Art

At St Nicholas, we aim for every child to: -

fully access the art curriculum, regardless of their ability, and to produce creative work, exploring their imagination, ideas and recording their experiences.
be engaged, inspired and challenge pupils, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to experiment, invent and create their own works of art, craft and design.
think critically and develop a more rigorous understanding of art and design using work they have observed and produced.
have had opportunity to become proficient in drawing, painting, ceramics, sculpture and other art, craft and design techniques.
be able to evaluate and analyse creative works using the language of art (15 elements) including, tone, pattern and colour.
have learnt about great Artists, craft makers, architects and designers, and developed a greater understanding of the historical and cultural development of their art forms.

As a result, children will:

increase and develop their artistic skills, knowledge and attitudes.
enable them to think critically and develop a more rigorous understanding of Art and Design.
They learn about great artists, craft makers, architects and designers, and develop a greater understanding of the historical and cultural development of their art forms and enable them to apply their knowledge and understanding of Artist’s work and to create links with their own
help them to understand how Art reflects and shapes our history, and contributes to the culture, creativity and wealth of the world around them.
develop their ability to use and select art tools and techniques, enhancing their confidence to work independently
Produce creative work exploring their imagination and using stimuli to record ideas and experiences.
work collaboratively, nurturing cooperation, and good habits for learning
develop and use their skills of enquiry, analysis, evaluation and critique, and return to their own work to improve and modify, developing effective skills for learning and life.
have the opportunity to become proficient in drawing, painting, ceramics, sculpture and other art, craft and design techniques.
All children can produce creative work, exploring their imagination, ideas and recording their experiences

Teaching and Learning

At St Nicholas, all staff adhere to the agreed Teaching and Learning Policy. In addition, the following is in place for Art: -

The Art National Curriculum is planned for and covered in full within the KS1 and KS2 school curriculum.
Teachers use the scheme Access Art, which is aligned with the National Curriculum and ensures that knowledge and skills progression from reception to year 6.
Access Art has its centre the core values of ensuring every child is entitled to a high quality art education, and everyone regardless of background and culture deserves to explore how art can help them find a voice and strive to make a better world.
Lessons are taught by the class teachers and follow a carefully sequenced programme from Access art which has been carefully monitored by the art lead to ensure coverage and progression of the National Curriculum is in place.
Artistic skills sit at the heart of our curriculum, where core component knowledge in the mediums of drawing, painting, printing, mixed media and 3D form are sequentially built upon within a spiral curriculum found within Access Art.
In EYFS, children develop a good foundation of core artistic skills through a mixture of child initiated and adult directed activities linked to both core themes and child initiated creative activities. Children are given opportunity to explore materials and techniques through a hands-on approach, exploring material capabilities and uses. Children safely use and explore a variety of materials, tools and techniques, experimenting with colour, design, texture, form and function. Children’s learning is contextualised through the study of artists and the study of key works of art. Children begin to use language of art and design to share their creations and explain the processes they have used. Allowing the children to explore materials creativity is key to early years art and design work.
Cross curricular links are made where possible and a cohesive understanding of the role of art in the wider context is provided. When they leave us, our pupils will have formed a strong foundation of Art and Design skills through mastery of a range of tools and skills which will be built on as they continue their journey as young artists.
In Key Stage 1 children are introduced to sketchbooks. Children are taught that sketchbooks are a safe place to explore and practise without fear of making mistakes. Children are taught sketchbooks are a work of art in themselves and they begin to use these to record progress and practise. In KS1, children build on their learning from EYFS, refining their core skills in a more structured approach.
Children develop a wide range of art and design techniques, introducing and exploring the formal elements. Children learn about colour, pattern, texture, line, shape, form and space and they use a range of materials creatively to design and make works of art.
Children dive deeper into contextual knowledge through artist studies and are given opportunity to think like an artist to create their own unique artist creations. Children learn about the work of a range of artists, craft makers and designers, describing the differences and similarities between different practices and disciplines. Children are encouraged to think like an artist by applying their contextual knowledge to their own work through making links and comparisons.
Each child has opportunity to work on both 2D and 3D projects, and experiences a breadth and variety of media and processes, including collage, mosaics, sculpture and ceramics, alongside drawing and painting.
In Key Stage 2 children continue to develop their use of sketchbooks to record their observations and use them to review and revisit ideas. Children are encouraged to take ownership of their sketchbooks, looking back at their ideas and progress over a unit and a year.
Children improve their mastery of art and design techniques, including drawing, painting and sculpture with a range of materials. They dive even further into their contextual studies to learn about great artists, architects and designers in history which act as stimulus for their own creative ideas.
Art is often planned to be cross-curricular, linking to subjects including; literacy, history, geography and RE. Art is often used to enhance other subjects including back drops and props for drama productions.
Whole school Art projects, promote collaborative art, increase awareness and knowledge as well as giving the children opportunity to work with Artists in residence.
Scaffolding is provided for those who require assistance and competitions are encouraged to inspire enthusiastic and budding artists who volunteer to take part

Assessment

We assess the children’s learning against the key objectives for their year group. Assessment in art involves a combination of formative and summative assessment methods, focusing on the student’s creativity, skills and understanding key concepts. An ongoing assessment occurs throughout the creative process and to assess the student’s abilities in using various tools and across artistic disciplines such as drawing, painting and sculpture and how the children can interpret artists work and use this as a source of inspiration for their own.

We use a tracking system called Sonar, to identify objectives met and those still to cover. For those children who are not working at the correct standard we will refer to the relevant programme of study to narrow the gap.