Art | St Nicholas Catholic Primary School

'Art and design is not just a subject to learn, but an activity that you can practise: with your hands, your eyes, your whole personality.'

Quentin Blake, Illustrator and Children’s Laureate

Vision

We aim to develop the knowledge; skills and attributes children need to manage their lives, now and in the future. These skills and attributes help pupils to stay healthy, safe and prepare them for life and work in modern Britain. At St Nicholas Catholic Primary School, personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education is an embedded part of our broad and balanced curriculum. Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural (SMSC) development is at the heart of our school ethos and links closely to our Christian values. When taught well, PSHE education helps pupils to achieve their academic potential, and leave school equipped with skills they will need throughout later life.

Intent

At St Nicholas we are committed to providing a curriculum for all where every child grows:

Academically
Socially
Morally
In aspiration
To be prepared for the next phase in their academic journey and be spiritually nourished.

To achieve excellence in all that they do in the knowledge that we love one another as God loves you.

Implementation

Our curriculum incorporates the statutory requirements of the National Curriculum and other experiences and opportunities which best meet the learning and developmental needs of the children in our school. Our skill-based art curriculum allows children to express their creative imagination as well as providing them with opportunities to practise and develop mastery in the key processes of art. This is supported through the studying of key artists which reflect our ever growing diverse school community and wider world. Lessons are taught on a weekly basis and involve studying existing pieces of art, sketching aspects of these, with a particular focus on the necessary skills, before completing a final piece. The children will then be given constructive feedback and next steps, with further opportunities to create the art piece, to improve their work and ensure that the skills are being developed. Art activities are differentiated to ensure that all pupils can access the tasks and have an appropriate level of challenge. Pupils with particular talents are given opportunities to extend them. Opportunities for using and extending art skills are built into lessons in other subjects.  Children’s work is displayed around their classroom to celebrate their achievements. In our Early Years Foundation Stage we have continuous provision of art and design opportunities. Art is covered in art lessons, continuous provision and as a means of communication and learning in other curriculum areas. 

EYFS Statutory Framework Early Learning Goals

Expressive Arts and Design (Creating with materials)

Expressive Arts and Design (Being Imaginative and Expressive)

Children at the expected level of development will:

Safely use and explore a variety of materials, tools and techniques, experimenting with colour, design, texture, form and function;
Share their creations, explaining the process they have used;
Make use of props and materials when role playing characters in narratives and stories.

Children at the expected level of development will:

Invent, adapt and recount narratives and stories with peers and their teacher;
Sing a range of well-known nursery rhymes and songs;
Perform songs, rhymes, poems and stories with others, and - when appropriate - try to move in time with music.

Key Stage 1 National Curriculum

Pupils should be taught:

to use a range of materials creatively to design and make products
to use drawing, painting and sculpture to develop and share their ideas, experiences and imagination
to develop a wide range of art and design techniques in using colour, pattern, texture, line, shape, form and space
to talk about the work of a range of artists, craft makers and designers, describing the differences and similarities between different practices and disciplines, and making links to their own work

Key Stage 2 National Curriculum

Pupils should be taught:

to develop their techniques, including their control and their use of materials, with creativity, experimentation and an increasing awareness of different kinds of art, craft and design
to create sketch books to record their observations and use them to review and revisit ideas
to improve their mastery of art and design techniques, including drawing, painting and sculpture with a range of materials [for example, pencil, charcoal, paint, clay]
to learn about about great artists, architects and designers in history

The national curriculum for art and design aims to ensure that all pupils by the end of year 6:

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 form