Art and Design Curriculum

Intent

At Pepper Hill School, the art curriculum aims to inspire and develop the confidence of our pupils to enable them to explore their inner artist in a creative and challenging way.  It follows the National Curriculum as a basis for its content and framework.  We aim to deliver a skills and knowledge rich curriculum through high quality teaching to ensure all children create, experience and participate in great arts and culture in order to achieve their very best.

The curriculum is designed to ensure the children are exposed to great artists, designers and architects to inspire them and to allow them to make connections, compare works and evaluate the different artists they have studied.  Introducing the children to a diverse range of materials and techniques is an important part of our curriculum and progression is ensured by revisiting certain key skills year upon year (painting, drawing, sculpture).

Implementation

Our whole school approach to the teaching and learning of art involves the following:

• Three art topics taught annually.
• Art is taught in a one-hour lesson each week.
• Lessons are planned using progression maps provided to teachers to ensure skills are clear.
• Each unit follows the same structure; research, learn skills, design, create and evaluate.
• A significant artist is incorporated into each unit.
• Every child has their own sketchbook in which their work is produced.
• A final piece of artwork is completed in each topic.
• CPD Insets provided to teachers to ensure high quality subject knowledge.
• Half termly ‘Arts Award’ given to a child excelling in the arts.
• Children’s artwork displayed around the school.

 Impact

Our art curriculum is planned to demonstrate progression year on year. In addition, we measure the impact of our curriculum through the following methods: 

• Monitoring of books
• Pupil voice
• Learning walks
• Staff surveys
• Arts Award
• Evaluation of final piece of artwork