Art & Design

"Art is not just a subject to learn, but an activity that you can practice with your hands, your eyes, your whole personality.” (Quentin Blake, Children’s Laureate)

Intent

At Manor Park Primary Academy, every child engages in quality Art education from their entry into Nursery until the end of KS2 in Year 6. Art is taught through the vehicle of Cornerstones Curriculum 22 Mini Projects which are adapted to meet the needs of all of our pupils. Links are made through the connected curriculum where meaningful. The curriculum is designed to develop knowledge and skills that are progressive, as well as transferable, throughout their time at school and also to their further education and beyond.

We aim for Art and Design to stimulate creativity, imagination and inventiveness. It should provide visual, tactile and sensory experiences and a special way of understanding and responding to the world. It should enable children to communicate what they see, feel and think through the use of colour, texture, form, pattern and different materials and processes.

Through art lessons we aim to foster an understanding and enjoyment of art, craft and design, showing development of ideas and their own skills through the use of a sketch book. Children should be able to explore different media and respond with original thoughts and imagination. The progressive nature of the curriculum allows children to develop and refine their creative and technical skills and improve their ability to control materials, tools and techniques.

Implementation

The Cornerstones 22 Curriculum maintains strong links to the National Curriculum to ensure all aspects, knowledge,  skills and techniques in Art & Design are being taught across the academy and that foundation knowledge is built upon from the EYFS Framework.

Creative work in EYFS is based on objectives from the current Foundation Years documentation which children experience daily. Creative work includes art, music, dance, role-play and imaginative play. Pupils will have the chance to explore their own creativity through a range of adult led and child-initiated experiences. We provide a rich, exciting and stimulating environment in which we encourage and value creativity. We give the children the opportunity to work collaboratively and alongside their peers as well as experiences with artists and other adults.

Throughout each mini project, children build on previous understanding through developing skills, generating ideas, formal elements, knowledge of artists and evaluating their work. Various media types are explored to give the widest possible range of experiences for all children. The materials and media used are revisited throughout projects and year groups to ensure progression of skills previously developed. 

All teachers are creative and practical in their approach to teaching, working in line with the school's teaching & learning strategy, with the ability to support children through explicit modelling and in retaining and recalling knowledge through various methods such as low stakes quizzing and use of knowledge organisers. We use assessment for learning within all lessons to ensure that teaching and learning is relevant, teases out and addresses misconceptions which help to plan for next steps.

At Manor Park, we have an electronic Art & Design knowledge and skills progression map available, outlining clear sequencing of knowledge, skills and vocabulary from EYFS to Year 6. Please contact the school directly for further information. 

Please click here to see an example of the progression across one aspect of Art & Design learning. 

As well as engaging in activities planned in coordination with Cornerstone's Art & Design Mini Projects, pupils may also participate in the following artistic opportunities:

• Art workshops run by outside organisations where linked to children’s learning

• KS2 Sketching club

• KS1 Art Club

• KS2 Photography Club

• Trips to galleries such as The Tate Modern

• Exploration of art through innovative technology, such as developing photographic techniques and animation. 

Please find our Art & Design Curriculum Map below. 

Impact

Through the high quality teaching of Art & Design taking place, we will see the impact of the subject in different ways.

Through pupil voice, children talk enthusiastically about the knowledge, skills and techniques they have acquired. Children are inquisitive and engaged in their learning and want to find out more. They are proud of their work and often recreate artwork at home to further their own enjoyment within their Art & Design Learning Project.

Pupils at Manor Park leave school having developed a passion for art and creativity, working both independently and collaboratively. They grow in confidence in using a range of tools and techniques, becoming artists in their own right who can apply the skills and knowledge that they have developed throughout the years and respond critically to their own and other’s work.

Books will show a range of sequenced Art & Design learning being covered. Links within the connected curriculum are made where meaningful and engaging learning set as appropriate. The school environment will be celebrate pupils work through displays in classrooms and around the school. 

We monitor progress regularly through learning walks, book looks and discussions with pupils. Monitoring shows that standards in Art & Design are very high. 

The Maestro assessment tool allows staff to regularly monitor the progress of pupils and provide evidence for robust monitoring of our curriculum.