Art and Design

At St John Chrysostom Federation, we value Art and Design as a vital part of the children’s entitlement to a broad and balanced curriculum throughout their personal learning journey. Art and Design allows curiosity, creativity and self- expression to develop whilst also providing the children with opportunities to improve their resilience, problem solving and critical thinking skills. We intend to provide our pupils with the skills, concepts and knowledge necessary for them to express individual responses to ideas and experiences in a visual or tactile form.

Our curriculum is a huge inspiration for final outcomes and Art sessions are taught in blocks every term. This is to ensure that the children make meaningful links between subject areas and allows for deep exploration and application of knowledge and skills. Moreover, children are immersed in the four phases of learning; Inspiration, Planning, Skills Development and Final Outcome. The children’s art journey begins in Early yeas where they are encouraged to explore and experiment with various media and materials. These solid foundations continue to develop in key stage one where children use their imagination and creativity to record their ideas whilst developing their knowledge and early skills. Exploration and experimentation of skills are honed in key stage two through the introduction of sketchbooks where children are encouraged to think more critically when evaluating their own and other artists work. Sketchbooks should be at the centre of the child’s creativity and are a space for them to freely express, invent and develop their skills and knowledge often with limited guidance from the teacher.

To further enhance learning, the children explore various artists and designers from Manchester, as well as Artists from different cultures. We are very fortunate to have a wealth of museums, galleries and architecture on our doorstep which offer many opportunities for the children to experience different works of art, craft, design. In addition to this they will learn how art and design has shaped our local and global history. We believe that in celebrating our local area and the diverse backgrounds of our children, we will help to create confident world citizens with high aspirations and a secure understanding of who they are and can be.

Expressive arts and design for our early years children

Early years educators at the Federation consider the teaching of expressive arts fall within  3 areas based on the educational areas for early years named below:

imagination and creativity

self expression

communicating through the arts

What the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework says about 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.

National Curriculum : Purpose of study

Art, craft and design embody some of the highest forms of human creativity. A high-quality art and design education should engage, 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. They should also know how art and design both reflect and shape our history, and contribute to the culture, creativity and wealth of our nation.

Aims

The national curriculum for art and design aims to ensure that all pupils:

• produce creative work, exploring their ideas and recording their experiences
• become proficient in drawing, painting, sculpture and other art, craft and design techniques
• evaluate and analyse creative works using the language of art, craft and design
• know about great artists, craft makers and designers, and understand the historical and cultural development of their art forms

Attainment targets

By the end of each key stage, pupils are expected to know, apply and understand the matters, skills and processes specified in the relevant programme of study.

Schools are not required by law to teach the example content in [square brackets].

Key Stage One

Pupils should be taught:

• 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

Key Stage Two

Pupils should be 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.

Pupils should be taught:

• 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]
• about great artists, architects and designers in history