Art & Design Curriculum Design
I have created nothing really beautiful, really lasting, but if I can inspire one of these youngsters to develop the talent I know they possess, then my monument will be in their work.
Augusta Savage
At Thorpe Willoughby CP School, we recognise and value the importance of art, craft and design in the development of all children. Creating art expands a child's ability to interact with the world around them. We have carefully designed our new Art & Design Curriculum to support this development. By creating an engaging, and inspiring curriculum, we aim that children immerse themselves in many varied creative approaches.
Our curriculum is intended to not only equip our children with the knowledge and skills to experiment and create their own works of art, craft and design, but to allow them to feel like artists, designers and craft-makers themselves. We intend that children immerse themselves through our curriculum themes and be given opportunities to develop their techniques and develop an awareness of different kinds of art, craft and design. We want to engage children to love participating and feel that art, craft and design isn’t a gift and a talent held by a few, but it is a tool and pleasure for all. We believe these experiences support the growth of each child’s cultural capital.
We have designed our curriculum in half-termly themes to allow children to learn and explore a diverse range of artists, designers, architects and craft-makers. We have designed some of our half-term themes such as ‘Grand Designs’ and ‘Craft, Creativity & Culture’ to purposely inspire and promote art, craft and design.
As children progress through our school, we want them to develop a deeper understanding of art and design. We intend that they know how art and design both reflect and shape our history, and contribute to the culture and creativity within the world. We achieve this through teaching about art and design in key historical periods and the significance of people, places and events in the art world. Our curriculum ensures that children learn about great artists as well as local and lesser-known artists, craft-makers and designers. We have chosen artists, craft-makers and designers from many cultures, both male and female and those who were part of significant art movements within the art world.
We recognise through our Art & Design Curriculum that subject-specific vocabulary is important for children to acquire. This will support their knowledge and understanding of the subject and themes. When planning our themes, the vocabulary required to succeed is planned for and modelled within our lessons.
We intend that our Art & Design Curriculum and the artists we study, demonstrate and celebrate our school values, giving our children opportunities to live, practise and represent our six values.
What Art & Design Looks Like at Thorpe Willoughby
In our Foundation Stage, we teach Reception-aged children art and design through the EYFS Statutory Framework and the Development Matters non-statutory guidance. Expressive Arts & Design is one of the four specific areas within the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) and is used to develop a child's imagination, creativity and their ability to use media and materials. We ensure our curriculum and both our indoor and outdoor provision areas encourage children to explore and experiment with a range of materials, tools and techniques.
Our Key Stage 1 and 2 Art & Design Curriculum is developed around the Primary National Curriculum, England. Art & Design skills are explicitly taught, practised and developed through our half-termly themes over our 2 year curriculum cycle. All children in Key Stage 2 have sketchbooks where they can record their observations and use them to review and revisit ideas. In order to ensure children improve their mastery of art and design techniques, we ensure our curriculum builds on prior knowledge, skills and experiences.
Within our Art & Design Curriculum, we ensure: