We aim to develop and encourage children’s natural creativity so that they can become confident and enthusiastic artists.
We believe that children should be given the opportunity to enjoy, discuss and respond to a variety of art, craft and design forms.
AIMS & OBJECTIVES
- To encourage the natural abilities that every child possesses in this curriculum area.
- To help children explore the world at first hand using their senses and experimentation to gain knowledge and understanding of the world in which they live.
- To enable children to express their ideas, feelings, thoughts and experiences in a visual form and promote enjoyment in all art activities.
- To develop ability to use a sketchbook as a ‘notebook’ for ideas and observations.
- To teach children to look carefully at images and artifacts from the past, the present and from other cultures.
- To help children communicate confidently and develop aesthetic judgements applied to their own work, to the work of others and to the world around them.
- To develop skills and knowledge of materials so that ideas can be generated, undertaken and completed with success.
- To use increasingly expressive language and art specific vocabulary to respond to their own work and that of others.
- To give all pupils an opportunity to develop their I.C.T. skills using various graphics software packages.
TEACHING + LEARNING STYLE
The school uses a variety of teaching and learning styles in art and design lessons.
These lessons will often have cross-curricular connections and be linked with current themes and topic.
Our principal aim is to develop the children’s knowledge, skills and understanding in art and design. We ensure that the act of investigating and making something includes exploring and developing ideas, and evaluating and developing work. We do this best through a mixture of whole-class teaching and individual or group activities.
We give children the opportunity within lessons to work on their own and collaborate with others, on projects in two and three dimensions and on different scales. Children also have the opportunity to use a wide range of materials and resources, including ICT.
In Foundation Stage we aim to provide a rich environment in which we encourage and value creativity. Through group work or continuous provision children experience a wide range of activities that they respond to using various senses.
Teachers draw attention to good examples of individual performance as models for the other children. They encourage children to evaluate their own ideas and methods, and the work of others, and say what they think and feel about them.
Adult input is in the form of discussion and verbal input along with demonstration if necessary – adults should not be adding to work or changing finished pieces.
ASSESSMENT
The art subject manager will keep a school portfolio of photographs which reflects the diversity of art work within the school. This is a resource for teachers as well as a means of celebrating children’s work. It can also be used as a method of sampling the progression of children’s art work within the school.
Levelled ‘I can’ statements will be used as the success criteria for each session and these will be the guidance to make assessments for individual children and recorded on the weekly planning sheet.
Each child’s sketchbook may also be used as an aid to informal teacher assessment.
S.E.N. + EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES
Planning should take into account the needs, gender and race within each year group so that all children find the work stimulating and, whenever possible, appropriate to their interests.
Children with special needs may well find it easier to express their ideas and feelings in a visual way and will benefit from a higher proportion of art activities.
We aim to give all children the opportunity to develop an appreciation of art from different cultures through topic work or when studying religions and specific festivals.
Teachers present pupils with work from a variety of artists, craft workers and designers – including both sexes and work from artists with a variety of ethnic backgrounds.
It is also a subject not necesserily governed by academic ability and provides all children with an opportun ity to succeed. Each child is encouraged to feel their work is respected and of equal value to the work of others. Each child’s work is celebrated and displayed – thus helping to promote self-esteem.
RESOURCES
We have a wide range of resources to support the teaching of art and design across the school. General and frequently used resources are kept in individual classrooms with larger and more specialised equipment found in the large art stockroom.
Drumcroon, the local art centre, is a valuable resource and is used on a termly basis across both key stages. Through working with Drumcroon children have access to exhibitions, participating in workshops and working on specific projects with artists in school.
CELEBRATION OF SUCCESS + DISPLAY
Display is a valuable tool for sharing art work and should be a vehicle for celebrating the child’s work within this subject. Art work will be displayed within classrooms and throughout the school. Often class based displays are recycled around school enabling each year group to share their work across both key stages. Any art displayed must be created by children and not produced by adults.
HEALTH + SAFETY
Teachers and pupils should be aware of any potential hazards with tools or materials in relation to use and, when necessary, storage.
ROLE OF SUBJECT MANAGER
- Ensuring that the art policy is implemented consistently throughout the school.
- Purchasing and distribution of resources to support the teaching of art within school.
- Providing advice and assistance to all staff and providing inset where necessary.
- Keeping up-to-date on the use of Art in the curriculum.
- Liaising with the LEA advisory service and other agencies.
B. McKenna – March 2010