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Art and Design

Rationale

At Ravenscote, we are concerned with the education of the whole child. Art and Design plays an essential part in the development of children’s language and making skills. Through drawing and painting, children are able to describe their experience of the world. Through working with a variety of materials children are able to refine and extend their designing and making skills laying a foundation for technical accomplishment.

The development of drawing skills provides children with an essential means of observing, recording and analysing the appearance and structure of the real world. These skills are valuable in their own right but also enable children to work effectively in other curriculum areas where the ability to investigate and respond to evidence through drawing is essential.

The development of art and craft skills enables the achievement of personal fulfilment, development of self-esteem and the satisfaction of the child. Most children enjoy using these skills as a means of expressing themselves.

Intent

During KS2, pupils will be exposed to a broad range of different kinds of art and artists. They should be able to think critically about art, including their own art. Through gaining knowledge of famous artists, they should develop an understanding of how art has reflected and shaped our history and contribute to the culture, creativity and wealth of our nation and many others. As they progress through each year group, they will develop their techniques and have the opportunity to apply these creatively with no ceiling on what they can achieve. Fundamental skills such as drawing, painting and sculpture are taught in additional skills lessons that develop over the four years that they are at Ravenscote. Other arts, crafts and designs are also built upon with each new topic so that pupils feel confident to apply these independently. Throughout their time, the cross curricular links will strengthen their wealth of knowledge.

Implementation

In all year groups, a teacher will plan art and design using the year group overview and the skills progression document for drawing and painting skills brought in in 2021-2022. Teachers lead discussions and model skills to pupils along with discussing health and safety. Pupils are guided by teachers but have some freedom to be creative with the materials used in the topic and have opportunities to discuss and critique each other’s work in order to develop it further. Pupils are given the opportunity to reflect upon their work and the skills covered and self-assess them.

Impact

Pupils’ sketch books are used to demonstrate skills and control and technique with media such as pencil, pastel and paint. There is more evidence of final products as teachers make sure to photograph these when the children are finished allowing the children to successfully reflect and evaluate their work. This is developing their ability to reflect and constructively critique their own and other’s art work. There are more opportunities to create ‘final’ pieces of work that are being displayed around the school.

Knowledge of famous artists has now increased and children are now able to explain who an artist is, what style of art they create and key features of their artwork. At the end of each year you can  see a detailed progression of skills and techniques learnt and then the children’s own interpretation of those skills and artist influence in their own work.

Please click here to access our Art & Design Policy document.

Year 5 child - " I love that I have the opportunity to practice and continually have a go at the skills that we have learnt."
Year 5 child - "Art calms me down and is a really good way to relieve stress and anxiety."
Year 3 child - "I loved learning different ways to use a paintbrush. I didn't know it could be used in more than one way!"
Year 4 child - "It's really fun to do the galleries at the end of the lesson to see what everyone has done. Its great to be complimented on your art work by the teachers and your friends."

The following useful websites may aid with your child's learning.