Art
At Houghton Primary School, we have reviewed our Art Curriculum Offer, and alongside the aim of the National Curriculum have agreed the following vision for the subject in our school:
- To develop an understanding of the breadth of arts and crafts, and how they link to our cultural heritage
- To develop pupils’ understanding of how art and craft can be a response to historical or geographical contexts
- To promote growth mindset and wellbeing though opportunities to experiment, make choices, practice mindfulness and express difference and opinions
- To make links between visual arts and career pathways.
- To develop pupils’ skills in close observation;
- To develop skills in drawing, painting, sculpting and printing, with a range of materials;
- To foster an emotional and spiritual response in pupils to the visual world.
The curriculum is organised into nine areas of study which are built upon and explored as a child moves through school. Some areas such as sketching, colour mixing, painting and using different media are covered in every year with the skills building on what was learnt in the previous year. During their time at Houghton Primary, pupils can expect to explore and be taught skills in the following themes in Art:
- Sketching
- Colour Mixing
- Painting
- Printing
- Textiles
- Ceramics
- Sculpture
- Collage
- Media
The teaching of art skills and knowledge takes place through focused art days in Sketching, Painting and Famous Art, and through a high quality art project each half term.
Teachers plan each area of study in art to be based around a do then review style structure. They allow children to have a go at new concepts before then modelling the skills needed to achieve the new learning. This is supported by looking at a range of artists who use the skills from the area being taught in their own work. The children then take on board what they have learnt through a series of self and peer reviews to create a final piece.
The curriculum is designed in a way which means all pupils will have the opportunity to use lots of different medias and learn about different style of art. Children will be introduced to a variety of artists from different genders, backgrounds, cultures, styles and time periods. They will have the opportunity to look at a wide variety of art works and share their thought and feeling on these with no judgement about these opinions.
Our school Christian vision is ‘Love one another as I have loved you’ and in art the children are encourage to reflect on each other’s achievements to provide support and inspiration for one another. They are taught to treat each other’s work as you would want others to treat yours especially where passing comment on others artwork.
Art promotes our learning characteristics by:
- Encouraging the children to be curious about what they can create with different media, using different equipment and working in different styles.
- Getting all children to participate in creating art and reminding them that practise makes perfect.
- Encouraging problem solving when children are faced with creating a final piece or challenged to create colour using only certain paints or equipment.
- Fostering perseverance on learning new skills and putting these together to create artwork independently.
- Reflecting on their artwork and that of others to consider where they are and what they need to do next to improve their learning further.
Art can be used cross curricular to stimulate conversation about history, geography, music, maths and RE and links can be to art whilst in these lessons to form cross curriculum links. Discussions on the accuracy of historical or religious portraits can be really beneficial for children who find reading information difficult and there is a direct links with map drawing and shape work which can be explored.
All children should have the opportunity for their art work to be on display so others can see what they have achieved.
