The vision for our Art and Design curriculum at Lapford Primary is to encourage and enable our children to develop their creativity and skills by exploring a range of media and materials.  Art and design is an essential part of the primary curriculum. Art allows the children to develop their imagination and creativity, to make connections through their inventive minds and gives children the skills to record their imagination and ideas.  Art enables children to communicate what they see, feel and think.  The planned units in the St Thomas of Canterbury CE Primary rolling program secure children’s understanding of observational drawing, sculpture, texture and colour through a range of media, with an emphasis on the work of different artists, children are taught about artistic practises and styles through history until present day.  Children should experiment with their ideas, their use of colour, texture, form, pattern and different materials and processes, therefore enabling them to continue to develop and secure their skill base and become proficient in drawing, painting, sculpture and other art, craft and design techniques. Art also encourages expression and visual thinking, which in turn helps children learn other subjects.

Art and Design is fundamental to the personal development of children. We encourage children to create, enjoy and value different forms of art. We aim to teach and develop art in a meaningful way, allowing children to explore a range of skills, artists, styles and genres. Our aim is for children to understand that art is made by all sorts of people, in a variety of ways. We encourage children to not only experience the arts but to explore and create; to learn about themselves as individuals and learn from meaningful experiences linked to their own lives. Art and Design provides children with opportunities to use their creativity and imagination, whilst also contributing to the development of the child emotionally, spiritually, intellectually, and socially. A child exploring their environment through art develops confidence and skills that are transferable to other subjects to use in group working, as well as developing and extending skills to express their individual interests and ideas.

Children will access Art lessons for half a term each term. 

Learning in Art and Design begins in the EYFS, where children are encouraged to explore and use a variety of media and materials through a combination of child initiated and adult directed activities. As they progress through the school, children learn the skills of drawing, painting, collage, sculpture, textiles, printmaking, and graphic design and are given the opportunity to explore and evaluate their ideas. At St Thomas of Canterbury CE Primary School, Art and Design is taught in half-termly blocks, alternating with Design and Technology.  During the six weeks of sessions the children will look at different mediums and techniques, ensuring that over the course of their time at St Thomas of Canterbury CE Primary School they have experienced a range of resources to create masterpieces from and their skills have been revisited and built upon.  During each six-week block, the children will get the chance to evaluate work by an artist.  Through in-depth discussion, the children will explore how their art can share commonalities with famous art and use subject-specific vocabulary to discuss key artworks and their own work. In the development of confident art critics, the children will share their opinions and make informed observations about what will improve their own practical work.

The rolling program follows a clear progression of skills which ensures all pupils are challenged in line with their year group expectations and are given the opportunity to build on their prior knowledge. Opportunities to collect ideas, explore and develop skills, reflect and develop techniques through the use of sketchbooks, and chances for self and peer-assessment, are planned into lessons. These demonstrate the process and progression of skills, resulting in a final piece of work. Children will be introduced to a diverse range of different artists and will have opportunities to broaden their knowledge and understanding about the differences and similarities of these artists and make links to their own work. Through this exploration, children will develop a wide range of art and design techniques in using colour, pattern, line, shape, form, texture and space.

We want our Art and Design curriculum to impact our school community in the ways listed below –

• Art and design learning is loved by teachers and pupils across school.
• Children are always keen to learn new skills and work hard to develop those shown to them.
• Teachers have high expectations and quality evidence can be presented in a variety of ways.
• The children’s art, where possible, is cross-curricular and helps them to express feelings and emotions in art, as well as show their knowledge and understanding in other areas of the curriculum.
• All children use technical vocabulary accurately and pupils are expected to know, apply and understand the matters, skills and processes specified.
• Children will become more confident in analysing their work and giving their opinion on their own and other works of art.
• Children show competences in improving their resilience and perseverance by continually evaluating and improving their work.
• Classroom displays reflect the children’s sense of pride in their artwork and this is also demonstrated by creative outcomes across the wider curriculum.
• The school environment also celebrates children’s achievements in art and demonstrates the subject’s status in the school, with outcomes, enhancing the environment.

We want our children to have no limits to what their ambitions are and to grow up wanting to be illustrators, graphic designers, fashion designers, curators, architects or printmakers.