Art

The Outcome – To Create Artists

At Lime Tree our children are artists. They are taught through an ambitious and exciting curriculum that balances the development of artistic skills with building language, knowledge and understanding to enable art appreciation. Art is taught as an expressive means of communication, that builds confidence and creative thinking, and values originality.

They learn that Art is a journey.

Our Intent

Our curated curriculum has been designed to give our children the opportunity to explore their creativity and imagination, nurture their talent and interests and express their ideas and thoughts about the world. Our carefully planned learning experiences ensure that our children develop an appreciation of art from a diverse array of artists – artists from around the world, across cultures and from different times in history in addition to modern-day artists who are making a difference to the world today.

Skills and Knowledge are developed and embedded through five strands that run throughout the curriculum-

· Generating ideas and using sketchbooks: taking inspiration from a range of artists

· Making: developing drawing, painting, printmaking, photography, mixed media, craft techniques and sculpture skills

· Formal elements: exploring colour, form, line, pattern, shape, texture, and tone

· Knowledge of artists: discovering artists’ work and techniques

· Evaluation and analysing: critiquing their own work and that of others

Implementation

Units of lessons are sequential, allowing children to build their skills and knowledge, applying them to a range of outcomes. The formal elements, a key part of the National Curriculum, are also woven throughout units. Key skills are revisited again and again with increasing complexity in a spiral curriculum model. This allows pupils to revise and build on their previous learning. Units in each year group are organised into four core areas:

● Drawing

● Painting and mixed-media

● Sculpture and 3D

● Craft and design

Lessons are always practical in nature and encourage experimental and exploratory learning with pupils using sketchbooks to document their ideas. Differentiated guidance is available for every lesson to ensure that lessons can be accessed and enjoyed by all pupils and opportunities to stretch pupils’ learning are available when required. Knowledge organisers for each unit support pupils by providing a highly visual record of the key knowledge and techniques learned, encouraging recall of skills processes, key facts and vocabulary.

The core elements of our curriculum are built into every unit of work in the curriculum. A unit of work follows the structure below-

Gather/Research

Children will gather and research images, fabric etc. to present in their own way, like a mood board. An artistic study will be carried out at this stage looking closely at the artist’s background, life and work.

Skills Development (Media)

Skills development will allow the children to become familiar with the mediums they are going to be using to create their final piece. Experimentation and exploration is necessary and very essential.

Initial Ideas

Children will carry out initial studies and ideas in preparation for their final piece. All ideas will be recorded in their sketchbook.

Final Piece

The final piece of work should bring together all skills development sessions and initial ideas. Children will also come up with a title for their piece of work and a statement.

Communication & Learning Evaluation

Children will communicate their ideas to another class or their own. Children will explain the process they have been through and explain the relevant skills they have used. Based on the communication feedback and reflection children will then evaluate their own work.

Impact

Our Art and Design Curriculum has been designed in such a way that children are involved in evaluation, dialogue and decision making about the quality of their outcomes and the improvements they need to make. By taking part in our regular discussions and decision making processes, children will not only know facts and key information about art, but they will be able to talk confidently about their own learning journey, have higher metacognitive skills, and have a growing understanding of how to improve.

After the implementation of Lime Tree’s Art and design scheme, pupils should leave primary school equipped with a range of techniques and the confidence and creativity to form a strong foundation for their Art and design learning at Key Stage 3 and beyond.

The expected impact of following Lime Tree’s Art and design scheme of work is that children will:

· ★ Produce creative work, exploring and recording their ideas and experiences.

· ★ Be proficient in drawing, painting, sculpture, and other art, craft, and design techniques.

· ★ Evaluate and analyse creative works using subject-specific language.

· ★ Know about great artists and the historical and cultural development of their art.

· ★ Meet the end of key stage expectations outlined in the National curriculum for Art and design.

“Art is a place for children to trust their ideas, themselves and to explore what is possible.”

Maryann F. Kohl