Teaching Art at Haselworth Primary School

Intent

 At Haselworth we aim for a high-quality art and design education that will engage, inspire and challenge pupils, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to experiment, invent and create their own works of art, craft and design. As pupils progress, we aim for children to think critically and know how art and design both reflect and shape our history, and contribute to the culture, creativity and wealth of our nation.

How do we teach Art?

The aims of teaching Art in our school are:

• To have an equal opportunity to take part in the experience art throughout their time in primary school and to develop a lifelong love of art. 
• To express themselves creatively as individuals and within small and large groups. 
• To enhance their artistic skills and to develop their appreciation of art in a variety of styles and from different time periods and cultures. 
• To have the opportunity to use their artistic ability with confidence and creativity.
• To integrate art, where practical and desirable, into other aspects of the curriculum, thus contributing to the promotion of our pupils’ spiritual, moral, social, cultural and physical development, and their key skills of communication, maths, computing, working with others, improving their own learning and performance and problem solving.

 

Personal, social and health education (PSHE) and citizenship

Art contributes significantly to the teaching of personal, social and health education and citizenship. Through the shared goal of producing art, children learn to work effectively independently and with other people, and to build up good relationships. Art plays an important role in personal development and building self-confidence. Participation in art and producing a particular piece is sometimes one of the most memorable things young people do at school.

Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development

Creating designs, sculptures and pieces of artwork can be a moving and spiritual experience. We encourage children to reflect on the important effect that art has on people's moods, senses and quality of life. It is our belief that sharing art in our community enables our pupils to share experiences and to bring joy through giving. Children at Haselworth School have the opportunity to encounter art from many cultures and, through their growing knowledge and understanding of art; they develop more positive attitudes towards other cultures and societies. At Haselworth we use a variety of art experiences to enhance our communal areas.

English

Art contributes significantly to the teaching of English in our school by actively promoting the skills of reading, writing, speaking and listening. Children use reference books, and develop research skills, when finding out about the history of art and artists. Art is also used to stimulate discussion or creative writing. Design opportunities can be encouraged with a particular focus on descriptive language Through working with others in an artistic setting, children develop their ability to communicate ideas effectively.

Mathematics

The teaching of art contributes to children's mathematical understanding in a variety of ways. Children who study the structure of Art are also observing patterns and processes.

ICT

Information and communication technology enhance the teaching of art, where appropriate in all key stages. Children may use computer programs to create and design.

P4C

Art provides a platform for children to express their ideas and opinions. They can listen to, discuss and understand different thoughts and views and they learn to evaluate their own and other’s work and respect their feelings.

Implementation

Due to having mixed age classes, the school has a two-year rolling programme (Cycle A and Cycle B) so that all national curriculum requirements are fully covered without children repeating the same topics. The curriculum map outlines the termly topic and in which cycle it is taught. These topics form the basis of the learning journey.  

The learning journey details previous assessment outcomes, National Curriculum links, the substantive and disciplinary skills/knowledge that are taught/practised by children, the learning objective, the learning tasks, key vocabulary, resources, links with other subjects and assessment information. The learning journeys are adapted and refined according to a teacher's assessment so that the planning is responsive to the needs of all learners. We ensure that children of all abilities have the opportunity to develop their skills, knowledge and understanding in this way, so that children are increasingly challenged as they move through school.

At Haselworth Primary School we provide a variety of opportunities for Art learning inside and outside the classroom.  Educational visits are another opportunity for teachers to plan for additional learning outside the classroom.  At Haselworth Primary School, the children have many opportunities to experience Art on educational visits.  The children can explore Art in the local environment and galleries.

At Key Stage 1,

Pupils should be taught:

• to use a range of materials creatively to design and make products
• 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

At Key Stage 2,

Pupils should be taught to develop their techniques, including their control and their use of materials, with creativity, experimentation and an increasing awareness of different kinds of art, craft and design.

