Intent

At The Promise School, the intention of the Art & Design curriculum is that our children will develop a sense of creativity, self-expression, excellence and high attainment.  The curriculum engages, inspires and challenges pupils, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to experiment, invent and create their own works of art, craft and design.

Key Stage 1 Pupils will be taught:

• 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 2 Pupils will be taught:

• to create sketch books to record their observations and use them to review and revisit ideas 
• to use drawing, painting and sculpture to develop and share their ideas, experiences and imagination
• 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

Implementation

The skills and knowledge that children will develop throughout each Art topic are mapped across each year group and throughout the school to ensure progression.  The emphasis on knowledge ensures that children understand the context of the artwork, as well as the artists that they are learning about and being inspired by.  This enables links to other curriculum areas, with children developing a considerable knowledge of individual artists as well as individual works and art movements.

A similar focus on skills means that children are given opportunities to express their creative imagination, as well as practise and develop mastery in the key processes of art: drawing, painting, printing, textiles and sculpture. The school’s high quality art curriculum will be supported through the availability of a wide range of quality resources, which will be used to support children’s confidence in the use of different media.

Impact

The art curriculum will develop children’s critical abilities and understanding of their own and others’ cultural heritages through studying a diverse range of artists, designers and craftspeople. The art curriculum at The Promise School will contribute to children’s personal development in creativity, independence, judgement and self-reflection.