At St. John's Primary Academy we value Art, Craft and Design as an important part of the children’s entitlement to a broad and balanced curriculum in an environment that is both engaging and relevant.
Our intent is that through a Growth Mindset approach, children are confident and happy to take risks whilst developing their knowledge, skills and creativity.
Children will have the opportunity to develop their ideas and record their experiences.
They will explore and develop knowledge of significant and relevant artists, architects craftspeople and designers on a local, national and global level.
Children will become proficient in a variety of skills including drawing, painting and sculpture and will have experience of other art, craft and design techniques.
They will have opportunities to explore, make and evaluate the practices and outcomes of both their own and others’ work.
We aim that through these processes, children will build their confidence and self-esteem, contributing significantly to their well-being.
Our intent is for children to leave St. John’s as artists who have a belief in their own unique creativity, a tool kit of transferable skills and an appreciation and love for art that will equip them not only for their secondary education but also their lives beyond.
At our school, we follow the National Curriculum for Art, Craft and Design.
We use our own St John’s Art, Craft and Design scheme to deliver the National Curriculum, which is further supported by the use of Access Art to teach art sessions/learning journeys. This programme focuses primarily on developing knowledge and skills in the three key areas of drawing, painting and sculpture from EYFS to year 6 and also encourages children to investigate, explore and create.
Learning is sequential with progression clearly mapped out from EYFS to Year 6.
The scheme follows the spiral curriculum model where knowledge and skills from previous year groups are returned to and retrieved.
Art is taught through continuous provision in EYFS throughout the year.
KS1 and KS2 have weekly art sessions during 3 out of our 6 terms. In addition to this during term 6 a whole school art project is undertaken by the whole school producing exhibitions which are displayed throughout communal areas of the school.
Every term a whole school ‘Artist of the term’ is learnt about by each year group. The artists selected celebrate local, British and global vales, lifestyles and cultures.
Where opportunities arrive, our school exhibitions are then taken out into the wider community to be exhibited.
Each classroom is set up with its own class sets of key art equipment (including but not limited to, paints – watercolours and ready mix, pastels, drawing pencils and fine line markers) more specialised equipment (such as clay, mod roc, printing materials) is stored within the central art stock cupboard.
Teachers continually draw upon observations and discussions with pupils, as the key progression and assessment tool, to ensure that pupils are challenged and to identify pupils who need additional support.
From year 1 children begin to develop their own sketchbook which is theirs to use to explore and develop their own art learning journey. Sketchbooks are passed on each year and are a prime source for assessing progression, they are also used as a learning tool themselves as children retrieve knowledge and skills from previous learning.
Lessons are engaging and take on many forms, including but not limited to exploratory, investigation sessions, direct teaching of knowledge/skills, art history sessions through the use of significant and relevant artists and also creative sessions. Lessons revisit and retrieve learning from previous learning in that learning journey, but also from previous year groups.
Teachers scaffold learning where appropriate – e.g. pencil grips, to ensure that lessons can be accessed by all children.
Extra-curricular art activities at St John's include our after-school craft club which is run by an outside craft specialist.
As a Year 6 artist, our children are knowledgeable and confident artists, who can draw upon their prior knowledge and skills to develop future learning. We equip them with the knowledge and skills to experiment, explore, take risks, invent and create.
The primary way we measure the impact of our art, craft and design curriculum is through meaningful, and relevant discussions with the children.
Sketchbooks are also used as a major tool in assessing progression.
There are no national assessment criteria for art, craft and design and we measure the impact through the progress of the learning journey.
The subject leader will monitor the impact that teaching of Art, Craft and Design is having on the children’s learning through lesson observations, informal discussions with staff, sketchbook scrutinies and discussions with pupils (pupil voice) to ensure the progress of knowledge and skills is being taught. End of journey reflection impact sheets are used to help with assessing the impact a journey has had.
Most importantly, at St. John’s, we want children to foster a positive, life-long relationship with the subject and have fun.