Art at Holywell Green
Intent
At Holywell Green Primary School, we believe that art is a vital part of children’s education and has a significant and valuable role in the taught curriculum. The children will develop their understanding of the visual language of art with effective teaching and considered sequences of lessons and experiences drawn from the AccessArt split curriculum.
The art curriculum reflects Holywell Green’s individual context as a school by ensuring this subject can provide opportunities to enhance pupils’ taught skills. In addition, the study of relevant artists is interwoven within each individual unit studied.
The curriculum is structured to ensure that there is progression of both substantive and implicit knowledge through school. Art is an integral part of the daily Foundation Stage curriculum and a minimum of 1 hour are dedicated to teaching Art in KS1 and KS2 each week alternating half-termly with DT.
Implementation
The Art curriculum at Holywell Green is underpinned by the National Curriculum. It is carefully sequenced across a series of high-quality lessons to provide children with opportunities for in-depth exploration of various skills and processes. The instilment of confidence and resilience within Art is paramount to the attainment of children throughout primary school and hopefully taken beyond the doors of Holywell Green. The confidence to experiment, invent and create their own works of art, craft and design, and a resilience to think critically and work rigorously to understand the many areas of art and design are what we aim to achieve. Key vocabulary is interwoven into every lesson and children will develop and build upon this knowledge year upon year. Knowledge organisers are provided for each year group to show children this vocabulary and the aims and skills of each unit. Our progression map shows where key skills are developed and enhanced in each successive unit. The areas of drawing, painting, sculpture and mixed media and printmaking are explored within each key stage to encourage creativity and skill progression. In the Foundation Stage, children explore expressive arts and design by experimenting with a wide range of media and materials across all curriculum areas.
Lessons begin with a recap of previous learning, key vocabulary that has been taught and reference to their knowledge organisers. Following this, a series of lessons involve skill acquisition. Children practise mastering relevant skills across a series of lessons, based upon a particular area of art with the opportunities to explore the work on accomplished/recognised artists. Key vocabulary is utilised in lessons to describe the skills and processes explored, drawing links between their work, each other’s work and the work of studied artists. Then, children work on their final piece. As children progress through the school, they will begin to make their own decisions about the materials and skills they wish to use, engaging in an enquiry into which ones will be the most effective for their work. They will comment upon their reasoning for these choices based upon their skill developmental work and use key vocabulary confidently to describe it.
Impact
Children will have a broad curriculum to achieve academic and personal success. High-quality teaching ensures children make good or better progress in the subject. Children will be able to discuss their work using key vocabulary accurately. Key skills will be developed across a series of lessons to promote mastery. Children will develop independence when selecting the materials and skills they wish to use.
The children will develop a greater appreciation of their own and others’ work. Critical thinking and enquiry skills will be enhanced through constant reflection and discussion. The children will have the ability to state opinions, ideas and feelings about their own and others’ artworks in a thoughtful way.
Children will have the freedom to express thoughts and ideas, making independent choices about their work. Children have confident and positive attitudes towards trying new materials, skills, and ideas to enable them to reach their full potential in the subject. Creating a classroom community of learning together and encouraging exploration of ideas, particularly within their sketchbooks.
Formative assessments are often verbal as teachers see this as the most effective. The knowledge organisers will be used as a basis for the vocabulary and skills children should know by the end of each year. Such feedback enables children to act on the advice immediately. Sonar tracker is used termly to make summative assessments. This tool allows the subject leader to track progress across school and also tackle any specific concerns.
Children leave Holywell Green prepared for the next stage of their art education, equipped with specific skills and knowledge of a range of artists. This is an excellent foundation for those who may go on to study art at secondary school and beyond.
Art in a Nutshell
Art Long Term Plan