‘Every human is an artist’

Don Miguel Ruiz

Curriculum Intent

In Art and Design, we aim to ensure all children produce creative work, exploring their ideas and recording their experiences, becoming proficient in drawing, painting and sculpture and other art, craft and design techniques. We enable children to become creative and reflective learners who are able to express themselves, fluently and confidently in a variety of different media. We provide a high-quality Art and Design education with opportunities to explore inspirational art work whilst equipping them with the knowledge and skills to experiment safely using a variety of materials, tools and techniques. As the children learn to express themselves through art, they will also know how art and design both reflects and shapes our history and contributes to the culture, creativity and wealth of our nation. Our children will understand that the perseverance and attentiveness needed to complete an Art and Design project leads to personal pride and gratification.

Following the ‘Kapow’ scheme of learning, the progression of skills taught year-on-year ensures our children become confident and proficient in a variety of techniques and craft skills. Children will develop their knowledge of a variety of famous artists, designers and craft makers. Children will build on their skills progression, knowledge and develop their interest and curiosity about art and design as they progress through the key stages. Children will have an opportunity to develop and demonstrate their skills in a variety of ways.

At St Patrick's, children will:

• Create a sketch book to record observations and use them to review and revisit ideas.
• Children will improve their mastery of art and design techniques, including drawing, painting and sculpture through a range of different materials. 
• Children will develop their knowledge of art and design as they are exposed to a variety of great artists, architects and designers in history.
• High expectations for children to develop their emotional expression through art to further enhance their personal, social and emotional development and enable children to be confident, inquisitive and resilient learners.

Implementation

Following the Kapow Art and Design scheme of work which covers each of the National Curriculum attainment targets as well as each strand.

The Kapow Art scheme of work is designed with four strands that run throughout:

• Generating ideas
• Using sketchbooks
• Making skills, including formal elements (line, shape, tone, texture, pattern, colour) 
• Knowledge of artists
• Evaluating and analysing

Units of lessons are sequential, allowing children to build their skills and knowledge, applying them to a range of outcomes. The formal elements, a key part of the National Curriculum, are also woven throughout units. Key skills are revisited again and again with increasing complexity in a spiral model. This allows pupils to revise and build on their previous learning.

Units in each year group are organised into four core areas:

• Drawing
• Painting and mixed-media
• Sculpture and 3D
• Craft and design

Each unit fully scaffolds and support age-appropriate sequenced learning and are flexible enough to be adapted to form cross curricular links. Creativity and independent outcomes are robustly embedded into the units, supporting pupils in learning how to make their own creative choices and decisions so that their art outcomes, whilst still being knowledge-rich are unique to the pupils. Lessons are practical in nature and encourage experimental and exploratory learning with pupils using sketchbooks to document their ideas. Differentiated guidance is available for every lesson to ensure that lessons can be accessed and enjoyed by all pupils and opportunities to sketch pupils learning are available when required. Knowledge organisers for each unit support pupils by providing a highly visual record of the key knowledge and techniques learned, encouraging recall of skills processes, key facts and vocabulary.

Strong subject knowledge is vital for staff to be able to deliver a highly effective and robust Art and Design curriculum. Each unit of lessons includes multiple teacher videos to develop subject knowledge and support ongoing CPD.

Scope

• There is a wide scope of units for each year group which develops skills and techniques. Children are taught life skills and techniques they can transfer to many situations.

Sequencing

• The ‘Kapow’ Scheme is progressive and units build on previous units. Within a unit of work each lesson builds on skills and techniques learnt in previous lessons.

Knowledge

• Children build on prior knowledge learnt in previous units or year groups. Knowledge organisers are provided to embed learning.

Teaching and Learning

A range of learning and teaching strategies are utilised throughout the teaching of Art and Design as detailed below:

• modelling - provide models / guide pupil practice independent practice;
• enabling and deliberate practice; - daily / weekly review using retrieval questions;
• new content of knowledge and skills introduced in small steps;
• spacing and interleaving - ensure cognitive load theory practices are utilised from short term memory to long term memory;
• growth mind-set;
• metacognition;
• build resilience;
• scaffolding;
• use of technology.
• ‘Kapow’ Scheme of learn provides videos for both teachers and children that demonstrate skills and technology.
• Integrated teaching of the formal elements of art (line, shape, tone, texture, pattern and colour)
• Knowledge organisers for all units are provided.

Impact

We want our children at St. Patrick's to leave with a love of art. Kapow's curriculum is designed in such a way that children are involved in the evaluation, dialogue and decision making about the quality of their outcomes and improvements they need to make. The expected impact of following the Kapow is that children will:

• Produce creative work, exploring their ideas and experiences.
• Be proficient in drawing, painting, sculpture and other art, craft and design techniques.
• Evaluate and analyse creative works using subject-specific language.
• Know about great artists and the historical and cultural development of their art.
• Meet the end of key stage expectations outlined in the National Curriculum for Art and Design.

Assessment

Formative Assessment -

Every lesson begins with the ‘Recap and recall’ section, which allows pupils to practise retrieving key knowledge relevant to the forthcoming lesson. This section also allows teachers to make informal judgements about whether pupils have retained prior learning and are ready to progress.

Each lesson contains an ‘Assessing progress and understanding’ section, which helps teachers to identify pupils who are secure in their learning or working at a greater depth and supports the teacher in identifying gaps in learning amongst the class or for individual pupils.

Additionally, there is an assessment tool for the ‘Drawing’ and ‘Painting and mixed media’ key areas. Acknowledging that Art and design involves more than just technical ability, the tool supports teachers in identifying children’s creative expression, technique and understanding of concepts, with annotated examples from an art specialist to illustrate what achievement might look like.

Summative Assessment - 

Each unit of work assesses children’s understanding and retention of key knowledge using an Assessment quiz with multiple-choice and open-ended questions. These provide teachers with a record of summative assessment – evidence of pupil progression throughout the year between key stages.