Intent

At The Cathedral School of St Peter and St John RC Primary, our purpose is to recognise the worth and dignity of all and to fully develop the talents of each person. Art and Design enables pupils to communicate and express what they see, feel and think in different ways. It provides pupils with visual, tactile and sensory experiences which help us to appreciate, understand and respond to our world.

We are all made in the image and likeness of God. Art and Design enables us to use the gifts of creativity and imagination which God has given us to express and shape our own environments. It enables us to be fully human!

As Pablo Picasso famously said, “All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.” We aim to engage our children and show them like all other lessons Art is not just a natural flair, it is also a set of knowledge and skills that can be developed with a can-do attitude. Our aim is to provide a curriculum which enables our children to fulfil their divine potential.

Implementation

In conjunction with the aims of the National Curriculum, our Art and Design teaching offers opportunities for children to:

1. Develop human creativity and imagination.

2. Communicate pupils’ own feelings and ideas through a range of materials, tools and techniques.

3. Engage, inspire and challenge pupils to think critically to gain an understanding of art and design.

4. Give pupils the knowledge and skills to experiment, invent and create their own works of art, craft and design.

5. Make informed judgements, evaluate and solve problems when designing and using materials.

The Cathedral School of St Peter and St John RC Primary aims to ensure that all pupils:

1. Produce creative work, drawing on their own ideas and experiences.

2. Become proficient in drawing, painting, sculpture and other art, craft and design techniques.

3. Master the use of a range of tools and materials.

4. Evaluate and analyse creative works using key Art and Design language.

5. Know a range of great artists, craft makers and designers, and understand the historical and cultural development of their art forms

The knowledge and skills that children will develop throughout each art topic are mapped across each year group to ensure progression. This starts in our Early Years Foundation Stage.

The school’s Art and Design curriculum is supported through the availability of a wide range of quality resources, which are used to support children’s confidence in the use of different media.

We also work with local artists to further develop the children’s confidence and skills.

Impact

Our Art and Design curriculum contributes to children’s personal development in creativity, independence and self-reflection. This can be seen in the children’s work on display and their sketchbooks.

The children are keen to learn new skills and work hard to perfect those shown to them. The children’s art is sometimes cross-curricular and helps them to express feelings and emotions in art, as well as show their knowledge and understanding in history, geography and science for example.

Teachers make formative assessments against objectives and use this information to inform future lessons; ensuring children are supported and challenged appropriately. Children are given an assessment on their end of year reports and this is shared with parents.

Children in Foundation Stage are assessed within Expressive Arts and Design and age-related expectation levels are reported to parents at the end of the reception year.