Art

Art at All Saints!

Art manager – Miss Henriquez

henrj313@mastacademy.co.uk

Our School Vision

'Through faith, love, kindness and respect our St John's family will flourish and grow'

Curriculum Intent

Art is an integral part of our curriculum at St John's C of E Infants School and we believe it should give all children the opportunity and abilities to engage positively using creativity and imagination. We strive to provide an ambitious, progressively sequenced, broad and balanced curriculum that meets the contextual needs of our school and ensures that every member of the St John's family can:•        

•         Develop the confidence to shine through their artistic skills, have the opportunity to not fear making mistakes and foster a love of learning, embodying our school vision.

•         Acquire the cultural capital, skills and knowledge needed to prepare them for the next stage of their education via a broad range of subject knowledge and cross-curricular links.

• Learn through a curriculum that cements our school values of love, kindness, faith and respect.

Curriculum Implementation:

At St John's C of E Infants School:

•         We use Cornerstones topics to help us plan and deliver bespoke units of work that are designed and adapted to meet the needs of our pupils and school, are cross curricular and therefore provide opportunities to excite children about their learning. This enhances their understanding of an art style or artist thanks to their contextual understanding and vice versa. 

•         We provide challenging and enjoyable learning through a range of art activities which include sketching, painting in different medium, printing and model-making and sculpture. We develop understanding of our students' techniques in using colour, pattern, texture, line, shape, form and space.

•         We place emphasis on the skills of interacting well, personal development and practising the skills of mental well-being and use art to explore this, exposing the children to art-specific 'brain breathers' embedded in our school day and through after school clubs, which are inclusive, enjoyable and increase children’s knowledge and understanding in Art.

•         A rigorous assessment programme is in place to monitor and track children’s progress, enabling children to be challenged by the skills they are exposed to and ensuring skills are built on year by year and sequenced appropriately.

•         All teachers have access to support and guidance via peer support and CPD on ways to meet the National Curriculum objectives for Art to ensure that progression is covered through FS to Year 2. Shared planning allows for further understanding and development of both student and teacher skills.

•         Our students are encouraged to share their art with their community and any outside competitions in which they may participate.

Curriculum Impact:

At St John's C of E Infants School, our Art curriculum is progressive and fosters a love of art for our students’ own benefit and enjoyment, allowing children to feel happy and confident and to enjoy developing and applying fundamental skills to a variety of tasks as they move from FS to Year 2.

Art has a significant impact in the classroom, from the calming effects of concentrated sketching to the grounding effects of sculpture and model-making. Art gives the children the opportunity to achieve and excel outside of more conventional learning topics and to explore their main learning topic in a new light, equipping them with artistic skills and critical thinking skills that are invaluable at school and in our modern Britain. Our children progress well and attain in line with or above other children nationally.

Community Links:

Should you wish to find out more about Art at St John''s, please talk to your child’s teacher via email. You are also welcome to contact the Art Manager, Ms Henriquez directly.

We are always looking to improve links with the community so if you feel you may have connections with an industry that could support the teaching and learning of Art, please do let us know!

Curriculum challenges are another great way for children to showcase their creativity. Look out for these during the year when they are reintroduced. Encouraging your child to be artistic at home will help them to develop their imagination and creativity which will, in turn, help them in all areas of the curriculum.