At Lydbrook School we are Artists!

From their very first sessions in nursery, to their final achievements in Year 6, Lydbrook children will be immersed in a wide variety of art and design.  From their first mark making with fingers and simple tools, to more detailed creations following the development of skills, inspired by the works of great artists and the surrounding world, we will provide the equipment, support and encouragement so that all can achieve and improve.  

We will give children the skills, concepts and knowledge necessary for them to express their responses to ideas and experiences in a visual or tactile form. This will fire their imagination, is a fundamental means of personal expression and a key element to personal wellbeing.

While it is essentially a practical subject, art should provide opportunities for reflection and, with increasing sensitivity, pupils should acquire the ability to make informed, critical responses of their own work and that of others.

Lydbrook School provides a creative and purposeful curriculum in all subjects.  However, Art allows children to find out about different cultures, time periods, beliefs and societies in a way that can evoke a tangible connection to their learning.

By the time they leave us at the end of Year 6, we want our children:

• To have developed a passion for, and commitment to, the subject which will fire their curiosity to continue with their artistic development through secondary school and adult life.
• To have had experience with a variety of mark making tools and develop their precision. Also, recognising how some tools can be more effective for specific tasks.
• Through drawing activities, children should develop their control of forming lines, shading and accuracy.
• To develop their understanding of how to create various tones through colour mixing and use colour to express moods and effects.
• To develop children’s experience of a variety of printing effects and to explore how patterns can be developed using printing.
• To use a wide variety of materials to explore the effect of collage.
• To create sculptures using a mixture of techniques, including those which enhance our school and its grounds.
• To develop use of textiles, including sewing, to create artwork and decorative objects.
• To explore the use of digital media in isolation and combined with other art forms to produce pieces.
• To explore the work of a variety of famous artists from throughout history, and recognise the techniques they use to apply to the children’s own work.

National Curriculum Purpose for Art and Design 

Art, craft and design embody some of the highest forms of human creativity. A high-quality art and design education should engage, inspire and challenge pupils, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to experiment, invent and create their own works of art, craft and design. As pupils progress, they should be able to think critically and develop a more rigorous understanding of art and design. They should also know how art and design both reflect and shape our history, and contribute to the culture, creativity and wealth of our nation. 

Links with the National Curriculum Aims for Art and Design 

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. 

Links with EYFS – Expressive arts and design (Being imaginative)

22-36 months - Beginning to use representation to communicate, e.g., drawing a line and saying, ‘That’s me’. 

30-50 months - Developing preferences for forms of expression. Notices what adults do, imitating what is observed and then doing it spontaneously when the adult is not there. Uses available resources to create props to support role- play. Captures experiences and responses with a range of media, such as music, dance and paint and other materials or words.

40-60 months - Create simple representations of events, people and objects. Chooses particular colours to use for a purpose.

Early Learning Goal - Children use what they have learnt about media and materials in origional ways, thinking about uses and purposes.  They represent their own ideas, thoughts and feelings through design and technology, art, music, dance, role play and stories. 

Implementation: How Art is taught at Lydbrook School

To ensure all children receive high quality teaching and learning, we apply the art and design objectives from the national curriculum, so it is embedded in our highly creative curriculum.  The long-term plan is based on a 2-year cycle, with three new themes for each academic year.  The themes taught through each class will inspire the artwork.  It will allow for the skills, knowledge and understanding required through the national curriculum, to be taught incorporating a variety of cultural, geographical and historical inspiration.

Planning is supported by Essentials - Milestones (Chris Quigley Education) to ensure activities follow a progression of skills and tasks are designed to allow for all ability levels and experience.   

With our school grounds being such an integral part of the children’s learning, we try to take as much inspiration from the outside area, as well as including outdoor art instillations to enhance all areas of the school.

Impact

The subject leader ensures that both knowledge and skills are taught simultaneously through the monitoring of theme plans, learning walks, pupil voice and looking at art created, including sketch books for skills development and improvements. Each theme has specific objectives, which are taken directly form the Milestones document. The teacher can then assess whether the pupils in each year group have achieved the “expected” standard.  These objectives can then be tracked by the subject leader to ensure coverage of all forms of artistic skills.

Our art and design scheme is based around 3 key concepts – 

Develop ideas
This concept involves understanding how ideas develop through an artistic process.

Master techniques
This concept involves developing a skill set so that ideas may be communicated.  This includes the areas:  painting, collage, sculpture, drawing, print, textiles and digital media.

Take inspiration from the greats
This concept involves learning from both the artistic process and techniques of great artists and artisans throughout history.

To have reached the standard, pupils will have demonstrated that they have achieved the necessary attainment in each of the 3 Key Concepts. The attainment levels are reported by the class teachers to the Subject Leader at the end of each year. These assessments will be based on the work produced by the children through the developmental process, final pieces of art and the children’s own choices made for different tools, materials and effects used.  Children will also be assessed on their ability to improve their work, and their understanding of techniques and styles of famous artists throughout history.

	Long term Art plan	[docx 24KB]
	Art and Design progression of skills	[docx 24KB]