Art
At St Joseph's Catholic Primary School we want every child to be happy and enthusiastic learners of Art & Design, and to be eager to achieve their very best in order to fulfil their God-given talents. Our aim is for our pupils, taking inspiration from famous and not so famous artists, to be confident in their own creativity and to be able to use the skills and techniques they learn in their lessons to create their own works of art and design.
Each child has their own sketch book for the purpose of developing their artistic skills and showcasing their learning, development and understanding.
Children learn subject specific vocabulary that enriches their understanding of key skills and concepts which they then apply to their own ideas. All children have the opportunity to learn about famous artists and their impact on culture and artistic movements.
We firmly believe that the recipe for success is high quality first-wave teaching in Art & Design, which is central to the life of our happy, caring school.
We have been working hard to develop our arts provision at St. Joseph's. Our first aim was to design an exciting and engaging curriculum and then we set our sights on achieving the Artsmark award.
The Artsmark Award is the only creative quality standard for schools, accredited by Arts Council England. It supports schools to develop and celebrate arts and cultural education, putting creativity and wellbeing at the heart of the curriculum. Artsmark ensures every young person can be creative and access a diverse, high-quality cultural education.
Our Curriculum
Our curriculum is divided into a sequence of learning that enables all children to develop their knowledge, skills and understanding.
Step 1 – Research
This is where children look at a range of artists, craftspeople and designers. They begin to gather knowledge about the artist, carry out some observational drawings and collect samples of fabric, magazine cut-outs and key vocabulary that inspire them.
Step 2 – Experimentation
We begin to experiment with a range of processes and techniques. This is a fundamental part of learning in art and design, it is where our children begin to develop their craft.
Step 3 – Design
Our children should by this point have a wealth of information linked to their overarching topic or vehicle link. It is now time to look back at what they have learnt and collected to decide what they want to include in their final piece.
Children will consider:
- What is their composition going to look like?
- What colours are they going to use?
- What materials are they going to use and how are they going to use them?
- How are they going to apply what they have learnt into one final piece of art?
Children will then begin to draft/sketch out their idea for a final piece, annotating with thoughts and ideas.
Step 4 – Making
It’s time to get making their final piece! The sketchbook is very important for this stage of learning as their planning contains the tools they need to create their vision. Our children are now able to create their vision on a larger scale.
Step 5 - Evaluation
Evaluation is an integral part of each stage as children are constantly evaluating their work. Every time they make a mark or manipulate the materials they are using, they are evaluating the effectiveness of what they have done and how it matches their intention.
For their evaluation, a picture of their final piece is stuck in their books and children write their evaluations around it. They consider what went well, what they are pleased with and what skills they hope to improve in the future.