How we Learn Art at Earith Primary School: Intent, Implementation & Impact
Intent
It is our intent for pupils:
To develop their knowledge of artists, designers, architects and their work.
To develop their knowledge of artistic concepts, types and styles of art and how these relate to each other in a historical context.
To produce their own artwork, progressing in artistic skills and using a range of tools and mediums.
To make connections between the work of artists, designers and architects and their own work.
To have meaningful opportunities for self-expression and individual response and to learn who they are as an artist.
To develop an appreciation for a range of art including art from different cultures.
The school uses the Primary Knowledge Curriculum in order to support the delivery of the Earith Art Curriculum. The principles of the PKC knowledge-rich curriculum are:
Knowledge is valued and specified.
Knowledge is well-sequenced.
Knowledge is taught to be remembered.
The content of the PKC Art curriculum has been carefully chosen by subject experts and has been sequenced in a meaningful way that enables children to make connections and progress from unit to unit, term to term and year to year. This means the knowledge children will gain has been carefully specified, ordered coherently and builds over time. The PKC Art curriculum meets the aims of the National Curriculum for Art. As the children work through the Art curriculum, they will know more, understand more and remember more about the concepts and types of art and about themselves as artists.
Implementation
Where appropriate, links are made across subject disciplines to enable children to make meaningful connections. This is further enhanced by teachers referencing how the school’s Key Concepts may link to the particular Art lesson or unit being taught, and to that of other subjects recently or previously taught – building pupils’ schema, over time:
Earith Primary School’s Key Concepts:
Units of study are carefully sequenced by the Curriculum Lead, for mixed age classes, in a two year cycle (A and B), to allow for progression from KS1, LKS2 and UKS2 as well as through the academic year. The progression of skills is tracked by teachers using the Chris Quigley Curriculum Milestones.
Each lesson starts with a prior learning review, where children are supported to retrieve prior knowledge and make connections. There is an emphasis on explicitly teaching vocabulary, with key vocabulary being introduced and orally rehearsed at the beginning of each lesson. Key vocabulary is contextualised throughout the lesson and children are given opportunities to apply new words. Children have many opportunities to talk, answer questions, explain their learning and work independently. Throughout each lesson, teachers monitor pupil responses and provide effective, live feedback (in line with the school’s marking procedure). The learning sequence, as described, for Art is supported by the teacher’s PowerPoint, which explicitly references the part of the lesson
.
children are in, as well as signposting other key information, including visuals/hyperlinks to any resources which support the lesson delivery:
Lesson Sequence: Art
This ensures children know what to expect, no matter what year group and Art lesson they are being taught – from Reception to Year 6. Teachers carefully consider the information their teaching slides contain so as not to over burden pupils’ cognitive load.
Knowledge Organisers are also used to complement teaching & learning at the class teacher’s discretion. These are made available to parents, alongside the curriculum newsletter for each half term.
EYFS
Art in the EYFS Framework falls predominately under the Expressive Arts and Design Area of Learning. The Characteristics of Effective Learning are threaded through all aspects of learning and are the fundamental ways in which children within EYFS learn. During the Early Years, children will be developing knowledge, skills and understanding, which will prepare them for the Year 1 curriculum. It is important to note that Physical Development, particularly of fine motor skills, is also fundamental in children acquiring the pre-requisite skills for the Art curriculum. Within both cycles, children will have the opportunity to become familiar with the work of some artists; the artworks will be carefully chosen to either provide an introduction to artists that will be studied again in KS1 & KS2, or to teach particular artistic concepts.
KS1 & KS2
Units of work in the curriculum focus on the different concepts in art and different types of art. In this context, concepts in art means the different elements of art (line, shape, colour, tone, form, space, visual texture and tone) and how an artist combines these elements and produces art in different styles, for example realistic or abstract art. Different types of art means the different media used to make art (e.g. sculpture, architecture or painting), different subject matter (e.g. portraits, landscapes or history painting) and different artistic movements, historical periods or geographical cultures (e.g. impressionism, Anglo-Saxon art and Chinese painting). Overall, the curriculum provides for gradual progression in terms of skills (split into painting, drawing, 3D form, collage, textiles, printmaking, photography and mixed media), introducing the children to as diverse a range of materials as possible.
