Art
Art is not what you see, but what you make others see
-Edgar Degas
I dream my painting and then paint my dream
-Vincent Van Gogh
Art
Our Vision:
At Woodlands we value the creative curriculum. Our aspiration is to ensure that children are engaged, inspired and challenged in this curriculum area. We believe that art stimulates creativity, imagination and inventiveness. Through a wide range of visual, tactile, and sensory experiences we aim to equip our pupils the skills, concepts and knowledge necessary for them to communicate their feelings and ideas.
The diversity in our curriculum celebrates artists of all cultural and geographic backgrounds, observing how other artists approach their art through different styles, techniques, and concepts.
The engaging Art curriculum at Woodlands School is rooted in educational research and aims to develop children’s ability to
·Produce creative work, exploring their ideas and recording their experiences
·Become proficient in drawing, 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 artistic form
How We Teach Art:
We follow the National Curriculum and utilise the Primary Knowledge Curriculum to support the planning and delivery of our art lessons. It provides a knowledge rich curriculum with a gradual progression of skills, introducing the children to a diverse range of materials, styles and techniques (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.
Our curriculum also provides a progression in terms of the knowledge of different concepts and types of art. The structure of our planning also enables the progression of processesin art, critical analysis of others’ art and the necessary observation, exploration and evaluation needed for the children to create their own art. We provide a curriculum that seeks to show how art shapes our history and contributes to our culture. It 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.
Children are given time to practise new learning to consolidate their ideas. Our art lessons expose children to rich vocabulary which they are encouraged to practise and use when analysing pieces of art. Concepts are practised and revisited. Previous concepts are made explicit during lessons. Units of work in the curriculum focus on the different concepts in art (line, shape, colour, tone, form, space, visual texture and tone), how an artist combines these elements and produces art in different styles and different types of art and the media used.
It is expected that evidence of the children’s study will be recorded in sketchbooks which can include the work, or photographs of the work they produce each lesson. Sketchbooks may include written reflections on the work of other artists/designers/architects, as well as the children’s written reflections on their own work. These activities are all provided for in lesson to lesson planning. It may also be beneficial to include the knowledge organiser, learning objectives and multiple-choice quizzes in the sketchbook, so that both children and teachers can easily identify progression in knowledge, process and application of skills.
Teachers make constant informal assessments throughout art lessons and evidence of the children’s study is recorded in sketchbooks which include written reflections on the work of other artists/designers/architects, as well as the children’s written reflections on their own work. Teachers work flexibly and make necessary adaptations in response to the needs of the children.