‘Art is not what you see, but what you make others see’.
 Edgar Degas

 

INTENT

At Barnburgh Primary Academy, we aim to enable pupils to become creative and reflective learners who are able to express themselves fluently and confidently in a variety of different ways. Art will clearly contribute towards this, enabling pupils to respond thoughtfully to different learning and stimuli. We believe a high-quality Art and Design curriculum should 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. As pupils progress, they should be able to think critically and develop a more rigorous understanding of Art and Design. They should know about great artists, craft makers and designers, and understand the historical and cultural development of their art forms and the impact of these.

 

Our Core Values provide the platform on which we have built our curriculum offer at Barnburgh Primary Academy. Our Art and Design curriculum is underpinned by our Core Values in the following ways;

 

COURAGE

• To know that it is fine to make mistakes when participating in an art project, and to understand that mistakes are part of the process of reaching a high-quality outcome.
• To have the courage to express themselves artistically and to express their own opinions about art.

PERSEVERANCE

• To develop the ability to stick with something, to continue working, to try harder and to not give up.
• To understand that the perseverance and attentiveness needed to complete an Art and Design project, leads to personal pride and gratification.

AMBITION

• To do their best and then to push themselves beyond what they consider to be their best. 
• To develop a desire to achieve something.

RESPECT

• To respect the art work of others, including the work of other artists and their peers.
• To respect equipment used in art.

INDEPENDENCE

• To develop confident artists who are not afraid to ‘have a go’.
• To develop artists who have the confidence to think independently.

 

BEYOND THE SUBJECT

We want our Art and Design curriculum to help children to:

• Think creatively about all aspects of their life.
• See the world from different perspectives.
• Increase their empathy.
• Observe and look closer at the world around them.
• See connections in the world.

 

IMPLEMENTATION

Art, craft and design embody some of the highest forms of human creativity. Our Art and Design curriculum has been designed to cover all of the skills set out in the National Curriculum. The National Curriculum states that ‘pupils should be taught to develop their techniques, including their control and their use of materials, with creativity, experimentation and an increasing awareness of different kinds of art, craft and design.’ Our Art and Design curriculum has been structured in a cross-curricular way, to effectively facilitate this and to provide maximum inspiration to our artists. Art projects will be linked to a class topic to enhance the pupils’ understanding of the key historical or geographical concepts covered. Where appropriate, Art and Design projects may also be linked to a community or cultural issue to engage our artists in the world around them.

 

At Barnburgh Primary Academy, each of our artists has their own sketchbook, in which they record ideas, practise new techniques and refine their skills in drawing, painting, sculpture and other art, craft and design techniques with a range of materials. These sketchbooks give our artists the opportunity to study an existing piece of art, create a constructive and reflective critique of this work and to use these ideas to develop their own piece of related artwork. This enables pupils to show perseverance and dedication to complete any project to the best of their ability. Artists from different eras are studied throughout school to give our artists a balanced knowledge of how art and design both reflect and shape our history, and contribute to the culture, creativity and wealth of our nation and the understanding of art concepts and skills. School visitors and trips are facilitated where appropriate to enhance the pupils’ understanding and skills further.

 

IMPACT

Due to the nature of this curriculum area, Art and Design monitoring takes various forms. A key component of this is the pupil's voice. School leaders use the pupil's voice as an effective tool to ascertain the pupils’ ability to express themselves through a range of different mediums. Sketchbook monitoring throughout all year groups also takes place once a term to compliment this, allowing leaders to ensure our artists have the opportunity to develop their skills fully and showcase their talents. Examples of our artists’ work are exhibited throughout the school, both in the classroom and communal displays.

 

Please find the art and design progression document below. This is a working document.