“I have come so that you may have life and have it to the full.” John 10:10

Subject Leader - Caroline Lynch 

Intent

At St John’s Catholic primary school, our holistic approach to education and developing the whole child and our desire to ensure that our children are ready for 21st Century life, drives our provision of a broad and balanced curriculum. We believe fostering our children’s creativity and engagement is an essential element in their ability to succeed; we know it improves their motivation, well-being and achievement not only academically, but also socially, emotionally and culturally. We want our Art provision to enable pupils to develop a natural sense of wonder and curiosity about the world around them and allow them a means to convey this.

“Art is not just a subject to learn, but an activity that you can practise with your hands, your eyes, your whole personality.”           

Quentin Blake, Children’s Laureate.

The National Curriculum for art aims to ensure that all pupils:

•  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 forms.

Art paves the way for a wide variety of experiences and provides opportunities for our children to develop a range of methods to share and express their individual creativity

Our aim is to have a high-quality art curriculum which engages, inspire and challenges pupils’ proficiency in drawing, painting, understanding colour and shade and sculpture and helps them develop their skills in all these areas.

Implementation

The teaching and implementation of the Art Curriculum at St John’s follows the National curriculum expectations and is linked across the curriculum to relevant topics and themes to ensure a well-structured approach to this creative subject.

Areas covered include sculpture, drawing, painting, print making and textiles. This is supported through the studying of key artists and the development of a knowledge of their work.

The children’s work is evidenced within their art sketch book, either via sketch or photographic evidence, and this book is used by children throughout their journey in the school, so development and progress can be seen by both the child and teacher.

Impact

Information is gathered through pupil interviews, book monitoring and class observations by the subject leader to ensure sufficient depth and subject knowledge is shared with the children. Progress and attainment throughout the topics are measured against National Curriculum expectations of attainment and skills.

Assessment is an ongoing process in the form of teacher, peer and self-assessment. 'Are you pleased with your work?'  'What did they do well?'  'How could this be improved even further?' In this way the art is celebrated, recognised and praised by not just adults but by those classmates who are around them.

However, the true success to art at St John’s is in the recognition and celebration of the work created by the children on constant display throughout the school. By showcasing the creativity and skills developed throughout their time spent with us is a true testament to the impact we hope to have on their lives.