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Art and Design

Intent – Art at Parkfield

Wassily Kandinsky once said,There is no must in art because art is free.” Georgia O'Keeffe stated, “I found I could say things with colour and shapes that I couldn't say any other way--things I had no words for.”

We aim to engage, inspire and challenge pupils through Art and Design, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to experiment, invent and create their own creative, imaginative works of art. As pupils progress, they should be able 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.

The national curriculum for art and design aims to ensure that all pupils:

  • produce creative work, exploring their ideas and recording their experiences
  • become proficient in drawing, painting, sculpture and other art, craft and design techniques
  • evaluate and analyse creative works using the language of art, craft and design
  • know about great artists, craft makers and designers, and understand the historical and cultural development of their art forms.

Research which informs practice: ‘The benefits of art, craft and design education in schools: a rapid evidence review’, National Society for Education in Art and Design, February 2022 states, “The study of art enables pupils to understand, appreciate and contribute to a dimension of life that taps into and expresses human innovation, imagination and thought. At an individual level, a high-quality art education can build pupils’ ability to ‘appreciate and interpret what they observe, communicate what they think and feel, or make what they imagine and invent.” Moreover, Ofsted’s: Making a Mark (2012) advocates that at its best, the subject is both intellectually challenging and creatively demanding.

 

Implementation

Our Art Curriculum is built on substantive knowledge, disciplinary knowledge and conceptual knowledge.

  • Substantive knowledge is core propositions for each lesson (what do we want the children to know or be able to do)
  • Disciplinary knowledge is how to ‘think like an artist’ and ‘create like an artist’
  • Conceptual knowledge is about the ‘big ideas’ that children can understand in multiple different contexts.

Drawing, painting and sculpture are specified in the Primary National Curriculum. The National Curriculum also refers to ‘other art, craft and design techniques’. Our key concepts (big ideas) that run throughout our art curriculum are: drawing, painting and sculpture. We have interwoven colour work, collage and printing into our schemes of work (where appropriate) which children will revisit throughout their time at Parkfield. Digital media is covered in our computing curriculum and textiles in our DT curriculum, thus children have vast opportunities to be creative.

We have sequenced our curriculum with the aim of pupils knowing more and remembering more, and that they are therefore able to do more with the subject-specific knowledge that they learn. We understand that pupils need to acquire knowledge to achieve a convergent goal. For example, pupils may learn: colour theory and knowing that mixing red and yellow makes orange or specific techniques to command a particular skill, for example a filbert brush is better for creating soft, round edges. Moreover, pupils can acquire knowledge to achieve a divergent goal. This is when we do not know how pupils will use the knowledge. In such cases, pupils draw on the knowledge to create their own artwork, combining what they know in sometimes experimental contexts. The national curriculum mentions this in its reference to producing creative work. For example, pupils may learn how: colour can depict and change the mood of art when choosing watercolours for a Campania scene or warm colours to depict The Great Fire of London. In contrast, the use of different media or visual cues can convey a personal style when creating a flower painting in the style of Georgia O’Keefe.

In Ofsted’s most recent Art Review 2023, it refers to art being structured into three domains:

  • Practical knowledge: developing technical proficiency
  • Theoretical knowledge: cultural and contextual content that pupils learn about artists and artwork
  • Disciplinary knowledge:  what pupils learn about how art is studied, discussed and judged

Each of the three domains of knowledge include receptive and productive elements. Productive is where our pupils become capable in the aspects of art or producing art and receptive is where pupils learn about aspects of art. For example, within the domain of practical knowledge, in sculpture, pupils learn the meaning of shape and form, the way 3-dimensional forms occupy their space (receptive expertise), and how to manipulate materials such as clay into 3 dimensions to create form. At the early stages of sculpture in particular, they also learn how to join elements and how to carve or incise surface detail (productive expertise). The second domain of knowledge in the art and design curriculum is theoretical knowledge. This enables pupils to make connections between art’s past, present and future. The national curriculum states that pupils should know about great artists, craft-makers and designers. They should also understand the historical and cultural development of their art forms. The theoretical knowledge is the knowledge pupils learn about: meaning and interpretations, materials and processes and journeys and connections through time. Finally, when pupils learn disciplinary knowledge’, they participate in discussions about big ideas in art. They explore, among other things, concepts of quality, value and purpose. This is through thinking like an artist and asking questions like: ‘how is art made?’, ‘what is art?’, ‘how is art judged?’, ‘what is the purpose of art?’, ‘how does design affect the lives of users?’ and ‘how does design affect human environments?’

