CURRICULUM POLICY STATEMENT FOR ART AND DESIGN
(Whitchurch Combined School)
Introduction
Art is a creative skill that children instinctively use a means of expression, to
communicate ideas and feelings. The teaching of art stimulates and
encourages creativity and imagination through visual, tactile and sensory
experiences. It provides a unique way of understanding and responding to the
world and can be used to shape our environment.
Aims
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To stimulate each child’s creativity and imagination;
To develop each child’s understanding of colour, form, texture and pattern;
To develop each child’s ability to use materials and processes to
communicate ideas and feelings;
To enable each child to record from firsthand experience and from
imagination;
To explore with each child the ideas and meanings in the work of artists,
craftspeople and designers;
To help each child to learn about the functions of art, craft and design in
their own lives and in different times and cultures;
To help each child to learn how to make thoughtful judgements and
aesthetic and practical decisions;
To help each child to become actively involved in shaping environments;
To extend and enrich other curriculum areas through art and design.
Content
To ensure our aims are achieved, the teaching of Art and Design will include
four main strands (as defined by the National Curriculum for Key Stages 1
and 2):
i.
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Exploring and developing ideas
Recording from experience and imagination
Developing and selecting ideas
Collecting information
ii.
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Investigating and making art, craft and design
Investigating qualities of materials and processes
Developing control of tools and techniques
Designing and making images and artefacts
iii. Evaluating and developing work
 Discussing and reviewing different ideas and methods
 Adapting and developing own work
iv.
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Knowledge and Understanding
Visual and tactile qualities
Materials and processes
Artists, craftspeople and designers in western Europe and the wider world
Teaching should ensure that investigating and making includes exploring
and developing ideas and evaluating and developing work. Knowledge
and understanding should inform this process.
Children will be able to develop language skills by:
 Exploring ideas about starting points for their work;
 Asking and answering questions about source materials and how these
help them to develop their ideas, including recording ideas and annotating
work in their sketchbooks;
 Discussing and comparing their own and others’ work and explaining their
own views.
Children will be able to develop their values and attitudes through
opportunities in art and design to:
 Consider their own attitudes and values in relation to images and artefacts
and learn to challenge assumptions, stereotypes and prejudice in visual
and other forms;
 Develop respect for their own and others’ work and learn how to offer and
receive constructive feedback and praise;
 Work with others, listening to and respecting each others’ ideas and
learning to value different strengths and interests within the group;
 Develop a respect for the materials and resources that they use in their
work and learn to evaluate critically their own and others’ use of these;
 Value the natural and made environment, including the distinctiveness of
their locality, and learn to evaluate critically the role and function of art and
design within it.
Children will be able to develop their information and communication
technology skills in a variety of ways, such as:
 Using the internet and CD-ROMs to investigate the work of artists;
 Using drawing and imaging software to create artwork;
 Using digital cameras and video recorders to record observations and
pieces of their own work;
 Using e-mail and the internet to exchange and publish their work;
In the reception class we encourage creative work as this is part of the
Foundation Stage of the National Curriculum. We relate the creative
development of the children to the objectives set out in the Early Learning
Goals. This area of learning includes art, music, dance, role play and
imaginative play and enables children to make connections between one area
of learning and another and so extend their understanding.
Expectations
By the end of Year 2, most children
will be attaining level 2 and will be
able to:
By the end of Year 6, most children
will be attaining level 4 and will be
able to:
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Explore ideas
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Explore ideas and collect
visual and other information to
help them develop their work
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Investigate and use a variety of
materials and processes to
communicate their ideas and
meanings, and design and
make images and artefacts
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Use their knowledge and
understanding of materials and
processes to communicate
ideas and meanings, and
make images and artefacts
combining and organising
visual and tactile qualities to
suit their intentions
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Comment on differences in
others’ work, and suggest
ways of improving their own
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Compare and comment on
ideas, methods and
approaches used in their own
and others’ work, relating
these to the context in which
the work was made
Adapt and improve their work
to realise their own intentions
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Planning
Art and design is a foundation subject in the National Curriculum.
Therefore, The National Curriculum is the basis for our planning in art and
design. We carry out planning in art and design in three phases; long term,
medium-term and short-term.
Long-term planning
Our art and design scheme of work is based on the requirements for art and
design set out by the Foundation Stage and the National Curriculum for Key
Stages 1 and 2. It gives coherent and manageable teaching units for each
year group (some taken from the QCA art and design scheme of work) and
allows for curriculum continuity and progression in children’s learning.
In some cases units are linked with work in other subjects. This scheme of
work has been produced by the art and design co-ordinator in conjunction
with teaching colleagues from each year group.
Medium-term planning
Medium-term plans are produced by individual class teachers with the support
of the art and design co-ordinator. These plans define the learning objectives
and outcomes for each unit and suggest activities that will enable these to be
achieved. The sequence of activities outlined promote progression and
ensure an appropriate balance and distribution of work across each term.
Short-term planning
Class teachers complete daily plans foe each art and design lesson. These
plans list the specific learning objectives foe each lesson and give details of
how to teach them. They build on the medium-term plans and take into
account the needs of the children in a particular class.
Inclusion
Effective learning opportunities in art and design should be provided for all
pupils in accordance with these general principles:
 Suitable learning challenges should be set, particularly for those pupils
whose attainment significantly falls bellow – or exceeds – the expected
levels at any particular stage;
 Teachers should respond to pupils’ diverse needs, and plan their art and
design lessons so that all pupils can take part fully and effectively.
Assessment and Record Keeping
The assessment of each child’s progress in art and design will be closely
linked to the learning objectives for their lessons. Formative assessment will
be ongoing via observations and dialogue with the children during art and
design lessons. Assessments will be based on the children’s success in
achieving the objectives and records will be kept on children whose progress
differs markedly from that of the rest of the class.
At the end of each academic year teachers will make judgements against the
National Curriculum levels of attainment to identify which level each child is
working at. These will be based on the formative assessments made by the
teacher, the learning outcomes for each child and the work they have
produced. The level that each child has reached will be recorded and passed
on to the next teacher for that class. The levels can be used as part of the
child’s annual report to parents.
The art and design co-ordinator will keep a regularly updated and annotated
portfolio of the children’s work. This demonstrates the expected level of
achievement in art and design for each year group.
Health and Safety
Teachers should ensure that the use of all potentially hazardous resources is
strictly supervised. Children should be shown safe procedures for using such
resources and should be made aware of the dangers. If in doubt teachers
should liase with the art and design co-ordinator to ensure they are familiar
with the safe procedures for using certain resources. Resources which require
particular care in use include: lino cutters; spray fixative, glue guns, craft
knives and needles.
The Role of the Art and Design Co-ordinator
The role of the co-ordinator is to:
 Seek to enthuse pupils and staff about art and design and to promote high
achievement;
 Advise and support staff in the planning, delivery and assessment of art
and design;
 Offer specialist advice and knowledge for special needs and more able
pupils;
 Monitor and evaluate the standards of children’s work and the quality of
teaching in art and design throughout the school;
 Undertake lesson observations of art and design teaching across the
school;
 Keep up to date with current developments by attending courses and
disseminate this information to staff through inset and informal
conferencing;
 Purchase, organise and maintain teaching resources;
 Manage a delegated budget and keep spending within it;
 Advise the head Teacher of any action required (eg. Resources,
standards) and keep them informed of strengths and weaknesses in the
subject, indicating areas for further improvement;
 Organise an annual art competition for the whole school.