At Bishop’s Waltham Junior School the health, safety and well-being of every child is our top priority.

National Curriculum Aims for Art and Design

The national curriculum for art and design aims to ensure that all pupils:

• produce creative work, exploring their ideas and recording their experiences
• become proficient in drawing, painting, 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 art forms.

Art & Design at Bishop's Waltham Junior School 

Art & Design at Bishop's Waltham Junior School  

Intent

Here at Bishop’s Waltham Junior School, we believe that Art & Design is a vital and integral part of our pupils’ entitlement to a broad and balanced curriculum. It is our intent to offer inclusive, high-quality art lessons that inspire and challenge, promoting awe and wonder and a sense of achievement and personal fulfilment.

It is our intent to:

• Expose children to a wide range of media, materials and tools and to open children’s eyes to some of the ways in which these can be experimented with, used and applied creatively.
• Inspire children creatively, using a variety of starting points/hooks/artistic stimuli and outcomes (thus giving the opportunity to explore and evaluate a plethora of creative ideas, and ensuring that artistic experiences at BWJS are memorable).
• Develop pupils’ knowledge, skills and techniques in drawing, painting, printing, sculpture, collage, textiles and digital art. By refining their application of artistic techniques, children will be equipped with the ability to experiment, invent and create.
• Offer opportunities for pupils to create artwork in a range of scales, and to create both independently and collaboratively.
• Create a classroom ethos based on encouragement and positivity during Art and Design lessons so that children are able to experiment in a safe environment where there are no right or wrong results: thus enhancing pupils’ self-expression and self-esteem.
• Value and celebrate all children’s creative endeavours whilst maintaining high expectations in terms of individuals’ achievements.
• Introduce children to a range of works from both famous and littler-known contemporary artists, craftspeople and designers, exposing them to the different styles the artists use.
• Develop pupils’ critical thinking skills as they gain a more rigorous understanding of art and design, artists and art movements.
• Instil an understanding of how art and design both reflect and shape our history, and contribute to the culture, creativity and wealth of our nation.
• Celebrate our artists’ successes through displaying children’s artwork prominently in school and sharing it with the wider community through various means.

Implementation

• The subject leader plans the curriculum units, ensuring that the curriculum stays relevant and up to date through contact with other professionals and utilising resources from HIAS and Access Art (which the school has paid subscriptions to). The curriculum ensures that a variety of skills and topics are covered.
• When appropriate and relevant, the Art and Design curriculum is linked to other curriculum areas.

• Our Art & Design Curriculum is made up of:
  A) Autumn and Spring term units for each year group (6 x 1.5hr sessions per unit), taught as weekly lessons for a half-term or blocked where deemed appropriate.  Within these units, children continually develop and refine their drawing and painting skills and techniques.  Sculpture techniques are taught in every year group, printing is explored in Year 4 and collage in Year 6. Each final outcome showcases the skills acquired and is inspired by an artist/craftsperson or designer.
     
• B) An annual Art Week/Whole-School Art Project run in the Summer term, when children are immersed in creative projects all relating to a shared theme and skill. Planning ensures that during these projects all pupils will explore printing, textiles, collage and digital art during their time at BWJS.
    
• C) Some computing and DT units also cover Art & Design curriculum objectives:  Making a Piece of Digital Art (Year 3), Making an Animation (Year 4), Making a 3D Model (Year 5), Moving Pictures (Year 3), Photo Frames (Year 3), Indian Money Pouches (Year 4), River Creatures (Year 5) and Rainforest Dwellings (Year 6).

• Skills development is currently being reviewed by the subject leader so that it is carefully planned into a revised and improved Art and Design curriculum (including within each whole-school project) with respect to the subject-specific vocabulary used and taught; the control of tools and the complexity of techniques and expected outcomes.
• Every child’s creative learning journey is recorded in a sketch book, known as their Art Journal. This includes their learning about and response to artists’ work; skills development, creative experimentation and mastery of techniques; annotations and evaluations and final outcomes (or photographs of these). This same book is used throughout each pupil’s 4 years at BWJS so that previous artwork can be frequently referred back to in order to further develop and improve.
• At the beginning of each topic, children revisit and recap the skills they already have and it is identified how they can build upon, master and extend these prior skills. This ensures that lessons take account of each child’s individual starting points. Pupils of all abilities are given the opportunity to reach their full potential. Constant in-lesson assessment ensures that support is given where necessary (for example, extra modelled demonstrations or scribing for children). Teachers also take into consideration the provision for how greater depth will be taught to ensure pupils are provided with suitable challenge.
• Teachers’ knowledge of Art and Design is aided by detailed planning and resources from the subject leader, including the provision of further materials to support teachers’ CPD in the subject.
• In lessons, high quality modelling is used to demonstrate skills and expectations and children are then given the opportunity to practise and refine these. Any teachers lacking confidence in modelling the skills and techniques are supported directly by the subject leader.
• Relevant art vocabulary is used and explicitly taught by the class teacher and children are encouraged to use this vocabulary verbally to respond to and critically evaluate their own and others artwork as well as to annotate work in their art journals.
• Teachers provide timely insightful feedback during lessons to celebrate success and have an immediate impact on children’s subsequent learning. A range of questions is asked to ensure that children’s learning is secure.
• Teaching and learning is supported by a well-stocked and well-organised art resource area, managed by the subject leader and cared for and maintained as a whole-school joint effort.
• Final outcomes are usually displayed within classrooms, year group shared areas or the school hall. Furthermore, pupils’ artwork is shared and celebrated with the wider school community in blog posts, physical galleries set up for parents and carers, You Tube films of Whole-School Projects, and articles in publications such as the Parish Magazine and HIAS’s Art News.
• Finally, Art and Design is also promoted and celebrated through our extra-curricular offerings.  Currently, this includes a lunch time Sketch Club (drawing-focussed) and after school Art Club (more messy art).

Impact

As a result of our whole-school art curriculum, pupils of Bishop’s Waltham Junior School will:

• Acquire key knowledge, skills and techniques in Art and Design appropriate to KS2.
• Increase their confidence in using a range of materials, tools and art mediums.
• Be able to effectively select appropriate tools and techniques to create a desired effect.
• Show a keenness and determination to demonstrate an ever-increasing mastery of artistic skills.
• Use a rich technical vocabulary to discuss both their own work and the work of others.
• Be reflective and able to suggest ways to improve and enhance their own work.
• Develop a knowledge, understanding and appreciation of art and the work of great artists.
• Be inspired and excited by the range of experiences in Art and Design.
• Be culturally knowledgeable about art and design, artists, designers and craftspeople.
• Appreciate the positive impact on mental health and wellbeing of enjoying others’ art, practising art, expressing themselves and being creative.
• Be able to retain their learning (aided by constantly revisiting and building upon prior understanding/skills) and apply their art skills to cross-curricular subjects.
• Know that a living can be made through Art and Design in their future should they choose to pursue the subject at KS3 and beyond.

Success will be monitored through:

• Continuous assessment for learning throughout the planning, teaching and learning cycle.
• Positive pupil voice within lessons and when talking informally about the subject.
• Evidence in through-school Art Journals and artwork on display which will highlight the successes of the children and will showcase the progression of skills (techniques, knowledge and vocabulary) throughout the school.
• Discussion with staff about their successes in Art and Design.
• Discussion with children to explore their own self-perceived strengths and interests in Art and Design, and areas where they feel there is a need for improvement.