Progression is planned for in terms of process in art, both in terms of critical analysis of others’ art and the necessary observation, exploration and evaluation needed for them to create their own art. Activities are designed for children to learn and practise process. These activities include verbal and written observations and observational, analytical and imaginative drawing activities in KS1, leading to the process of independent investigation, observation, annotation, sketching, design and planning (allowing the children to experiment and invent) by the end of KS2. The curriculum seeks to show how art shapes our history and contributes to our culture. It looks at key movements and historical periods in the history of Western art, studying art from ancient Greece and Rome, Anglo Saxon England, the middle-ages, the Italian renaissance, Victorian art and architecture, French impressionism and modernism of the 20th century.
As study of Western art alone would lack cultural diversity, specific units and artists have been added to ensure balance. UKS2 study art from the Islamic world, western Africa and China and these units address the issue of accepted art history narratives, colonialization and empire and the influence of non-Western art on art of the Western world. Women artists have also been consciously included in the curriculum, and in KS2 there is provision for discussing why women are under-represented in traditional Western art history narratives. Study of modernism and art from the 20th century in UKS2 provides an opportunity to study art by women and artists from ethnic groups traditionally underrepresented in British art.
In Art, children record their learning in sketchbooks which can include the work, or photographs of the work they produce each lesson. Sketchbooks may also include written reflections on the work of other artists/designers/architects, as well as the children’s written reflections on their own work – these may be scribed for children in younger year groups. Knowledge organisers and vocabulary may be included in sketchbooks for children to make reference to and consolidate their knowledge & understanding.
Children’s sketchbooks follow them through school from Reception to Year 6, enabling them to reflect on their progression in the subject, particularly as some units in the curriculum are studied on a cyclical basis, for example, ‘Architecture’ in Year 1/2 and 3/4. At Earith, trips and visitors provide opportunities to enhance children’s learning in Art. This might include local artists and craftspeople visiting school or children taking sketchbooks onto the school grounds, or further afield on school trips, to undertake observational drawing.
Assessment:
Live, verbal feedback, is used to support and challenge children’s development in Art.
End of Unit outcomes are mapped out as part of the Two Year Cycle. These have been carefully planned in order to include a range of outcomes that – not only showcase pupils’ artistic skills/knowledge – but further reinforce or stretch existing skills and knowledge across the curriculum.
End of unit quizzes may be used to further bolster knowledge retention and love for this subject.
Impact
The impact of the Art curriculum is measured in several ways:
Formative assessment:
Teachers respond to the day-to-day emergent needs of pupils, providing support and feedback during the lesson (including at the start: reviewing prior learning) and in informing the next steps for subsequent lessons.
Knowledge assessment:
Pupils take part in cyclical quizzes at multiple points throughout the year in order to provide an opportunity to recall what they have learnt: this process supports memory retention and recall – knowing more; remembering more.
In EYFS, Target Tracker is updated termly, using additional documentation, such as Development Matters, to support. At the end of the Reception Year, judgements are made against the Expressive Arts and Design Early Learning Goal.
Leadership:
The Art lead engages with, and leads on, Art CPD to ensure that they, and all staff, have the subject knowledge necessary to deliver the Earith Art curriculum.
The Art lead monitors and evaluates the Art curriculum through a range of sources: lesson visits/typicality walks, planning scrutiny, pupil learning conversations, response to CPD and teacher review meetings. Triangulated, these sources form the basis of evaluating the impact of the curriculum on pupils’ knowledge & skills. As a result, the Art Lead’s Subject Action Plan is further informed by emerging strengths and priorities. The Art Lead uses our intent for the subject, as specified at the beginning of this document, to underpin their Action Plan. They also draw on relevant research when identifying and leading on actions that will drive the subject forward in our school.
The Art lead reports to the Earith governing body regarding the quality of education in Art.