Art
Learning Journey
3 i Statement
Intent
At Wynstream, the primary intent of our art curriculum is to develop the skills and creativity within our pupils to allow them to experiment, invent, create, critique, and explore the world in which they live. Our Art Curriculum demonstrates the extent to which we value the position of art in the overall curriculum and our belief that a high-quality art and design curriculum should engage, inspire, and challenge pupils. Our children will learn about art through the direct teaching of skills and through their exposure to the great art and artists from our own history as well as the history of other places and cultures. We expect our pupils to leave year 6 with the skills and confidence to understand, explore and ultimately contribute to, the creative and cultural world around them.
Implementation
Wynstream teaches the National Curriculum for Art and Design and has split this into 3 strands:
Painting, Sculpture and Drawing.
In the EYFS, Children are taught discrete skills of observational drawing and colour mixing. They start the year by drawing self-portraits, learning how to observe details and mix colours. They draw observations of the natural world, sketch on our Autumn walk and drawing the changes they observe in a frog’s lifecycle. Children respond to music and experiences such as Diwali Fireworks, representing them in art form
Continuous provision provides the resources, materials and tools needed for children to develop their own creative ideas and practise taught skills. Outcomes are celebrated in our classroom gallery. Adults record in speech bubbles pupil’s voice, as they explain their creating process.
Through stories, images and visits children are introduced to and inspired by artists and craftspeople from their own and different cultures/time periods. They encounter different artists throughout the year such as Lichtenstein’s pop art to illustrate their superhero stories. Andy Goldsworthy’s art inspires them to create with the natural objects we find on walks in the local area and pupils learn how to reuse materials found on beach cleans through Michelle Reader’s recycled materials sculpture.
In KS1 And KS2 each strand is to be taught discretely, following the progression of skills for each year group. Children use sketchbooks to develop skills in all artistic disciplines.
Painting: Painting is taught and delivered in explicit lessons termly across all year groups. By the end of KS1, children should be able to use a variety of techniques in colour, texture and pattern to design and make their own painting based on an artist they have studied. At lower Key Stage 2, children should be able to expand, build and develop their painting skills, taught in KS1, to independently select and apply a range of different painting materials and tools needed to create their own work. This will include children beginning to discuss and improve their own work, alongside making comparisons between their work and the work of similar artists. By the end of KS2, pupils should have ownership of making independent, technical decisions, in order to create a successful, evaluated and original piece of finished work.
Sculpture: Sculpture is taught and delivered in explicit lessons in the spring term and summer term. By the end of KS1, children should be able to use sculpture to develop and share their ideas and imagination. They should be able to talk about what they have done and explain some of the techniques in making their work. In Lower KS2, children should be able to improve on the skills and learning from KS1, and start to regularly reflect and identify ways of improving their work. By the end of KS2, children should be able to independently take action to refine their own technical skills, interpreting ideas from a studied artist, designer or architect to create their own sculpture.
Drawing: Drawing is embedded in the curriculum over 3 terms across all year groups. By the end of KS1, children will be able to use drawing to express ideas and make simple technical choices. At Lower KS2, children should develop their learning from KS1, by developing their technical skills, to improve on pencil control and experimentation. They will also regularly reflect on their work to make improvements and comparisons to other work. By the end of KS2, children will be able to improve their mastery of art and design techniques, by providing a reasoned evaluation of both their own and a professional’s work, which takes into account the starting points, intentions and context of the artist studied and continued learning that has taken place.
How does Wynstream’s Art curriculum exceed the expectation of the NC?
We provide the pupils with the opportunity to apply the skills they have learned, in the context of two unique and different exhibitions. In the spring term, children in each year group, learn about a specific ‘purpose for art’ through a variety of artists that specialise in that area. This learning will culminate in a whole school exhibition celebrating our learning in art.
In the Summer term, children across the school, will apply the skills they have practised throughout the year, to the creation of a historical artifact from a specific ancient civilisation. This too will culminate with a final whole school history exhibition.
Impact
The impact of our Art Curriculum will be measured primarily by the improvement and differentiation in skills between year groups. The subject leader will expect to see a clear progression of skills or a greater mastery of skills as children move up though the school both in sketchbooks and in finished work. As our intent states, our primary aim is to inspire and engage our pupils and we will use pupil voice and the aesthetic contribution to our school environment made by their work, to measure the extent to which we have been successful in doing so.
