Our Art and Design Curriculum

Our Art and Design curriculum encourages children to develop the following skills and competencies as they journey through school:

• fine and gross motor
• collaboration
• decision-making
• communication
• risk-taking/resilience

The following elements are taught to children in order to produce art:

• Formal elements (colour, form, line, pattern, shape, texture and tone)
• Techniques (drawing, painting, printmaking, 3D sculpture, textiles and photography/digital art)
• Use of materials (including clay, paint, pencils, charcoal and fabric)

The subject also encourages children to form opinions, through our approach to oracy, and to be inventive. Art and Design teaches children about colour, layout, perspective and balance. These techniques can be transferred to pupils’ wider learning when they transition to secondary education.

At St Mary’s, children explore and develop their Art and Design skills and creativity using a wide range of media. We value the use of sketchbooks and encourage the importance of experimentation, exploration and pushing ideas in imaginative ways. Art allows children to explore, build on and record their own creative and imaginative ideas. Creating pictures helps children observe the subject matter of the real-world scene they are drawing from more closely, and makes them better observers of detail in the world around them. Developing observational skills, through picture-making, facilitates the child’s visual sensitivity to the world.

We use a scheme of work called ‘Kapow’ as a basis for our curriculum to support teachers to deliver lessons of a high standard that ensures progression of knowledge and skills as the children move through each year group and key stage. Kapow Art and Design scheme of work, which is adapted to meet the barriers of learning for the children at St Mary’s, aims to inspire pupils and develop their confidence to experiment and invent their own works of art. The scheme is written by experts and designed to give pupils every opportunity to develop their ability, nurture their talent and interests, express their ideas and thoughts about the world, as well as learning about the rich heritage and culture of the British Isles and beyond. Kapow supports pupils to meet the National Curriculum end-points for each key stage. The National Curriculum states that, ‘A high-quality art and design education should engage, inspire and challenge pupils, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to experiment, invent and create their own works of art, craft and design’. This is what we encourage at St Mary’s and, using this scheme as a basis for our own curriculum, supports teachers to create lessons which inspire children and young people to create, experience, and participate in great arts and culture.

The teaching of Art and Design at St Mary’s can encourage children to seek creative-minded careers such as graphic design, fashion design, engineering and many more – which supports our school motto of ‘Believe, Achieve and Aspire’.

Art & Design Documents

Please view the additional documents in school:

• Art and Design Knowledge and Skills Progression
• Art and Design Vocabulary Progression
• Art and Design Knowledge Organisers
• Art and Design Unit Markers

Art Ideas for Parents