ART AND DESIGN

Intent

At Coppermill we will allow every pupil to exceed creatively. Pupils will be inspired by great artists and allowed to experiment and create their own works of art, craft and design. Through different mediums, pupils will develop essential skills such as: drawing; painting and sculpture which will inspire a life-long expression of creativity. Through an engaging and inclusive curriculum, pupils will explore the creative works of artists who represent them. They will study artists, designers and craftspeople not so they can make copies or pastiches of their style, but so we can learn from the way they see the world. They will invent their own works of art; exploring their own ideas and recording their experiences. Pupils will build on their artistic skills as they progress through the school; using a range of materials and experimenting with a wider range of techniques. Pupils will have a wide range of opportunities and experiences (media, techniques, approaches, artists), all underpinned by the creative use of drawing and sketchbooks. The sequenced curriculum will make cross curricular links and allow pupils to deepen their historical and cultural understanding of different art throughout history and our teachers will understand the larger structure and relevance of what comes before and after each unit of learning. 

Implementation

At Coppermill, Art is taught in discreet, weekly lessons but the skills and knowledge is also utilised, where possible, in the wider curriculum. We use the Access Art scheme of work which enables us to deliver “a really exciting, rich and forward thinking visual arts education, whilst at the same time giving non-specialist and often inexperienced teachers the support they need to feel confident and happy teaching art.” 

To cover the requirements of the National Curriculum, each year follows six ‘Learning Pathways’ 

Each pathway enables open-ended creative learning where the emphasis is on the journey. Acquiring and developing technical skills are integral as well as nurturing creative thinking skills where pupils learn through art, as well as about art. Pathways are carefully curated to introduce teachers and pupils to a wide variety of artists, designers and craftspeople from across the world, both contemporary and more traditional.


Impact

Assessment of children's learning in Art takes the form of gentle, ongoing assessment based upon lots of conversation, to discover intention and understanding, as well as looking at outcomes of the journey and end result. Each pathway contains suggested “I Can…” statements to check understanding.  Pupils are also  given opportunities to observe and evaluate their own and other’s work either using assessment such as success criteria or through individual responses based on the preferences of the children. This is used to inform the differentiation, support and challenge required by the children.

The impact of our Art teaching will be seen across the school with an increase in the profile of Art. Children will have gained and refined a wide range of technical skills , be confident to talk about their own and other’s artwork and have knowledge of an ever increasing bank of artists to draw inspiration from.

By the time every child leaves Coppermill Primary School they should feel as if they have found an area of the visual arts that is relevant and engaging to them – that might be through drawing, making, designing or talking about art.