Introduction

At The Gateway, art is taught through our cross-curricular topic based curriculum. It has been carefully planned to ensure children develop skills when using a range of media and become confident when applying these skills to create their own artwork. The children look carefully at a range of artwork and develop their understanding of a range of processes. Through links with our history curriculum, our pupils develop their understanding of how art from the past has impacted on our lives today.

National Curriculum

Our art curriculum is carefully planned to link to our topics to develop our pupils' skills in a range of areas. It ensures that all of our pupils, in line with the National Curriculum, have the opportunity to:

• 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.

How will your child be introduced to Art in the early years?

In EYFS, pupils begin to develop their understanding of art through the different topics we explore each term. Through the curriculum area of Expressive Arts and Design pupils are encouraged to express their thoughts and feelings creatively through painting, drawing, using clay and other mediums such as junk modelling. They look at examples of art and creativity to inspire their own learning through play. They are encouraged to talk about their work with an adult and their friends so that they can learn to talk through their artistic process.

For more detailed information about the progression in knowledge and skills in Art in our curriculum and what your child will be taught in each year group, please refer to the documents below.

How will my child use a computer to enhance their learning in art?

Computing is used to enhance the children’s learning in art across the school. From EYFS children are taught to use paint packages and explore how they can be used to create different effects and media. In Key Stage One, the children begin to explore photography and experiment with different effects such as: cropping, resizing and exploring how to lighten and darken a photo. They are also taught how to use 2Simple2paint to create different effects and recreate the work of a famous artist. The children also use the computers to recreate their own artwork on screen and make comparisons between the two and evaluate the two different approaches. In Key Stage Two children continue to develop their photography skills and developing their skills when manipulating and enhancing images to use alongside their topic work. By the end of KS2 they are introduced to the idea of digital collage linked to Surrealism and use the computer create their own image.

Alongside this, our pupils are encouraged to research famous artists linked to their topics and find out their backgrounds and influences. They are encouraged to use a range of sources and by the end of KS2 recognise which sources are reliable and will support their research. The children may complete this research at school or as a home learning activity and are encouraged to share this learning with the rest of their class.

Famous Artists

In EYFS, our pupils are introduced to the idea of what it means to be an artist and begin to develop their skills as an artist themselves. In KS1 and 2, the children are introduced to a range of artists, craftspeople and designers from different cultures and different periods in history. The children examine their work carefully and learn about their techniques and what influenced them when creating their work.