Art
Art and Design Curriculum
Intent
At Pope Paul School, we strive for our children to foster a deep love and appreciation of God’s creation and use it as a source of inspiration in their own creativity. We aim for our children to use their skills, knowledge and understanding to inform, inspire and interpret ideas, observations and feelings. We encourage all children to develop their artistic talents, to be resilient, critical thinkers and to develop a deeper understanding of the art forms that have shaped our history, culture and Christian beliefs.
The Art and Design National Curriculum requirements form the basis for our whole school planning. They are used to ensure a clear progression of skills and knowledge in all areas of Art and Design, which include: drawing, painting, collage, 3D and printing. These areas are taught in half termly blocks and all build to clear end points, both at the end of each unit of work and at the end of each key stage. Materials are well organised and centrally resourced.
Planned first hand, real life experiences for all pupils enhance and inspire meaningful works of art. As a Catholic school, strong links are actively sought and made between Art and Design and RE. This ensures that our RE curriculum is both inspiring and creative.
Ongoing opportunities are provided for the children throughout the year to explore and evaluate their art work. These include:
- Looking at and talking about the work of other artists- great artists, architects and designers in history.
- Adapting and refining their work to reflect and their view of its purpose and meaning.
- Exploring and experimenting to plan and collect source material for future work.
- Using language appropriate to skill and techniques.
Implementation
All teachers have a secure knowledge of the Art and Design curriculum. The Art and Design subject leader ensures that teachers have a deep understanding of the sequence of learning and end points. Cross curricular links are continually made with other subjects and opportunities to use real life experiences as sources of inspiration are regularly seized.
Effective formative assessment allows pupils to embed and consolidate learning and to identify gaps in skills and knowledge. Teacher CPD is provided by an Art and Design specialist teacher on a weekly basis. Through her outstanding practice, she is able to share her knowledge, skills and techniques in Art and Design and as a result, further develop the teaching skills of all staff at Pope Paul School.
Pupils are encouraged to celebrate their Art and Design achievements through internal opportunities such as One World Week and Celebration Morning, as well as external opportunities, such as displaying art work at the Potters Bar Art Exhibition and entering national art competitions.
Impact
Pope Paul children leave ready for the next stage of their education in Art and Design. They are confident artists who have acquired the knowledge and skills that they need to continue to develop their artistic talents, to be critical thinkers and to develop a deeper appreciation and understanding of all forms of art.