🎨INTENT

At Willaston Primary Academy, we believe that high-quality art, craft and design teaching will inspire children to think innovatively and develop their creativity, giving our children the knowledge and skills to experiment, invent and create their own works of art, craft and design. Our aim is to cultivate an environment where creativity thrives, encouraging every child to express themselves artistically while fostering a deep appreciation for visual culture.

We want our pupils to:

•  express their ideas, emotions, and perspectives through a variety of artistic mediums, promoting individuality and confidence.
• be introduced to a diverse range of art practices and artistic traditions from both British and international contexts, fostering cultural appreciation and understanding.
•  develop their ability to critique and analyse artworks, both their own and those of others, nurturing a sense of enquiry and critical thinking. In order to develop a more rigorous understanding of art and design.
•  have a progressive skill set in a variety of materials and techniques, equipping them with the tools needed for artistic expression and problem-solving.

As pupils progress, 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. Art is taught through our creative curriculum and the children use art as a medium to respond to and express their global learning.

🎨IMPLEMENTATION

• Our Art curriculum is designed around the idea that art is far more than a series of technical skills, our holistic curriculum nurtures creative thinking skills and helps ensure pupils learn through art, as well as about art.
• Our Art curriculum provides children with opportunities to develop their skills using a range of media and materials. Children learn the skills of drawing, painting, printing, collage, textiles, 3D work and digital art and are given the opportunity to explore and evaluate different creative ideas.
• Children will be introduced to a range of works and develop knowledge of the styles and vocabulary used by famous artists. The skills they acquire are applied to their cross-curricular topics, allowing children to use their art skills to reflect on and explore topics in greater depth; for example, by sketching historical artefacts in detail, researching geographical locations to support their work on landscape painting or using art as a medium to express emotion and thought to enhance their personal, social and emotional development.
• Art is taught in half termly blocks, opposite a Design and Technology unit. Each half term our pupils will focus on a different skill and artist. Over the course of each key stage (KS1 and both lower and upper KS2) all art skills will be taught.
• At the beginning of each unit the pupils will study their artist and create a double page spread in their sketch books built up using examples of work, colour schemes, and facts. This helps the children to explore their artist and become familiar with their work before the unit begins.
• The unit will then progress to developing the chosen skill in their sketch books where the children are able to try out ideas, experiment, practice formal methods and apply their knowledge.
• In Art, children are expected to be reflective and evaluate their work, thinking about how they can make changes and keep improving. Children are encouraged to take risks and experiment and then reflect on why some ideas and techniques are successful or not for a project. The children enjoy displaying and sharing their work with the wider community through art galleries held in school and digitally through our school website and social media.
• Our Early years promotes the learning of Art through a wide and varied curriculum linked to ‘Expressive arts and design’ as the development of pupils’ artistic and cultural awareness supports their imagination and creativity. It is important that children have regular opportunities to engage with the arts, enabling them to explore and play with a wide range of media and materials.

🎨IMPACT

The Willaston Art Curriculum is about opening up what art is, giving pupils lots of different kinds of opportunities and experiences (media, techniques, approaches, artists), all underpinned by creative use of drawing and sketchbooks. We know our children are learning and making progress in Art when they: 

• Feel inspired by the work of others and are excited to develop a life-long learning for the subject
• Develop their capacity for imaginative and original thought through experimentation.
• Develop their abilities to articulate and communicate ideas, options and feelings about their own work and that of others.
• Experience an abundance of opportunities to explore and experiment with different skills and techniques.
• Learn about artists, designers and architects and understand the historical and cultural development of their art forms.
• Achieve well in Art which is reflected through a consistent learning journey and clear progress.
• Effectively evaluate their own learning and from this see progression throughout their sketchbooks.

In conclusion, our Art and Design programme at Willaston Primary Academy is designed with clear intention, expertly implemented through a rich and varied curriculum, and delivers profound impact on our pupils' artistic, cultural, and personal development, all while aligning with the highest standards of the Ofsted framework.