Intent 

At Eyres Monsell Primary School we want our Art and Design curriculum to be engaging, inspiring and challenging for pupils equipping them with the knowledge and skills to experiment, invent and create their own works of art, craft and design. We want our children to be able to think critically and develop a more rigorous understanding of art and design. They should know how art and design both reflect and shape our history, and contribute to the culture, creativity and wealth of our nation. 

Implementation 

We are dedicated to the teaching and delivery of a high-quality Art and Design curriculum. In the Early Years, the areas of 'imagination and creativity', 'self-expression' and 'communicating through arts' underpin our Art and Design provision. Our Early Years Practitioners support learning through demonstration, vocabulary rich discussion and enabling play environments. 

In Years 1-6, we build on the children’s skills and knowledge from pre-school and reception and carefully sequence our learning in order to activate prior knowledge and to give the opportunity to re-encounter and develop skills and knowledge in different contexts. At Eyres Monsell we have designed our curriculum so that our pupils make progress in art and design by knowing more and remembering more of the component knowledge in each strand, thus expanding their schema. The key technical knowledge for each area of Art and Design has been thoughtfully planned so children are able to make meaningful links and build on existing skills and knowledge. Children will develop an awareness of significant artists within each area of study to enable them to understand the historical and cultural development of their art forms. 

Children will learn to evaluate significantly important art, their own art and the art or others to enable them to produce creative work, explore their ideas and record their experiences. We have carefully mapped out each of the areas of drawing, painting, sculpture, printing, digital media and collage so children’s knowledge and skills grow as they move both through the year and between year groups. We have well planned and resourced projects providing children with a hands-on and enriching experience. These can be taught weekly or blocked together to allow the time needed for the children to be creative, proficient and reflective on their work. Art and Design is taught during three half terms out of the six, alternating with DT. Our pupils are introduced to specific artists, experience their own art work and the art of others on display in galleries and meet modern artists to help them to develop an appreciation of human creativity and achievement and increase the cultural capital from which they can draw in the future.