At Austwick Primary School, we value Art and Design as an important part of the children’s entitlement to a broad and balanced curriculum. Art and Design provides the children with the opportunities to develop and extend skills and an opportunity to express their individual interests, thought and ideas. 

We are extremely fortunate to have direct access to the beautiful Yorkshire Dales from our doorstep. The love for a particular environment may inspire the children’s designs and ideas and naturally lends itself to a scope of Art activities. A few examples of this are: our annual bluebell walk, opportunities for transient art, numerous forest school activities and access to the Norber Erratics providing a stimulating environment for creating natural sculptures.  Art, craft and design embody some of the highest forms of human creativity. A high-quality art and design education should engage, encourage independent thinking and perseverance. Additionally, we aim to 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. We encourage children to explore ideas and meanings through the work of a range 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 that of different times and cultures. The appreciation and enjoyment of the visual arts enriches all our lives. 

Implementation 

Art is taught in all year groups following the National and Early Years curriculums, guaranteeing that all areas of the curriculum are covered. Art is taught every other half-term, alternating with DT and is intertwined with the other National Curriculum subjects. We ensure that learnt knowledge and skills are continually kept current, through quizzes, displaying examples of work, talking to the children, taking photographs and providing a multitude of cross-curricular links and projects.  

All teaching of Art should follow the design, make and evaluate cycle. Each stage should be rooted in technical knowledge.  The design process should be rooted in real life, relevant contexts to give meaning to learning. While making, children should be given choice and a range of tools to choose freely from. To evaluate, children should be able to evaluate their own products against a design criteria. Each of these steps should be rooted in technical knowledge and vocabulary. Art should be taught to a high standard, where each of the stages should be given equal weight. There should be evidence in each of these stages in the Art books, which should also develop to show clear progression across the key stages as they are passed up through each year group. 

EYFS 

Pupils explore and use a variety of media and materials through a combination of child initiated and adult directed activities. They have opportunities to learn to: 

• Explore the textures, movement, feel and look of different media and materials. 

• Respond to a range of media and materials, develop their understanding of them in order to manipulate and create different effects. 

• Use different media and materials to express their own ideas, 

• Explore colour and use for a particular purpose. 

• Develop skills to use simple tools and techniques competently and appropriately. 

• Select appropriate media and techniques and adapt their work where necessary. 

KS1 

• to use a range of materials creatively to design and make products 

• to use drawing, painting and sculpture to develop and share their ideas, experiences and imagination 

• to develop a wide range of art and design techniques in using colour, pattern, texture, line, shape, form and space 

• about the work of a range of artists, craft makers and designers, describing the differences and similarities between different practices and disciplines, and making links to their own work.   

KS2 

• are taught to develop their techniques, including their control and their use of materials, with creativity, experimentation and an increasing awareness of different kinds of art, craft and design. 

•  to create sketch books to record their observations and use them to review and revisit ideas. 

•  to improve their mastery of art and design techniques, including drawing, painting and sculpture with a range of materials [for example, pencil, charcoal, paint, clay]. 

• learn about great artists, architects and designers in history. 

Cross curricular connections are made throughout the differing projects to promote creativity through subjects such as English, Mathematics, Science, DT, History, Geography and Computing. 

Impact  

EYFS 

Regular observations and assessments of learning are ongoing. Termly tracking identifies next steps and feeds into future planning and activities to develop further skills and knowledge. This then contributes to a summative assessment at the end of EYFS using the Early Years Outcomes for Expressive Arts and Design. 

KS1/2 

Assessment of children's learning in Art takes the form of ongoing monitoring of children's understanding, knowledge and skills using key questioning built into lessons by the class teacher. Child-led assessment such as success criteria and evaluation grids are also used to inform the differentiation, support and challenge required by the children. Summative assessment is conducted termly by class teachers and is aimed at targeting next steps in learning as well as informing the subject leader of progress and skills/knowledge still to be embedded. This recording tells us whether each individual child is below expected, at expected or above expected attainment for their age. Art is also monitored by the subject leader throughout the year in the form of collection of evidence (photos), sketch book monitoring, looking at outcomes measured against age-based progression and pupil interviews to discuss their learning. This tangible evidence aids understanding and establishes the impact of the teaching taking place.  

Children will know more, remember more and understand more about Art. Children will retain prior-learning and explicitly make connections between what they have previously learned and what they are currently learning. It is our intention that the learning environment across the school will be more consistent with Art and linked vocabulary will be displayed, spoken and used by all learners.  

By the time children leave our school they will: 

•  have the opportunity to record from first-hand experience and from imagination. 

• develop opportunities to select their own ideas for use in their work. 

• develop creativity and imagination through a range of complex activities. 

• develop the ability to control materials, tools and techniques; 

• increase their critical awareness of the roles and purposes of art and design in different times and cultures. 

• develop increasing confidence in the use of visual and tactile elements and materials. 

• foster an enjoyment, eagerness and appreciation of the visual arts and a knowledge of artists, craftspeople and designers. 

• have a passion for the subject.  

Children will be equipped with skills and knowledge that will enable them to be ready for the curriculum at Key Stage 3 and for life as a capable citizen in the wider world.