Art

Intention

At Randlay Primary School and Nursery, we recognise Art and Design as a vital component of our students’ entitlement to a broad and balanced curriculum. One of our school’s core values is ‘creativity’ and that is prevalent in our curriculum offer. Our Art curriculum reflects our commitment to creativity, aiming to challenge, engage and inspire our learners. We strive to equip our pupils with the knowledge and skills to experiment, innovate and create their own works of art, craft, and design.

We believe that art and creativity are essential parts of children’s education, offering them opportunities to develop a range of skills while expressing their unique creativity. Through our Art curriculum, pupils make connections to various art movements and styles from different periods in history, broadening their understanding of artistic development. Within each skill we explore, we ensure that pupil engage with the work of an influential artist. These artists are carefully selected from a breadth of cultures and are categorised into three groups: Contemporary Artists (1970s and beyond), Modern Artists (1860 to 1960), and Traditional Artists (Pre-1860). This approach allows our pupils to gain a deeper understanding of the diverse evolution of art across time and culture.

Following the guidance of the National Curriculum, we focus on developing proficiency in areas such as sketching, painting, collage, and sculpture. Each year, we structure our Art curriculum into three blocks across the three terms, allowing pupils to explore different aspects of art throughout the year. Within each unit, we break down and focus on the 7 key elements of art: Line, Shape, Form, Space, Colour, Texture, and Value. Our goal is to foster a deep understanding and appreciation of art and design, while enhancing pupils’ skills across these areas and ensuring they have a well-rounded grasp of the fundamental building blocks of art.

At Randlay Primary School, we use Art Portfolios to document and showcase the artistic journey of our pupils from Year 1 to Year 6. These portfolios follow each student throughout their time at school, providing a comprehensive record of their progress and development in art. As pupils move through the years, their portfolios demonstrate a breadth of skills, techniques and creativity, capturing the growth and refinement of their artistic abilities. The Art Portfolios offer both students and teachers a valuable tool for reflection, enabling them to track achievements, identify areas for improvement, and celebrate individual artistic accomplishments.

In addition, we aim to explore cultural heritage by studying diverse artists and designers from different cultures and historical contexts. This approach encourages pupils to appreciate the global influence and evolution of art.

Ultimately, our Art curriculum empowers students to create meaningful artwork and share their creations with others. They will showcase their skills and progress through personal Art Portfolios, enabling them to reflect on and celebrate their artistic journey.

Implementation

The teaching and implementation of the Art and Design curriculum at Randlay Primary School and Nursery is grounded in the objectives of the National Curriculum. We have carefully mapped the substantive and disciplinary knowledge that children will develop across each art theme to ensure clear progression throughout the phases. Although all students across the school engage in the same art skill each half term, each unit is adapted to connect with our rich curriculum topics. This ensures that our chosen art themes are closely aligned with the children’s units of work, promoting consistency in our two-year rolling program while enriching their overall learning experience.

We alternate between art and design and design technology (DT) each half term, allowing students to complete one unit of art per term. During the half terms when art is not the focus, we offer standalone creative lessons that enhance their learning experience, such as special projects like the Black History art project. This approach ensures that students continue to engage with creative practices throughout the year, fostering a well-rounded artistic education.

Each term, we focus our units on developing both substantive and disciplinary knowledge in key areas of art, including drawing, painting, collage, sculpture, and printing. This allows pupils to build essential skills in their personal portfolios throughout the year. We emphasise artistic experiences by providing a variety of creative opportunities, helping students understand the context of their artwork and the influential artists behind it, while also supporting vital cross-curricular connections.

In their Art education, pupils will explore the work of individual artists and various art movements, focusing on key processes such as drawing, painting, printing, textiles, and sculpture. Each unit is anchored by three underpinning artists: one contemporary artist from the 1970s onward, one modern artist from 1860 to 1960, and one traditional artist from pre-1860. This structure enhances their skill development and allows them to express their creative imagination while deepening their understanding of diverse artistic styles.

Our Art curriculum is supported by access to high-quality resources, appropriate tools, and a clear understanding of techniques, all of which help students build confidence in using various media. Looking ahead, we are excited to coordinate whole-school projects, like previously with our Queen Elizabeth II jubilee piece, King Charles coronation piece and 3 Bs display, applying the high-quality skills they have learned to create a collection of work for the community to showcase.

Recognising that children learn best through well-planned activities, we ensure that our mapped-out cycles and coverage are followed closely. This prevents repetition of techniques and promotes the building of prior knowledge. As the National Curriculum states, “as pupils progress, they should be able to think critically and develop a more rigorous understanding of art and design.” Therefore, adherence to our progression grids is essential for fostering students’ growth and understanding in the subject and we ensure that each key stage develops upon the knowledge learnt in the previous stage.

