are revisited including, cutting, folding, tearing, and sticking using a variety of materials.
Art & Design in Key Stage One
In Key Stage 1, each autumn term begins with essential skills and knowledge projects, taught on a rolling programme to support learning progression in Year 1 and Year 2. This enables pupils to be introduced to and then revisit colour mixing and the colour wheel with plentiful opportunities for the children to explore primary and secondary colours and hues.
Pupils explore themes directly related to themselves, such as their facial features, the surrounding natural world and their local community. The projects expand pupils’ artistic horizons to study a more comprehensive range of artists, artistic movements and creative techniques.
Art & Design in Key Stage Two
Projects in Key Stage Two build on their previous understanding of colour and further develop their expertise by studying tertiary, analogous and complementary colours with many opportunities for the pupils to explore warm and cool colours. The pupils also begin to study art from specific and diverse periods of history, including prehistoric pottery and Roman mosaics; including studying more complex techniques in printmaking, drawing, painting and textiles.
Towards the end of Key Stage Two, pupils are encouraged to work more independently in artistic projects. Such projects require them to consider more conceptual representations of personal, environmental, social or political messaging.
Assessing Art & Design
Assessing Art & Design at Stoke-On-Tern is an integral part of the teaching cycle. Long term plans identify what pupils should know at the end of each unit and are used to inform assessments. Throughout the unit, observations, discussions and teaching opportunities will inform the teacher of next steps as a class and individual pupils to support progress of essential artistic skills and knowledge.
Pupils’ sketchbooks will not be marked as they are an exploratory and experimental aspect of their art curriculum.
ART Curriculum Overview
“The future belongs to young people with an education and the imagination to create.”
President Barack Obama