Art and Design

The Art and Design Curriculum at The Pines

At The Pines School, we value Art and Design as an important part of children’s entitlement to a broad and balanced curriculum. Art and Design provides children with opportunities to explore art processes and have the enjoyment of exploring art through experimentation. It enables children to develop resilience and curiosity about the world around them and to communicate and express their individual interests, thought and ideas.

The curriculum will equip children with the knowledge and skills to experiment, invent and create their own works of art. Children will be challenged to think critically and develop a more rigorous understanding of art and design. Our curriculum encourages imagination and creativity; involving children in a range of visual, tactile and sensory experiences, which will enable them to communicate what they see, think and feel through the creation of art.

Intent:

The curriculum is designed to 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. It aims to support the development of the key skills of decision making, developing independence, taking responsibilities, developing patience and to share practice with peers. We aim to develop children’s self-esteem and their mental wellbeing through participating in the arts. We encourage all children to be proud of their achievements and having pride in the work produced. Children will be challenged to think critically and develop a more rigorous understanding of art and design and how art and design both reflect and shape our history, and contribute to the culture, creativity and wealth of our nation. We intend that children will be challenged to develop increased proficiency in drawing, painting, sculpture and other art, craft and design techniques and will be challenged to evaluate and analyse creative works using the language of art, craft and design. Children will experience and engage with the work of great artists, craft makers and designers, and will be challenged to understand the historical and cultural development of their art forms.

Implementation:

To ensure high standards of teaching and learning in art and design, we implement a curriculum that is progressive and provides the full National Curriculum which is carefully differentiated to the needs of the children. The curriculum is overseen by a lead teacher from Primary and Secondary who is supported by a named member of the SLT. Art and Design is taught as part of thematic curriculum in Primary and weekly discrete lessons in secondary. Teachers planning is supported by a knowledge overview document and medium term plans. These documents clearly map out the National Curriculum into a broad, progressive curriculum. Planning ensures outcomes are carefully differentiate to the needs of all children and is mapped out to ensure there is clear challenge and high expectations for all learners. We adopt a practical approach to learning and teaching in art, enabling all children to gain ‘real-life’ experiences. At The Pines, we provide a variety of opportunities for Art and Design learning to take place inside and outside of the classroom. We encourage opportunities for cross- curricular Art experiences and frequently use our outdoor facilities for the children to develop their creativity; for example using our allotment and Forest School areas to create artwork using natural materials.

Impact:

Within Art and Design, we strive to create a supportive and collaborative ethos for learning by providing stimulating, practical learning opportunities for all children. Our Art and Design curriculum is high quality, well thought out and is planned to demonstrate progression and prepare children for their pathways in KS4 and beyond. We focus on progression of knowledge and skills and developing curriculum vocabulary. Children will be become creative learners with increasing independence and who are confident in creating a range of art. Children will be challenged to develop knowledge about the great artists and architects of the world. Creativity and uniqueness will be celebrated and children will be challenged to develop the skills in evaluating and improving the work they have created. When teaching, there will be an emphasis placed on individuality and children will be given the freedom to explore art using their imagination.