Art

Implementation

Our Art Curriculum uses the National Curriculum Programme of Study and content as its basis, whilst promoting our key values.

Art is taught throughout the year in 6 stand alone lessons, taught every other week. Each year group completing one topic a term.

Each unit is split into the following sequence:

• Study
• Explore
• Design
• Make
• Evaluate

1. Language development

Within Art, oracy opportunities are planned into the curriculum that allow children to develop the physical, linguistic, cognitive and social and emotional aspects of learning. Opportunities are planned that allow children to debate, present, explain, discuss key aspects of design and the artistic processes.

Vocabulary development is integral to the teaching of Art within Meadowside. Progression maps for vocabulary are used to ensure prior learning in this area is built on from year to year. Vocabulary is also progressively taught between lessons in each topic.

Dialogical teaching empowers students to challenge each other’s views, expand ideas and build and evaluate arguments. We want the children to challenge each other’s views that will lead them to a deeper understanding of the topics we are teaching. Group and paired work is planned in and central to our teaching of Art.

We believe that it is vitally important for children to develop their own opinions and voice about Art, the impact that key Artists and their Artwork had upon communities and the world, and how this relates to the children’s own lives today. We are committed to closing the vocabulary gap that exists between children in order to widen their opportunities in life. In order to facilitate this, we promote quality talk using Voice 21 strategies, encouraging children to reflect on the work of other Artists and designers, and also to help them articulate and evaluate their own work as well as their peers.

A range of quality text-based sources are used within lessons across the school to enrich the children’s experience and to promote the application of reading skills. Visual pictures and prompts are shown displaying the colour wheel and illustrations; artistic language is used and encouraged

2. Knowledge

Our Art curriculum is planned and sequenced so that new knowledge and skills build on what has been taught before. We recognise that new learning is fragile, so our approach is generative and sticky, enabling our pupils to make links between new and existing knowledge to aid long term retention. We ensure that teaching across our year groups is progressive and that key concepts are revisited but built on. Within our curriculum, the key knowledge and skills for each year group can be seen in our progression maps. These have then been broken down into topics in our long and medium term planning, which class teachers then use to plan progressive and engaging lessons. Spaced repetition between topics and year groups is mapped in to help pupils retain learning. By the end of Year 6, children will have studied a variety of Artists and their work and improved their mastery of Art techniques, by preliminary investigation work through the use of sketch books; in these the children record their observations and review and revisit ideas.

3. Skills

While the teaching of disciplinary knowledge is key to progress in subjects, children require the opportunity to turn this knowledge to practice and apply skills. Our Curriculum planning ensures that these opportunities are embedded for all children. Skills that are taught in Art are progressive and highlighted on our curriculum grid.

4. Attitudes and values

To develop the children’s growth mindset, rather than simply praising success, we praise effort and persistence. We believe learning should be a challenge and within Art, our children are allowed to make mistakes and learn from them.  In Art, we want learning to be challenging and encourage the children to take risks and be independent. Our approach to our curriculum aims to build self-esteem, a respect for self and others, kindness and resilience, with staff modelling across the curriculum how to deal with challenge and adversity.

From EYFS through to KS2, we give the children opportunities to be designers and discuss the design skills that they are using to investigate and explore. We want children to celebrate the successes of making items for real life purposes. Strategies are used to ensure that all children can make good progress in Art and grow to see themselves as Artists. We celebrate and display each of their independent pieces of work.

Local, Societal and Global

• As an Inclusion Quality Mark flagship school, inclusivity is key to our culture as a school. Within the curriculum, we aim to celebrate difference and diversity. Key artists are chosen from a range of backgrounds and children are encouraged to find out more about them.
• Teachers apply a range of strategies within lessons to enable the children to become invested in their education. We believe that it is vitally important for children to develop their own opinions and voice about artists

5. Developing a love of Art

Children often find joy in expressing themselves through art. Giving them opportunities to be creative and explore is key to this. We want our pupils to take risks and develop their own artistic style while at Meadowside.

Additional enrichment opportunities are provided during their time at Meadowside. Children are given the chance to visit art galleries as well as display their art in our own celebrations and during the PAN art festival.

Assessment

The monitoring cycle is set out by the senior leadership team at the beginning of each academic year. Monitoring includes book looks, lesson visits, learning walks, pupil/staff voice surveys and guidance days. All monitoring undertaken serves to improve our practice, with the aim of bettering the outcomes for our pupils.

Formative assessment is an integral part of daily lessons and is first and foremost the essence of helping making our pupils make instant progress in their scientific knowledge and in their skills. This is done through a mixture of high-level questioning, discussion, Oracy activities and written work.

We use live marking and feedback to enable teachers to target next steps for pupils effectively. Opportunities for children to review and improve their learning are embedded into each lesson. Children are given the opportunity to evaluate their own work, and that of their peers. During and on completion of a piece of work, the teacher responds, identifying areas for development. Children’s work is valued, celebrated and displayed around the class and school.

