Art at Wilshere-Dacre

Intent

Our rich and diverse Art curriculum allows our children freedom of expression while teaching them the skills to be able to achieve their vision.

With a focus on contemporary and diverse artists, our curriculum topics offer opportunities to create Art which complements the historical and geographical content studied in other subjects. As a result, our art finds interest in rivers or metal or even space to name a few!

The aims of the teaching of Art at Wilshere-Dacre are to:

• Provide broad knowledge of a range of artists balanced with the teaching of skills and practise of techniques.
• Maintain a focus on self-expression along with developing oracy in the subject in order to explain choices made.
• Explore practical, theoretical and disciplinary knowledge of Art.
• Provide opportunities to increase ‘cultural capital’ for those children who are not generally aware of the work and impact of artists and makers all over the world.

Implementation

Through a bespoke curriculum, Art is aligned with the study of History and Geography across all of our year groups and phases. The start of each unit requires children to explore, evaluate and reproduce the work of an artist. This theoretical knowledge provides the scaffold and inspiration for children to creating an original piece of art. This is the culmination of skills taught explicitly for the medium being used e.g. paint, clay, pencil, pastel, mono print, over a six week period.

Through class discussion, ideas development and evaluation, we help to develop oracy skills enabling our children to articulate their artistic choices and identify what is unique and therefore meaningful to them in their work.

Displaying work throughout the school and sharing it with the wider school community creates a sense of purpose and celebration of individual expression. Put simply, we want every child to feel pride and a sense of achievement which encourages a life-long appreciation of Art and the power of expression.

Impact

Art is enjoyed throughout the school and many children proactively comment on a project which has inspired them or that they have enjoyed. Progression of skills is clearly visible when whole-school art projects are displayed around the school. Maintaining sketchbooks as children progress through the school provides an active record of an individual child’s progress in Art starting in Year 3 and continuing through to Year 6. To further record responses to their own work and develop oracy using Art specific vocabulary, a standardised evaluation form has been developed.