Each child at our school will have the opportunity to experience the aesthetic and creative area of learning through Art and Design. The children are given experiences in using a wide range of materials, tools and media. This experience is intended to promote an increased sensitivity and a development of art/design techniques. The children are encouraged to use observational skills to develop visual perception and to improve manipulative skills in the execution of their art work.
Art also complements other curriculum areas and we endeavour to display the children’s work to its best advantage, creating a bright, stimulating environment which reflects the quality of the work carried out in the school.
Please click here for an overview of the units.
Art Cycle A Overview
Art 2 Year Topic Plan
Please click the link below to see the National Curriculum for Art.
Curriculum Statement
Intent
At St Patrick’s, we want our school motto ‘May Christ be seen in us’ to be central to all lessons, where children always behave in Jesus’s image. The core Catholic values will remain in teamwork within group DT projects and Artistic collaboration.
Through the teaching of Art and DT, St. Patrick’s intends to:
- To engage pupils in artwork through allowing them to explore creative freedom.
- To develop their ideas, including their control and their use of materials, with creativity, experimentation and an increasing awareness of different kinds of art, craft and design.
- to create sketch books to record their observations and use them to review and revisit ideas
- to improve their mastery of art and design techniques, including drawing, painting and sculpture with a range of materials [for example, pencil, charcoal, paint, clay]
- ensure pupils develop their skills as they move up the school. Building upon and extending, rather than simply repeating the knowledge of the previous years. Continuing to grow and develop as creative artists and designers.
- explore great artists, architects and designers in history.
- Set high standards and a high profile for artistic and design projects within and outside of school.
- To develop confidence and skills in the delivery of Art & DT for teaching staff.
Implementation
Following discussions with staff, I felt it was important to arrange for the delivery of some training on how an art lesson can be delivered effectively. A local artist came to speak to staff during a twilight session which enabled us to experience first-hand a lesson which would engage pupils of all abilities and confidence levels. In addition to this the artist also held workshops for Y3 and Y5. The topic of North-East landmarks meant it was engaging and relevant to the children.
The Art and Dt curriculum has been designed with skill-based topics. This ensures that skills can be easily linked to classroom topics as well as making it clear for both staff and pupils which skills are being developed within lessons. Year by year existing skills are developed with clear expectations as well as introducing new skills. This ensures pupils are not simply repeating the same learning year after year and ensures that if you walk through the school you see the development and confidence progress as you journey up the year groups. Additionally, to boost teacher confidence the curriculum provides clear artist recommendations to support modelling and clear examples of artistic skills and technique. To ensure high standards and motivation for pupils there are several events to excite pupils and give a target to work towards. Examples being:
- whole school S.T.E.M challenges where pupils combine their DT skills with mathematics, science and teamwork!
- whole school art shows where pupils are proud to showcase their work.
- Artist visits such as Emma Scott or the team of Lebanese artists that visited pupils in collaboration with SIRF. The high standards don’t stop at the school gate as pupils partake in Art and DT projects outside of the classroom such as the pupils worked with the artist Morwenna Catt to create fantastic costumes for the Stockton Council Reindeer Parade.
Impact
By the end of the year, at least 25% of children in each year group achieved greater depth in Art and Design. During pupil voice sessions, pupils expressed renewed enthusiasm for the subject and said they enjoyed being given more creative freedom and independence. Staff said they felt more confident in allowing children this freedom and felt they knew how to guide this freedom carefully,
Design Technology
Intent
At St. Patrick’s, we want children to use creativity, problem solving and imagination to design and make products that solve real and relevant problems. Design technology provides opportunities for creative expression and problem-solving which are an important part of the personal development of an individual. Children have the opportunity to apply and continue to develop skills and knowledge from Mathematics, Science and other subjects within their Design Technology learning. Design Technology reflects our culture and society and so the teaching and learning of DT enables children to better understand the rapidly changing world they live in. Our Design Technology curriculum is progressive, exploratory, and inclusive, building continually upon prior learning and skills.
Our aim is to provide a curriculum that will allow the children to be:
- Creative, technical designers with a positive attitude to their own work.
- Able to develop skills to critique and evaluate their own ideas or products.
- Confident in applying a range of practical skills in the areas of textiles, resistant materials and food.
- Experienced in a range of design areas and explore the work of local, British and global designers throughout history.
Implementation
As a school within the Bishop Hogarth Catholic Education Trust, we teach a progressive set of skills devised by subject specialists with industry knowledge in the field of Design Technology. This ensures that progression of skills and understanding is clearly mapped from Early Years to the end of Key Stage 3. Design Technology is interwoven with other curriculum subjects, giving meaning to their learning. During the Early Years, essential building blocks of children’s design and technology capability are established. There are many opportunities for carrying out D&T-related activities in all areas of learning in the Early Years.
Our Progression of Skills covers the Statutory Framework for both the Early Years and the National Curriculum for Key Stages 1, 2 and 3.
Our Skills progression is split into 5 strands of learning, incorporating design, making, evaluation and technical knowledge, ensuring depth of experience and progression.
These areas are:
- Design Process
- Resistant Materials
- Food and Nutrition
- Textiles
- Products and Designers
Each strand of skills progression offers example content as well as tier 2 and 3 vocabulary, ensuring that core knowledge and skills are revisited and built upon regularly. Children will know more and apply their learning over a range of contexts.
Skills progression strands may be taught through a topic-based approach, a skills-based approach or a blended style to ensure context and skills development in line with wider school curriculum delivery.
Impact
When pupils leave our school, they will have an excellent attitude to learning and independent working, the ability to use time efficiently and work constructively and productively with others, the ability to carry out research, show initiative and ask questions to develop a detailed knowledge of users’ needs. Pupils will have the ability to act as responsible designers and makers, working ethically, using a range of materials carefully and working safely and hygienically. They will have thorough knowledge of which tools, equipment, and materials to use to make a product. Children will have a firm foundation of knowledge and skills on which they will be able to build as they progress into Key Stage 3.
