Curriculum Intent for Art & Design
In our Art and Design curriculum at St. Joseph’s we aim for our children to develop their visual literacy, creativity, confidence and imagination through an exciting curriculum which carefully builds on key knowledge and skills.
The children will learn to develop their own ideas and opinions and to critically evaluate and discuss work through the exploration of the works of a wide variety of artists, sculptors and designers as well as their own work and that of their peers. Children at St. Joseph’s will be taught and challenged to experiment and develop their skills with a variety of materials and techniques including drawing, painting, printing and sculpture and will be supported to develop their confidence and their own artistic style.
Children will be encouraged to develop an interest and curiosity about Art and Design in the wider world and begin to understand it’s contribution to different cultures and history. They will also be encouraged to understand how Art and Design continues to make important contributions to the culture, creativity and wealth of our nation today.
Implementation
The teaching and implementation of Art and Design at St Joseph’s is based on the National Curriculum and linked to our Cornerstones topics primary Art and Design scheme, which forms part of our sequenced, interconnected and knowledge-rich curriculum.
The formal ‘Elements of Art’ that all children learn are: line, colour, texture, tone, shape, form and space. The elements of art are the building blocks of all art. Every piece of art ever created includes one or more of these elements.
Our curriculum is designed so that these formal elements are explicitly taught and developed with a progression of skills and knowledge year on year with opportunities to revisit, apply and improve their mastery of art and design techniques. These include drawing, printing, painting and sculpture with a range of materials [for example, pencil, charcoal, paint, clay] The work of famous national and international artists through history are also explored to enhance the children’s learning
In Foundation and key stage 1 the children follow separate units of work whilst in key stage 2 years 3 and 4 and 5 and 6 work together on shared topics.
All children have their own sketch books in which to trial, develop and refine ideas and skills although other work may be created for displays. At St. Joseph’s we try to have opportunities to showcase our work and give positive and constructive feedback to each other with ‘pop up galleries’ for other classes or parents to see what we have been learning.