Earlham Primary School

Intent 

At Earlham Primary School, we want our Art curriculum to foster a love and appreciation for art styles worldwide whilst developing our pupils' critical thinking, creative expression, and imagination.  We want our art curriculum to engage, inspire and challenge pupils, and give them the knowledge and skills to experiment, invent and create their own works of art.

Throughout their time at our school, pupils will acquire a range of different skills using different mediums as we want the children to develop a range of career ambitions (such as calligrapher, sculptor, photographer, printmaker).

We want the children to become confident orators of the arts by encouraging them to communicate ideas, opinions, and feelings about their own work and that of others using key vocabulary.

Our children deserve to be equipped with the statutory requirements of the Art and Design National Curriculum, but it is also extremely important that they gain a deeper understanding of how art reflects and moulds our history and significantly impacts the culture, creativity, and wealth of our world.

Our whole school approach to promoting wellbeing and anti-racism will ultimately provide our pupils at Earlham with opportunities to become resilient and respectful learners of the arts.

Implementation

Pupils at Earlham study three units of Art throughout the year, with most lessons displaying a cross-curricular link to other subjects. As drawing is a key skill, younger year groups are taught a unit focusing on the formal elements of art (line, form, shape, tone, texture, pattern, colour, and composition). This allows the children's skills to develop and progress throughout their primary education. Older year groups revisit the formal elements of art throughout the year, recapping on prior knowledge.

Children learn the skills of drawing, painting, printing, sculpture, and digital art through the exploration of an initial key artist, craft maker or designer and their work.

We know that our children do not access the amazing art offered in London, and so we have designed a curriculum that exposes children to a wide variety of art forms, techniques, processes, and media, including educational visits, performances, exhibitions, and concerts, as well as performances in school.

All our KS2 pupils visit an art gallery each year; as well as exploring art works to understand technique, we develop visual literacy by encouraging the children to explore a work of art as they would a text, to ‘read’ the stories being told, and to understand the role of art as a historical source. We also host a visiting artist in school each year, so the children work alongside the artist and can share, discuss, and question their motivation, inspiration, and techniques.

Each child is presented with a visual diary that allows children to document their artistic journey as their books move up with them once they enter a new year group every academic year. Children use their sketchbooks to make initial sketches, develop skills, record ideas, and develop opinions.

To account for the lockdown period during the pandemic, we ensured that our children were still able to access the arts online. During lockdown, children were still able to participate in an online art exhibition and a photography project from home. Children were encouraged to improve their wellbeing by taking notice of the smaller aspects of beauty already found in and around their own home.

Upon our return to school, our curriculum was refined to build on the children's learning and the introduction of knowledge organisers will allow children to familiarise themselves with the key knowledge before a unit. This pre-teaching method encourages children to engage with the learning and become confident in their artistic discussions and choices.

Through Expressive Arts, our younger children are encouraged to explore different media, create different effects, and develop a range of skills and techniques experimenting with colour, design, texture, form, and function. Daily exposure to a range of creative opportunities and well-resourced creative areas both indoors and out promote engagement. Children learn to develop their communication and language skills through talking about their creations and sharing these with others to build confidence and raise self-esteem.

We acknowledge our connection to the Earth and our community by taking part in the Big Draw and its themed outcomes. We hold Art CPD days to develop our oracy skills when teaching art and to educate and improve ourselves by advocating for anti-racism art education. We celebrate the rich culture of ethnicities at our school by participating in Black History Month and exploring artists and art styles from around the world.

Our staff have effective CPD opportunities to ensure high levels of confidence and knowledge are maintained. Teachers follow 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.

Earlham is currently working towards being recognised by the Arts Council for Artsmark. This will recognise the high quality and range of arts provision.

Impact 

• Children enjoy and value their Art lessons throughout the year and are beginning to take pride in their work through the new labelling of sketchbooks as visual diaries.
• Children can confidently articulate their learning using accurate art vocabulary to explain the creative processes.
• Children will increase their cultural capital and become more aspirational by being exposed to different careers through the art route by visits to galleries, visiting architects, music workshops and themed art weeks.
• Children learn new skills through a range of mediums (clay work, calligraphy etc)
• Children develop their skill of drawing and critical thinking through recurring units
• The visual diaries portray the learning journey children take in Art and provide them with an opportunity to reflect on their practice.
• Children understand the process behind a piece of artwork and develop an appreciation for the resilience and determination required to create a final outcome.
• Children will become curious about art forms around the world.
• Children will develop independence by taking ownership of their artwork.