Introduction

My name is Miss Bradford and I am the new Art lead. The following information will give you an overview of art at Lydiate Primary School.

The Lydiate Artist

At Lydiate Primary School, we are really passionate about art! We love creating different types of artwork in our lessons and displaying this around school. 

Art at Lydiate Primary School focuses on learning and developing skills, being inspired by famous artists, and assessing and evaluating our own and other's work.

This is based upon the national curriculum which states:

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.

All pupils should:

• 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.

During the last OFSTED inspection, our art curriculum was praised for 'ensur(ing) that pupils’ learning builds progressively on their understanding' and that 'Pupils make good progress…

develop(ing) skills systematically'

Our Curriculum Drivers

Our curriculum is driven around the three principles which make up our school motto: Inspire, Achieve, Prepare for Life. We start every lesson by setting the learning intention, explaining clearly why we are learning a concept, and drawing specifically on previous learning to help us.

Inspiring Our Pupils – The Intent 

The aim of our curriculum is to:

• Increase awareness of different kinds of art, craft and design
• Improve mastery of art and design techniques, including drawing
• Encourage creativity and experimentation
• Create sketchbooks to record their observations
• Promote evaluation of own and other's work
• Learn about great artists, architects and designers

The curriculum has been designed to build progressively from Nursery to Year 6. In this way, skills can be continually developed and previous learning used to enhance current pieces of work and understanding.

Art is timetabled across school using the Kapow scheme of work. Teachers have all had training in using Kapow, in order to enable them to deliver these lessons in an inspiring and effective way. 

These lessons are really fun and cover a wide range of artists and art techniques. Lessons have been adapted to make the most of techniques being developed and to ensure key learning objectives will be met.

Ensuring Our Pupils Achieve – The Implementation

Art is scheduled to take place each week and is taught using the Kapow scheme of work. Most lessons have an accompanying video to demonstrate to the students how an art task can be completed. Pupils have described these videos as inspiring and find them a great way to spark their artist imagination.

As outlined in the Key Knowledge & Progression document, art lessons are sequenced to build upon existing knowledge, introducing work by famous artists for inspiration. Lessons cover a wide range of mediums, including painting, drawing, collaging, crafting, sculpting, printing, weaving, and sewing. A range of artists are considered, including Clarice Cliff, Carl Giles, Paul Cézanne, Friedensreich Hundertwasser, Banksy, Edward Hopper and Käthe Kollwitz.

Within the sequence of learning each year, children have many opportunities to assess their own and other's work. This provides them the chance to identify areas for improvement, gain inspiration and ideas, and builds confidence in sharing their own work. At the end of each term, the children take part in an assessment as part of the teaching sequence based on their learning. Subsequent lessons can then be tailored to address misconception, fill gaps in knowledge and take learning further. 

Lessons intentionally involve a lot of class discussion, this aids in being able to assess and evaluate, opens opportunities for new ways of thinking, broadens view points, and helps with retention of learning.

Preparing Our Pupils For Life – The Impact

Each unit involves opportunities to discuss, evaluate and assess work, as well as a built in assessment at the end of each unit. Through this, we can be sure that our students are learning and retaining the information presented to them, that misconceptions are addressed and gaps in knowledge are filled. 

Together with this, each term I will collate student and staff feedback to ensure the art curriculum is the best it can be. The children’s sketchbooks will also be studied to ensure that progress is being made across school. 

One of the most exciting parts of this curriculum is its attention to industry, such as architecture, craft, pottery and textiles. These units hope to inspire the children to consider their own future careers and the possibilities available to them. 

Furthermore, links have been made to our local area, utilising the amazing opportunities in and around Liverpool - for example the Liverpool Maritime Museum and historical textile industry.

Lydiate Futures

The art curriculum at Lydiate Primary will be added to and enhanced by trips to local art galleries, museums and exhibitions, where possible. Additionally to this, we will always endeavour to invite outside experts and instructors in to enhance our teaching and learning process.

We run a fantastic arts and crafts after school club where the children are able to test out their creativity in new and exciting ways. 

These extra opportunities enhance our pupil’s learning by introducing them to a variety of art types and artists. These opportunities are built into the units that children will study in order to support their understanding of each topic.

Want To Know More?

If you would like to know more about Art at Lydiate Primary School, please make an appointment with myself (Miss Bradford) to discuss further. 

Please also refer to the links below:

Questions and Answers

How we support SEND children in art?

Learning at Lydiate Primary School is underpinned by the Education Endowment Foundation's 'Five a Day' principle.  This is woven into the art curriculum.  Teacher-led or video-led approaches give clear and explicit instructions. Any new concepts are clearly, and appropriately, scaffolded to allow children of all needs to access the lesson objective. This approach prevents cognitive overload whilst allowing children to explore their own creativity. There is a strong focus on children evaluating their own and others work in order to grow and improve. The KAPOW scheme provides various levels of difficulty in order to support, stretch and challenge all children.  

How do you assess art at Lydiate Primary?

Art is expressive, it is important that all children feel safe to explore and create. We study a variety or artists, mediums and styles in order to inspired our children and help them to achieve.   

It is important that we ensure improvement and continued development within each subject. In art, indicators of improvement would include children demonstrating fluency, experimentation and communication: 

• Fluency: Pupils recall what they have learnt quickly and securely and are able to demonstrate a wide range of methods and techniques to create artwork. 

• Experimentation: Children’s knowledge allows them to try out ideas and know that there is no failure in art. 

• Communication: Children are able to talk about what they are doing and why. They can link their ideas with the work of others and can find inspiration in the artwork they have studied previously

Children are assessed by teacher observations and an end of unit quiz, to ensure continued progress throughout their whole art journey. 

What kinds of things are pupils expected to learn and remember over time?

Art is made up of many elements, including practical, theoretical and disciplinary:

• Practical: We investigate and create many mediums of art and design such as drawing, painting and crafting. Within these practical lessons, we look at formal elements such as shade, form, pattern, texture etc. (see Art Mediums covered). 
• Theoretical: We study a wide range of different artists, looking at their methods, materials and messages. (See Artists covered and Art styles covered). 
• Disciplinary: Children are encouraged to delve into the topic of ‘What is art?’, to debate and justify their opinions. We learn how what is considered to be art has changed over time and can differ from person to person.