Intent

At St John's we believe art plays an integral part in children's spiritual, cultural, physical, social and aesthetic development. Art enriches the lives of our children, valuing perspectives from different cultures and identities. Our aim is to teach Art and Design in a fun and creative way which ensures all children are engaged, inspired and challenged, developing their skills to create work which reflects their own individual ideas and imagination. 

Our art curriculum is exciting and diverse, covering a wide range of art and craft skills, such as observation, perception, collaboration, techniques in the manipulation of media, materials and tools. Children develop their imagination and creativity, and the ability to use art as a form of communication and expression. Our skills progression runs from Year 1 to Year 6, ensuring that skills are developed, revisited and nurtured as children progress through the school. Children are taught to think critically, reflecting on the work of their own and of others. Through quality-first art exploration they explore how art and design both shapes and reflect our history, and contribute to the culture, creativity and wealth of our nation.

Throughout school, children have the opportunity to work with a variety of different materials in order to produce art work linked to their theme. Each year group completes units which develop a range of skills, processes and materials, embedded into our cross-curricular topics. Each year group also completes a standalone Art Enrichment Week. Children are equipped with the knowledge and skills to experiment, invent and create their own works of art, craft and design.

Children explore the lives and works of a range of artists from a variety of countries, cultures, centuries, backgrounds and gender, to inspire and stimulate their own artistic abilities. 

Implementation 

The teaching of Art and Design across St John’s follows the National Curriculum through: 

• comprehensive and thorough bespoke Art and Design units, rooted in our cross-curricular topics, designed specifically for our school community. 

• breadth of learning from EYFS to KS2, where knowledge and skills are developed progressively and abstract ideas/vocabulary (e.g. drawing, printing, sculpture) are revisited and built upon with each year group.  

• cross curricular links where children are encouraged to explore other learning. Our topics are cross curricular to ensure excellent links for children. 

• delivery that allows children creative exploration, skills development and creative ownership.

• collaborative learning, where children work together towards goals, exploring different roles within a team. 

• explicit teaching of Art and Design vocabulary for each skill taught. 

• a focus on retrieval and revisiting knowledge to allow it to be embedded in the long term memory.

Impact

We measure the impact of our curriculum through the following methods:  

• interviewing the pupils about their learning (pupil voice) and asking key assessment questions to a range of children. 

• monitoring teacher planning. 

• celebrating images and videos of the children’s practical learning. 

• measuring assessment standards against creative outcomes and sketchbooks. 

EYFS: Expressive Arts and Design

The development of children’s artistic and cultural awareness supports their imagination and creativity. It is important that children have regular opportunities to engage with the arts, enabling them to explore and play with a wide range of media and materials. The quality and variety of what children see, hear and participate in is crucial for developing their understanding, self-expression, vocabulary and ability to communicate through the arts. The frequency, repetition and depth of their experiences are fundamental to their progress in interpreting and appreciating what they hear, respond to and observe. 

ELG: Creating with Materials 

Children at the expected level of development will:  

- Safely use and explore a variety of materials, tools and techniques, experimenting with colour, design, texture, form and function;  

- Share their creations, explaining the process they have used;  

- Make use of props and materials when role playing characters in narratives and stories. 

An important part of quality art teaching and learning is catering for all types of learners. At St John's we carefully consider the needs of all our children as individuals. Open our maps to see how teaching staff reflect on pedagogical structures and strategies to allow all children to experience an exciting and engaging curriculum!