Art Lead: Katherine Green 

What is art?

Art is the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as drawing, painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power. Art can illustrate a thought or feeling in a way that words simply cannot. It asks questions and, perhaps, even provides answers. By exploring many aspects of creative making, pupils and teachers understand the ways art connects us with our past, helps us embrace the present, and empowers us to shape our future. Art provides pupils with lots of different kinds of opportunities and experiences (media, techniques, approaches, artists), allowing  creative and expression. Another important aspect of the art and design curriculum is learning 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.

Our Curriculum Intent  

At Trent Young’s we understand that Art is an important part of the human experience, allowing us to develop self-expression through a range of different contexts, mediums, and processes.  

• We want Art to inspire children to reflect both creatively and critically about the world around them.  

• Children should be encouraged to reflect on their own context at the community level but also through a range of multicultural and historical contexts.  

• Our Art Curriculum enables children to develop a range of technical skills but also self-reflective and evaluative skills through the exploration of Artists, craft makers, designers, and Architects.  

• We wish to instil a sense of wonder about the world through inspiring and stimulating topics.  

• At Trent Young’s we aspire for our pupils to become competent, highly skilled artists. To achieve this, we aim to develop children’s capacity to create and shape their ideas alongside advancing their technical skill in drawing, working with colour, printing, sculpture, textile, and collage.  

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

1.  Produce creative work, exploring their ideas and recording their experiences 

2. Become proficient in drawing, painting, sculpture and other art, craft and design techniques 

3.  Evaluate and analyse creative works using the language of art, craft and design 

4.  Know about great artists, craft makers and designers, and understand the historical and cultural development of their art forms. 

Our Art and Design Curriculum is knowledge-rich, and pupils will learn a wide range of skills, developing understanding and showing clear progression. But crucially, the knowledge and understanding pupils will build will go far beyond the technical, factual knowledge many current curriculums focus upon.  

Our curriculum balances disciplinary knowledge with experiential knowledge, building self-knowledge and nurturing traits in learners which will hold them in good stead whichever direction their learning takes them.  

The curriculum is about OPENING UP what art is, giving pupils have lots of different kinds of opportunities and experiences (media, techniques, approaches, artists), all underpinned by creative use of drawing and sketchbooks.  

Our Curriculum Implementation

We use the Access Art curriculum, consisting of learning pathways for EYFS  to Year 6; they are designed to inspire and enable high quality visual arts teaching and learning. Teachers use the Access Art Curriculum as a basis for planning, enabling teachers to deliver a sequence of core learning where skills are developed, and progression is clear. We place a clear emphasis on journeyful teaching and learning which empowers both teachers and pupils to become confident, creative decision makers.  All staff and pupils are clear about what it is that they are learning and can see how previous learning is being built upon.  

• We also juxtapose contemporary artists with more traditional artists, giving you the opportunity to look afresh at artists you may already study.  

• The AccessArt Primary Art Curriculum is supported by a series of ‘Talking Points” resources, designed to introduce children to a wide variety of artists, designers and craftspeople from across the world. 

• Learning Pathways connect Pedagogy-based resources and activity-based resources on AccessArt, together with external links to websites which explore chosen artists/themes, to form a flexible structure which teachers can navigate easily.  

• Each pathway tells a story / forms a journey, for both teacher and pupil. Each pathway follows a particular format which promotes excellent teaching & learning:  

• Warm-up: Artists: Activity: Crit / Reflection 

• Artists: Materials: Activity: Crit / Reflection 

• Challenge or Brief: Artist: Activity: Crit / Reflection  

• Our approach is flexible and evolving.  There is nothing static about the Trent Young’s Art  Curriculum. The Access Art Learning pathways support teachers with adapting ideas to suit their own special circumstances, making the curriculum flexible and changeable according to need/opportunity.  

Our Curriculum Impact

The evaluation of learning takes place in a number of ways: 

• Assessment of children's learning in Art and Design is ongoing monitoring of children's understanding, knowledge and skills by the class teacher, throughout lessons. This assessment is then used to inform differentiation, support and challenge required by the children.  
• Summative assessment is conducted termly by class teachers across each year group of the school to inform the subject leader of progress or skills and knowledge still to be embedded. This is recorded on Insight. 
• Art and Design is also monitored by the subject leader throughout the year in the form of book monitoring, looking at outcomes and pupil interviews to discuss their learning and understanding and establish the impact of the teaching taking place. 
• Children in Foundation Stage are assessed within Expressive Arts and Design and their progress is tracked continuously using Tapestry. Age related expectation levels are reported to parents at the end of the reception year.

Curriculum Drivers:

More in-depth documentation is available on request for our art curriculum.