Each term pupils will be taught one ‘big idea’ or key concept and this is linked, where possible to the overarching curriculum theme to give the children a holistic learning experience. Pupils will be introduced to the key concept and will recap on previous learning as a way of ‘hooking on to previous knowledge’. Children will learn about a key artist or craft maker and will participate in discussions (theoretical and disciplinary knowledge). They will then have a series of lessons based on practical knowledge, where they will learn both receptive and productive elements. Most of these lessons will have a ‘convergent goal’ where children are taught knowledge and techniques and are given time to practise. They can then use the techniques and knowledge taught to produce their own art work which is not always prescriptive and where we encourage individuality, thus this is a divergent goal. Pupils then have the opportunity to self and peer evaluate their work- thinking about what techniques they used, what they felt went well and what they would do differently next time and how it makes them feel.

Lessons begin by introducing the learning question, the key concept or ‘big idea’. Each lesson is an opportunity to develop an artistic skill or concept- which is outlined and addresses the key vocabulary which the children will be exposed to. Opportunities for revision of facts and artistic understanding are built into lessons to keep knowledge ‘ticking over’. We aim to create a curiosity for learning, encourage questioning and thinking like an artist. Teaching and learning is an opportunity for dialogue, questioning, discussion and collaboration, with oracy sentence stems embedded to encourage high quality dialogue. We conclude with a ‘bringing the learning together’ and a chance to reason in a variety of different contexts. We then recap the key substantive knowledge we wish the children to know and remember. This informs the quiz for the next lesson.

EYFS

Children first encounter art and design in the early years foundation stage (EYFS). In the EYFS statutory guidance, ‘expressive arts and design’ is a specific area of learning and development. The guidance says it is important for children to engage with the arts regularly and to explore a range of materials and media. This helps them to work towards the early learning goals, such as safely using and exploring a variety of materials, tools and techniques. High-quality practice in the early years stimulates children’s interest and imagination in the materials and media they encounter, and provides the necessary foundations for future learning. There is a strong focus on the characteristics of effective learning which includes Playing and Exploring, Active Learning and Creating and Thinking Critically.

At the beginning of the reception year, we spend time getting to know the children and their families and finding out about their homelife and where they live. Some of our children have limited vocabulary as they’re EAL or have a lack of pre-school experience, so we provide NELI interventions and daily communication and language whole class sessions to encourage their vocabulary and understanding. They have many opportunities to explore media and materials and have access to resources which they may not have at home and we also provide daily fine motor skill sessions.

Cultural Capital

We aim to offer both equality and equity in our Art curriculum. We are aware that some of our pupils may only encounter art in school, so we aim to inspire and encourage the use of art materials and tools to engage creativity. We provide equity by supporting children who may not have the fine motor skills or artistic skills to produce art by scaffolding, intervention or support. During our enrichment weeks, we endeavour to have an art opportunity. Our pupils are given a wide range of enrichment experiences such as: theatre trips, museum visits to attend workshops and exhibitions, as well as workshops with professional artists.

How do we assess?

Assessment takes many forms, which includes both formative and summative assessments. Teachers begin each lesson with a cumulative quiz– which is based on the substantive knowledge outlined from the previous lesson. Throughout lessons, there are opportunities to recap learning. Summative assessment: outcome piece- can they use and apply the skills taught? – use of success criteria. Summative assessment: What do you know about (artist)?

 

Impact

By the end of their time at Parkfield, as artists, the children will be:

  • Successful learners who are equipped with the knowledge and skills to experiment, invent and create their own works of art, craft and design.
  • Confident individuals who can think critically and develop a more rigorous understanding of art and design.
  • Responsible citizens who will know how art and design both reflect and shape our history and contribute to the culture, creativity and wealth of our nation.

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