Art

Intent

Art, Design and Creativity have long been highly valued within Langwathby School. We feel it is vital that we promote the belief that ‘we are all artists’. Our wish is to equip our learners with the knowledge and hands on experience of a wide range of skills and techniques, which allow them to grow in their creativity. We look to inspire a joy of art, that not only helps them appreciate beauty around them, but also sparks their imaginations.

Firm foundations are set in EYFS through exploration and play, using a variety of media and materials. As they move up the school the children build upon these experiences to develop greater control, understanding and mastery of techniques and skills. These building blocks are key to supporting their journey through life as we acknowledge the importance of art and design in our community, in our economy and as a tool for aiding mental well-being.

As stated in the National Curriculum, our aim is to ensure that all pupils:

• produce creative work, exploring their ideas and recording their experiences
• become proficient in drawing, painting, sculpture and other art craft and design techniques
• evaluate and analyse creative works using the language of art, craft and design
• know about great artists, craft makers and designers, and understand the historical and cultural development of their art forms.

Implementation

We are currently in the process of updating our Art and Design curriculum. We will continue to cover the content of the National Curriculum programme of study however we will also use Chris Quigley’s Threshold Concepts and Milestones to ensure complete coverage with a particular emphasise on helping our learners with their progression through art.

Each half term the classes will focus on a different discipline using a variety of mediums:

• Drawing (pencil, charcoal, chalk, pastels)
• Painting (poster paint, powder paint, watercolours, acrylics)
• Textiles (fabrics for weaving, plaiting, dying, quilting and stitching)
• Collage (paper, card, tissue, found materials, natural objects)
• Sculpture (clay, dough, card, wire)
• Print (stamps, sponges, printing blocks, lino printing)

Digital media will be used across these disciplines where appropriate. Each class teacher will have the autonomy at the beginning of the year to choose how these are ordered, so that they have the flexibility and fluidity to choose the most appropriate art style, for their class focus and learner needs. Art may be taught every week over the half term or teachers may choose to do a focus over a particular week so that our learners can immerse themselves in their creativity.

At Langwathby we strive to give the children quality experiences and inspiration through our own artwork as well as bringing in local artists. They regularly participate in both whole school and individual projects using a range of materials such as clay, recycled items and wire. The children are encouraged to draw inspiration from our local community and environment, as well as the wider world around them. They are taught how to communicate what they see, think and feel by using all of their senses. The children work through artistic processes step by step, to create finished pieces on both small and large scales, using 2-D and 3-D to create their masterpieces. 

Recently we have been developing our use of Sketchbooks to appreciate that art is part of an ongoing process which develops with thought, experimentation and discussion. As artists, their sketchbooks are sacred and are thus treated so. The children are free to annotate work as they wish but we believe no adults should make written comments directly in the books. Any feedback is given verbally.

Impact

Through working in this way we are able to clearly see the progression of our learners as artists. The golden threads of drawing, painting, sculpting, printing, collage and textiles allow the children to revisit, consolidate and improve upon their work to become confident in their creativity.

We are able to measure the impact of Art and Design through:

• pupil/peer discussions
• interviewing pupils about their learning
• reviewing sketchbooks
• keeping art portfolios
• assessing against Chris Quigley Milestones

As artists the children can:

• understand and apply key art skills and techniques to produce quality pieces of work
• be creative and experimental learners
• make links between their own work and that of local or great artists or craft makers
• use key art phrases and vocabulary

   

Creative Day - Dinosaurs

The children spent the day learning about dinosaurs whilst being creative. They made dinosaur hand puppets, paper plate dinos, dinosaur prints as well as moving and dancing like dinosaurs and creating animated stories on the laptops.

Creative Day - Eco Warriors

The children enjoyed another successful Creative Day working in mixed age groups to complete a range of activities from recycled art, learning dances based on endangered animals, making Bees Wax Sandwich Wraps to making up their own eco jingles.

Creative Day

Our Creative Day was a 'roaring' success with our Circus/Greatest Showman theme. The children enjoyed working in mixed groups to make lions, clowns, elephants, trapeze artists and Big Tops. They were also able to create movements to mimic animals and clowns during dance sessions, paint to music and even learnt how to play 'A Million Dreams' on the chime bars!