Art and Design at Brightwell
"We are Artists"
Curriculum Intent
At Brightwell Primary School, we have chosen to use units of work from Kapow to form the core basis of our curriculum and it is our intent that this subject is taught in all year groups through three topics per year. We value Art and Design as an important part of a broad and balanced curriculum as it provides children with opportunities to develop and extend skills while also being able to express their individual interests, thought and ideas.
Our intention is to foster a love for art and design, teach the skills needed for pupils to engage, experiment and hone their artistic skills and feel proud of their achievements. We wish all pupils to see themselves as artists, enjoy the process and emotions involved in creating art, learn about those artists past and present who have helped shape our understanding and create purposeful pieces for a variety of purposes and using a variety of mediums. These units are a well-planned series of lessons which ensure progressive coverage of the knowledge, understanding and skills required by the National Curriculum.
Through these lessons, we aim to give children opportunity to explore their ideas and record their experiences, as well as exploring the work of others and evaluate different creative ideas. We want children to become confident and proficient in a variety of techniques including drawing, painting, sculpting, as well as other selected craft skills, e.g. collage, printing, weaving and patterns and to be able to develop their knowledge of famous artists, designers and craft makers.
Curriculum Implementation
As a school, we are dedicated to the teaching and delivery of a high quality Art and Design curriculum and, as such, we implement a curriculum that is progressive throughout the whole school; this was achieved by followed the suggested organisation of the lessons within each key stage although, where necessary, we have chosen to use well planned, quality lessons of our own choice to supplement the overall curriculum content. All lessons develop a wide range of children’s techniques, including their control and their use of materials, with creativity, experimentation and an increasing awareness of different kinds of art, craft and design.
An emphasis on knowledge ensures that children understand the context of the artwork, as well as the artists that they are learning about and being inspired by. This enables links to other curriculum areas, including humanities, with children developing a considerable knowledge of individual artists as well as individual works and art movements. A similar focus on skills means that children are given opportunities to express their creative imagination, as well as practise and develop mastery in the key processes of art: drawing, painting, printing, textiles and sculpture.
Curriculum Impact
Through the quality teaching taking place, and through the on-gong assessment opportunities throughout individual Art topics, we will see the impact of the subject in different ways. Not only will our children be enthusiastic Art and Design learners, who are keen to develop new skills and will work hard to perfect those shown to them, they will also have a real sense of pride in their artwork. They will become confident in analysing their own work and that of others, showing perseverance by continually evaluating and improving what they produce and will be able to talk about the lives and works of famous artists and sculptors from around the world, using a wide range of appropriate technical vocabulary.
Please see our curriculum overviews on the class pages for further details of what the children are learning.