EYFS

At Randlay Primary School, our Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) curriculum focuses on the exploration of Expressive Arts and Design, providing children with opportunities to express themselves creatively through a variety of media and techniques (see appendix 16.2 and 16.3). We have developed a cycle curriculum that follows the guidance from Birth to 5 Matters and Development Matters, ensuring that children engage in a range of artistic experiences that nurture their imagination, creativity, and fine motor skills. The curriculum is designed to build progressively, with each block of learning laying the foundations for future artistic development and preparing children for the more formal learning that takes place in Year 1. By offering a rich variety of creative activities, from drawing and painting to music and dance, we aim to foster a love of the arts and encourage children to communicate and express their thoughts and ideas in diverse and imaginative ways.

Our two key focuses under the Being Imaginative umbrella are:

Being Imaginative (Art) – Children explore drawing, painting, printmaking, and the use of texture, colour, and pattern to express their creativity and ideas.
Creating with Materials (Design) – Children engage with various materials to design and create, developing their skills in construction, experimentation, and problem-solving through hands-on activities.

In Reception, children have the opportunity to engage in a wide range of expressive arts activities, developing their creativity and fine motor skills throughout the year. They will explore drawing using various mark-making tools such as pencils, chalk, and pastels, and begin to use different lines (e.g., thick, thin, wavy, straight) to express their thoughts and feelings. In painting, children will experiment with a variety of materials, such as ready-mix paints, finger paints, and powder paints, and use everyday objects like cotton reels, sticks, and brushes to create shapes and marks. They will also begin to understand colour mixing and combine materials to add texture to their work. In sculpture and form, children will explore different modelling materials like salt dough, clay, and junk materials, using everyday objects to make marks and shapes. Finally, through printing, they will experiment with tools and objects to create prints and patterns. These activities are designed to support children’s artistic expression, encourage problem-solving, and foster their imaginative thinking.

In EYFS at Randlay Primary School, assessment is primarily carried out through careful observations of children’s engagement with learning and their development over time. Teachers observe how children interact with materials and express their creativity during activities. These observations are then measured against the outlined Early Learning Goals (ELGs) to assess progress.

For the Creating with Materials ELG (see Appendix 16.4), children at the expected level of development will safely explore and experiment with a variety of materials, tools, and techniques. They will show creativity by experimenting with colour, design, texture, form, and function, and will be able to share and explain their creations. They will also use props and materials in role play, engaging with characters from stories and narratives.

For the Being Imaginative and Expressive ELG (see Appendix 16.4), children will demonstrate their ability to invent, adapt, and recount stories, either independently or with peers and teachers. They will participate in singing well-known nursery rhymes, poems, and stories, and, when appropriate, will move in time with music, showing an understanding of rhythm and expression. These observations, aligned with the ELGs, help ensure that children’s creative and imaginative development is tracked and supported in a meaningful way.

Overall, in EYFS we aim to help children to be creative, along with encouraging attitudes of curiosity and questioning. Building on children’s interests can lead to them creating amazing inventions or making marks on paper that represent for them an experience or something they have seen. Encouraging children to choose and use materials and resources in an open-ended way helps them to make choices and to have confidence in their own ideas.

Key Stage One

Pupils should be taught:

to use a range of materials creatively to design and make products
to use drawing, painting and sculpture to develop and share their ideas, experiences and imagination
to develop a wide range of art and design techniques in using colour, pattern, texture, line, shape, form and space
about the work of a range of artists, craft makers and designers, describing the differences and similarities between different practices and disciplines, and making links to their own work.

Key Stage Two

Pupils should be taught to develop their techniques, including their control and their use of materials, with creativity, experimentation and an increasing awareness of different kinds of art, craft and design.

Pupils should be taught:

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]
about great artists, architects and designers in history.

How we support SEND

At Randlay Primary School and Nursery, we deeply value every pupil and celebrate the diverse backgrounds that enrich our community. We are committed to inclusivity and do not discriminate against anyone; we believe that all children matter and deserve equal opportunities to achieve their best. Our planning and organisation of teaching strategies for each subject are continually reviewed to ensure that no pupil is disadvantaged. This commitment aligns with our Equality and Diversity Inclusion Policy, reinforcing our dedication to fostering an equitable learning environment where all students can thrive. We also ensure that the artists we study are from diverse backgrounds and cultures to ensure our offer is varied and showcases our commitment to inclusivity and celebration of all cultures.