 Pupils should be taught:

• to create sketch books to record their observations and use them to review and revisit ideas
• 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

The Foundation Stage

At Haselworth we encourage the development of skills, knowledge and understanding that help reception children make sense of their world as an integral part of the school’s work. As the reception class follow the Statutory Framework for EYFS, we relate the development of the children’s Art to the objectives set out in the Early Learning Goals in the specific area of Expressive Arts and Design. These underpin the curriculum planning for children aged four to five. This learning forms the foundations for later work in Art. These early experiences include exploring a variety of materials, tools and techniques, experimenting with colour, design, texture, form and function. Children use what they have learnt about media and materials in original ways, thinking about uses and purposes. They represent their own ideas, thoughts and feelings through art and design.

Children have a wide variety of opportunities to access art in their 'Discovery Time' through the outdoor art area and the many resources inside our EYFS classroom.

Inclusion including Special Educational Needs Disability (SEND) / Pupil Premium / Higher Attainers

At Haselworth Primary School we teach Art to all children, whatever their ability. Through high quality initial teaching, we provide learning opportunities that enable all pupils to make progress. We do this through appropriate task design which meets each child’s individual needs. Teachers will also take into account the targets set for individual children in their Individual Education Plans and Individual Behaviour Plans as appropriate. We recognise that learners have differing needs and provide suitable learning opportunities for all by matching the challenge of the activities to the ability of the child. We achieve this through a range of strategies:

• setting common learning activities that are open-ended and can have a variety of results;
• setting learning of increasing difficulty;
• setting specific learning according to individual needs and targets
• grouping children by ability and setting different tasks for each group;
• mixed ability grouping which facilitates peer support
• providing a range of challenges through the provision of different resources and scaffolds;
• using additional adults to support the work of individual children or small groups.

Equality

All teaching and learning of Art will ensure that every child has the right to be included and supported as far as possible in the knowledge that there is equality in terms of opportunity, social background, race, gender and disability. Religious beliefs of pupils and their families will be respected at all times.

Assessment and Recording

Teachers assess children’s work in Art by making assessments as they observe them working during lessons and through marking/feedback. They record the progress that children make by assessing the children’s work against the learning objectives. Teachers annotate the planning and amend/refine as required to meet the needs of learners. 

Throughout the learning journey, teachers make a judgement against the National Curriculum statements as well as the substantive and disciplinary knowledge/skills identified by the school. Assessments are recorded on the learning journeys. Teachers then use the data to plan the future work of each child and to make an annual assessment of progress for each child, as part of the annual report to parents. Each teacher passes this information on to the next teacher at the end of each year as part of the school's transition processes. 

Health and Safety

Whilst creativity allows for personal expression, children are taught to use materials and tools with care to ensure the safety of others. They understand the need for compliance with rules to ensure that they are able to work together.

Impact

The monitoring of the standards of children’s work and of the quality of teaching in Art is the responsibility of the Language and Culture Curriculum Team. The team supports colleagues in the teaching of Art, being informed about current developments in the subject and providing a strategic lead and direction for the subject in the school.

The following information outlines how the Curriculum Teams monitor, evaluate and review their subjects.

• Curriculum Teams use self-evaluation and write clear action plans and ensure that they are understood by all those involved in putting the plans into practice, including staff who are new to the school. These are reviewed termly and contribute to the monitoring, review and evaluation of the school development plan.
• Curriculum Teams follow a cycle of monitoring throughout the school for the academic year, ensuring that they can make judgements about the standards within their subjects. This includes learning walks, planning, books looks and pupil conferencing.
• Curriculum Teams report their impact to Governors. 
• Curriculum Teams ensure that teachers are clear about the teaching objectives in lessons, understand the sequence of teaching and learning in the subject, and communicate such information to pupils.
• Curriculum Teams ensure curriculum coverage, continuity and progression of substantive/disciplinary knowledge and skills in their subject for all pupils, regardless of their initial starting points. This includes having high expectations of all learners with SEND, EAL and those identified as being disadvantaged. 
• Curriculum Teams establish a clear, shared understanding of the importance and role of the subject in contributing to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social, cultural, mental and physical development, and in preparing pupils for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of adult life.
• Curriculum Teams use data effectively to identify pupils who are underachieving in the subject and, where necessary, create and implement effective plans of action to support those pupils