KenmontArt & Design
Art at Kenmont
Curriculum Intent
At Kenmont Primary School art should be fully inclusive for every child. Our aims are to: fulfil the requirements of the National Curriculum for art and design; provide a broad and balanced curriculum; ensure the progressive development of knowledge and skills; enable children to observe and record from first-hand experience and from imagination; develop children’s competence in controlling materials and tools; acquire knowledge and become proficient in various art and design techniques and processes; begin to develop an awareness of the visual and tactile elements, including colour, pattern and texture, line and tone, shape, form and space; foster enjoyment and appreciation of the visual arts and develop a knowledge of significant artists, craftspeople and designers; increase critical awareness of the roles and purposes of art and design in different times and cultures; and analyse works using the language of art and design and develop a cross-curricular approach to the use of art and design in all subjects.
Art and design teaching at Kenmont Primary instils an appreciation and enjoyment of the visual arts. Art and design stimulates imagination and creativity, involving children in a range of visual, tactile and sensory experiences, which enable them to communicate what they see, think and feel through the use of the elements of colour, texture, form and pattern. Art and design promotes careful observation and an appreciation of the world around us. Children explore ideas and meanings through studying the work of artists and designers. Through learning about the roles and functions of art, they can explore the impact it has had on contemporary life and on different periods and cultures.
The aims of teaching art and design in our school are:
- To 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 through school, they should begin to think critically and develop a more rigorous understanding of art and design. They should also know how art and design both reflect and shape our history, and contribute to the culture, creativity and wealth of our nation.
- To produce creative work, exploring their ideas and recording their experiences.
- To become proficient in drawing, painting, sculpture and other art, craft and design techniques.
- To evaluate and analyse creative works using the language of art, craft and design.
- To know about great artists, craft makers and designers, and understand the historical and cultural development of their art forms.
Curriculum Implementation
To ensure good standards of teaching and learning in art and design, we implement a curriculum that is progressive throughout the whole school. Art and design is taught as part of a half-termly or termly topic, focusing on knowledge and skills stated in the National Curriculum.
The art and design curriculum at Kenmont Primary School is based upon the National Curriculum for Art and Design. When teaching art and design, teachers should follow the children’s interests to ensure their learning is engaging, broad and balanced. A variety of teaching approaches are used based on the teacher’s judgement.
At Kenmont Primary School, we provide opportunities for art and design learning inside and outside the classroom. For many years we have taken part in The National Gallery’s Take One Picture Scheme where the Gallery chooses one of their own pictures to inspire cross-curricular work in primary schools across the country. On many occasions, our children have produced work of such a high standard that their projects have been showcased at the National Gallery itself. It is a great way of celebrating our children’s work on such a public and well respected platform. As a school we also enjoy celebrating all our Take One Picture projects at the end of every academic year, inviting our families and friends to share in our success. On the occasion we haven’t taken part in Take One Picture, we held an end-of-year art week centred on a particular artist. Last year we explored Lynette Yiadom-Boakye’s use of poetry and music to inspire creative expression and invited parents to our own portrait gallery.
Educational visits are another opportunity for the teachers to plan for additional art learning outside the classroom. At Kenmont School, the children have many opportunities to experience art and design on educational visits. The children explore local museums/art galleries and have visitors into school to share art and design learning and have hands on experiences.
Curriculum Impact
Within art and design, we strive to create a supportive and collaborative ethos for learning by providing investigative and enquiry-based learning opportunities. Emphasis is placed on investigative learning opportunities to help children gain a coherent knowledge and understanding of each unit of work covered throughout the school.
Our art and design curriculum is, well thought-out and is planned to demonstrate progression. We focus on progression of knowledge and skills and discreet vocabulary progression also forms part of the units of work. We measure the impact of our curriculum through the following methods:
- Assessing children’s understanding of topic-linked vocabulary before and after the unit is taught.
- Summative assessment of pupil discussions about their learning.
- Images and videos of the children’s practical learning.
- Interviewing the pupils about their learning (pupil voice).
- Moderation staff meetings where pupils’ books are scrutinised and there is the opportunity for a dialogue between teachers to understand their class’s work.
Progression of Skills and Knowledge
Art progression of skills and knowledge document details how our curriculum builds pupils knowledge and skills over their time at the school.