Art
Curriculum Intent
At Brightside Nursery Infant School we aim to ensure that high-quality art lessons engage, inspire and challenge pupils, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to experiment, invent and create their own works of art. Our art curriculum strives to provide children with opportunities to develop their skills using a range of media and materials. Through this children learn the fundamental practical knowledge and skills of drawing, painting and sculpture and also printing, collage and textiles.
From the early years onwards, the art and design curriculum works to establish a school culture of creativity and self-expression as well as developing basic fine motor skills. They do this through learning about famous local and national artists from a range of countries. Children are introduced to a range of work and are able to develop theoretical knowledge of different styles used by the artists. In addition to this, the curriculum provides children to use and apply their knowledge and skills to discuss similarities and differences between the artists’ work and their own.
At Brightside Nursery Infant School children are challenged to develop disciplinary knowledge where they explore questions such as 'What is art?' They learn to evaluate and analyse their own work, thinking about how they can keep improving. Children are supported to take risks and experiment with techniques to enable them to become confident, independent, lifelong learners.
If you have any questions about art, then ask your class teacher or see Miss Frost (the art curriculum leader).
Implementation
Art and design is a foundation subject in the National Curriculum.
Our whole school ethos reinforces the importance of art and design not only as a subject in its own right but also as a vehicle for learning in other curriculum areas. This is reflected in the children’s eagerness to express themselves through a variety of art forms and media, which continue to be part of our ongoing provision in school. Art and design is taught in subject specific lessons, continuous provision and as a means of communication in other curriculum areas. Continuous provision in the foundation stage and year 1 is planned to ensure development of a variety of visual and tactile experiences and use of different media.
EYFS
In the EYFS art and design activities are an integral part of the “Expressive Arts and Design” specific area of learning and development. Activities are related to the objectives set out in the Early Learning Goals, which underpin the curriculum planning for children aged three to five. Creativity is valued and encouraged through the provision of a rich and stimulating environment, and opportunities for using a variety of media with many different visual and tactile experiences. A focus is placed in learning the fundamental fine motor skills of holding pencils and paintbrushes correctly, using scissors accurately and developing their mark making skills.
KS1
At Key Stage 1 specific art lessons are delivered by teachers on a weekly basis. Wherever possible first hand experiences and real things are used to stimulate art activities. We focus on using cross curricular links to support learning throughout half termly topics. We pride ourselves on exploring local and national artists that are appropriate to our topics and reflect the different cultural backgrounds of our pupils. . Teaching is done in whole class groups followed by group and individual work. New techniques and skills are modelled and examples of work are shown to the children. In group and individual work, pupils have the opportunity to investigate, explore and develop ideas and techniques. They are also involved in evaluating their work, celebrating success and identifying areas for improvement. Art is delivered by teaching specific skills and also through opportunities for purposeful cross curricular links.
The skills taught in KS1 are:
*drawing
*painting
*sculpture
*collage
*printing
*textiles (weaving and sewing)