Intent

At Wanstead Church School, our Art and Design curriculum is designed to inspire every child to become an artist, a sculptor and a designer.

We develop Wisdom, Compassion and Strength in our Art curriculum:

Wisdom: Our Art curriculum inspires children to be curious about a broad range of artists and designers and to think critically, developing an understanding of a range of disciplines of art and design. The curriculum fosters a passion and enthusiasm to create and explore art, craft and design, while developing the children’s practical skills, including drawing, painting and sculpting.

Compassion: Our Art curriculum encourages children to be caring and considerate of others’ work, whilst developing the ability to critically review and evaluate. The children are given opportunities to explore the cultural, historic and traditional underpinnings of great artists and their work, and as a result learn a greater appreciation and compassion for others.

Strength: Our Art curriculum allows children to take risks and experiment, demonstrating resilience in reflecting and reshaping their work. The children’s art and design works contribute to the community, considering the culture, creativity and wealth.

Implementation

To ensure high standards of teaching and learning in Art and Design, we implement a curriculum that is progressive through the whole school. Art and Design is taught based on the Access Art scheme of learning. The areas focused on in Art and Design are sketchbooks, drawing, painting and making (including 3D sculptures and collage).

The Art and Design curriculum at Wanstead Church School is based upon the 2014 Primary National Curriculum in England, which provides a broad framework and outlines the knowledge and skills taught in each Key Stage. The progression document ensures the curriculum is covered and the skills/knowledge taught is progressive from year group to year group and the children experience a variety of Art and Design lessons, as outlined in the focus areas above, to develop their own creative thinking. This enables the children to gain a variety of ‘real-life’ experiences to help develop and continue their interests in the wider world.

Art and Design lessons are based on MIKE (making, ideas, knowledge and evaluation). Each term focuses on a theme and the children develop their skills and knowledge to create their own final piece. Work is recorded in the children’s sketchbooks to show their journey. The children’s artistic skills refine as they progress through the school year, demonstrating accuracy and increasing skill.

Art and Design lessons are taught once a term, in a 6-week block with one-hour weekly lessons.

Impact

We measure the impact of our Art and Design curriculum through the following methods:

• Formative assessment of children’s understanding of topic linked vocabulary before and after a unit is taught
• Observation of children at work including their conversations about their learning
• Celebration of children’s work through displays and Sharing Assemblies.