At the end of each term, a written report is given to parents that show whether a child is achieving the required standard in Art, and these are discussed with parents with strategies to move learning forward being discussed.

Tracking of key groups allows for a better structure to learning and allows the Art subject coordinator to adapt the curriculum where needed.

Where there is a specific area of learning that a significant group needs reinforcing, this will be done in the “Catch up week” on the timetable.

SEND and Inclusion

At Meadowside we have high expectations of all our pupils. However, we recognise that for some pupils, additional support is needed to ensure they can access tasks and so that they can retain key learning. Tasks are adapted or scaffolded in such a was so as to ensure that they are provide suitable challenges that focus on the scientific learning and remove any barriers for learning that stop learning in Art. Teachers use their pupil passports and appropriate assessments to help inform their planning. This way, a person-centered approach ensures progress is made and makes their learning a personalised experience.

At Meadowside, we want all learning to support independence wherever possible. Teachers will plan lessons so that pupils with SEND are able to successfully access the key content of the Art curriculum and ensure that no ceiling is placed on their learning and what they can achieve. Promoting independence, we allow the children to feel a sense of equality and belonging in their classroom environment.

Where appropriate, the following strategies could be used for pupils with SEND:

Task Adaptation

• Opportunities for overlearning key knowledge.
• Technology used for recording information. Video recording of work if writing is an issue/use of speechnotes programme or Clicker 7/a scribe/dictation tool on ipad.
• Web based learning for practice and learning of key knowledge.
• Use of concrete resources
• Voice recordings of step by step instructions
• Voice recordings of responses.
• Screen shots and photographs
• Voice recordings
• Peer support for mathematical skills

Scaffolding

• Vocabulary written on board for all children to access (or on a whiteboard for a specific child/group).
• Screen shots taken of board work and placed in front of the children on an ipad.
• Extra/focused explanation.
• Video recording of work if writing is an issue/use of speechnotes programme or Clicker 7/a scribe/dictation tool on ipad.
• Modelling of work before asking children to complete it.
• Sentence stems written on board to help children to frame their answers.
• Step by step instructions for a task. These can be voice recorded if needed.
• Tasks chunked with breaks as required.
• Use of a task organiser to increase independence levels.
• Use of concrete resources where needed.
• Additional time to complete tasks and process information if needed.
• Visual formats to help them to manage their time more effectively.
• Speaking slowly and getting children to confirm his understanding by asking questions regularly.

Additional strategies for pupils will be highlighted as a part of the SEND strategy meetings and in consultation with other professionals. These form part of a child’s pupil passport and support teachers in removing barriers for learning.

Where a child struggles with key aspects of learning, it is crucial that we highlight what is key knowledge for a child to move on with their learning. Progression maps highlight which knowledge is the basis for other knowledge later on within the Art curriculum. Staff therefore provide time for overlearning of this key knowledge where it is deemed appropriate for these children. Support and CPD is given to staff to ensure they have a good understanding of what learning is key to move on. These children are discussed regularly with the SENCo.

Higher Attainers

Opportunities for higher attainers to take learning deeper are planned throughout the curriculum. Open ended challenges that allow them to develop their own style while being influenced by notable artists.

CPD for staff

CPD is planned for staff throughout the year and opportunities are planned into our yearly training in line with our school development plan.  Staff are encouraged to also complete their own research. Medium term planning includes “Mastery For Teaching” recapping subject knowledge that will be needed to take learning deeper in DT. Where appropriate, staff will also find this out by asking questions to staff.

Monitoring of DT

The monitoring cycle is set out by the senior leadership team at the beginning of each academic year. Monitoring includes book looks, lesson visits, learning walks, pupil/staff voice surveys and guidance days (completed in conjunction with SIL). All monitoring undertaken serves to improve our practice, with the aim of bettering the outcomes for our pupils. The DT subject lead has 1 half day per half term to meet with the curriculum coordinator and discuss progress.

Transition to KS3

At Meadowside, we work closely with our feeder secondary schools to ensure a quality of provision that gives our pupils firm foundations for year 6. We work closely with them to provide additional opportunities for more able pupils particularly during the summer term of year 5.

Impact

At Meadowside, we ensure that all students are exposed to rich learning experiences that:

• to enable all of our pupils to make good progress across all areas of the Art curriculum, from whatever the individual’s starting point may have been. We define progress as knowing more and remembering more. It is the widening and deepening of knowledge, skills, understanding and behaviours.
• to provide pupils with a language rich Art experience, giving them the skills required to grow into independent and confident citizens, who can express their opinions on Art.
• for our pupils to be kind, respectful and resilient and to carry these skills forward into their future.
• for pupils leaving us to be well prepared for the next stage in their lives, particularly for the further study of Art at KS3.
• for pupils to be self-assured, confident in their creative skills.
• for all pupils to feel inspired that they can use their artistic skills to make a positive difference in their own lives, within society and to the world around them