Intent
The Art Curriculum at the Isle of Ely Primary School develops the children’s knowledge of Art, oracy skills and inspires them to explore their creativity. We aim for our Art curriculum to be inclusive of each child and empower them to build their creativity, confidence and perseverance in their school lives and beyond.
The children will develop their understanding of Art with effective teaching and carefully thought out sequences of lessons and experiences. Understanding the elements of Art (colour, line, shape, texture…) will be developed by providing an accessible and engaging curriculum which will enable children to reach their full potential. The children will view and experience many pieces of artwork and explore them through language before interpreting the pieces of work and using them to inspire their own creations. They will explore their creativity by exposing them to a diverse selection of art types throughout their time in school. They will develop their ability to think critically about the work of others and of their own creations and thus develop their evaluation skills. The children will also develop an understanding of the historical and cultural elements of art through exploring artwork that was created in a specific historical time.
Implementation
At the Isle of Ely Primary School, the Art curriculum allows the children to develop their understanding of the different elements of Art as they progress through the school. Colour, line, shape, texture, form, symmetry, light, space, design and style will be gradually taught and progressed throughout the children’s time at school. These elements will be taught so that their knowledge is revisited and extended each year and therefore built over time.
The children are explicitly taught how to talk about the Art that they are shown, referring to their expanding knowledge of the elements of Art mentioned above. Through Art, we will develop the children’s vocabulary and oracy skills, allowing the children to have a deeper understanding of the artwork that they are interpreting. This will enable the children to speak confidently about Art as well as extending to their other school subjects and beyond.
Our Art curriculum also allows the children to be exposed to and experience a wide range of types of Art, including painting, printmaking, embroidery, sculpture and digital art. We hope that this will inspire and provoke creativity in our students.
Where appropriate, the children will also explore artwork that relates to the history subject that they are studying. This will allow the children to have a deeper understanding of artwork that was created in a historical time. The children will also make use of our local area to support their learning when it is appropriate. Architecture such as Ely Cathedral and landscapes such as the Fens are used as opportunities to enhance their learning.
Impact
The Art curriculum at the Isle of Ely Primary School will build the children’s knowledge of Art itself. By revisiting and expanding upon each of the elements of Art, this knowledge will remain with the children beyond their time here at the Isle of Ely Primary School. As a result of developing talk around Art each year, the children are articulate and confident when expressing their interpretations and opinions. Art will therefore positively impact the children’s communication skills, allowing them to listen and verbalise their views respectfully and coherently. Our Art curriculum will enable children to persevere when challenged and take pride in the artwork that they produce. Children will leave the Isle of Ely Primary School inspired, creative and confident after experiencing our Art curriculum.