Art

EYFS: Pupils begin to develop their artistic awareness through a wide range of media and materials.

In the Early Years and Foundation Stage, children study art through the overarching concept, 'Expressive arts and design'. By giving children a range of experiences, we aim to help them develop their artistic and cultural awareness and support their imagination and creativity. Children are given regular opportunities to engage with the arts, which helps them to make sense of the world around them whilst increasing their knowledge and understanding of various artistic concepts through child led experiences, such as: an accessible, ever changing 'creative area', mixing and exploring colours linked to the class text 'The Colour Monster', outside art opportunities utilising natural resources such as leaves, mud, sticks and water and daily 'Dough Disco’ to explore manipulating materials and fine motor skills. Children's vocabulary is enriched through careful and progressive planning, including a wide range of stories, rhymes and songs.

KS1: Pupils begin to use a range of materials creatively and develop a wide range of techniques.

In Key Stage One, children begin to develop skills and knowledge associated with drawing, painting, craft and design and sculpture and 3D through working with a range of materials and equipment such as clay, paints, sketching pencils, pastels and wool. Cross curricular opportunities are embedded in the KS1 art curriculum, for instance in Year 2 the history topic ‘The Great fire of London' is further explored by creating clay houses in the style of those involved in the great fire. Children learn skills and techniques such as developing control using a wide range of tools, observational skills, knowledge of the primary colours and colour mixing and hatching, scribbling, stippling and blending to create textures in drawing. Through the units studied, children will gain knowledge and be exposed to the work of a range of artists including Jasper Johns, Cecilia Vicuna and Quentin Blake.

KS2: Pupils continue to develop their techniques and creativity with an increasing awareness of different kinds of art.

In Key Stage Two, children continue to build and enhance their knowledge and skills learnt in EYFS and KS1 art associated with drawing, painting, craft and design and sculpture and 3D through working with a range of materials and continue developing skills with equipment they were introduced to in KS1 (clay, paints, sketching pencils, pastels and wool). To progress further, children will have the opportunity to understand more complex processes and gain new skills using new materials and equipment such as charcoal, carving tools, ink palettes, rollers and digital devices. Cross curricular opportunities are embedded in the KS2 art curriculum, for instance in Year 3 the history topic 'Stone Age to Iron Age' is further explored by creating cave wall art, recreating the techniques used by prehistoric humans. Children learn skills and techniques such as creating designs to fit specific briefs, use colours to fit an idea or atmosphere, achieve the tonal technique 'chiaroscuro' and use a range of materials to create 3D artwork whilst still implementing those learnt in KS1. Through the units studied, children will gain knowledge and be exposed to the work of a range of artists including Georgia O'Keeffe, William Morris, Cai Guo-Qiang and David Hockney.