Art & Design Curriculum Overview

1. Vision & Intent

Our Art and Design curriculum provides all children with meaningful opportunities to express themselves through a diverse range of artistic styles, media and creative practices. It is intentionally designed to be accessible to all learners, enabling every child to develop confidence, creativity, and individuality as an artist.

Children explore the work of artists, designers, craft makers and architects across historical periods, cultures and their own local context. Through this exposure, they form personal interpretations and use these influences to inspire and enrich their own artwork.

2. Artistic Mindset

To nurture creativity, pupils are encouraged to:

• Explore new ideas and artistic possibilities
• Experiment with tools, materials and techniques
• Compare approaches, styles and artistic outcomes
• Evaluate their own work and that of others with increasing independence

3. Artistic Proficiency

Children progressively refine their technical skills and artistic judgement by learning to:

• Choose tools and mediums deliberately for intended effects
• Apply techniques with increasing accuracy and control
• Explore and analyse their own work and the work of others

4. Art & Design Skills Development

The curriculum builds a broad set of artistic competencies, including:

• Sketching, drawing and painting
• Printing and collage
• Textiles and mixed media
• 3D work and sculpture
• Digital art and media
• Effective use of colour, texture, and tone
• Confident use of a wide variety of materials and techniques

5. Systems & Structures Supporting Learning

High-quality teaching in Art and Design is supported through:

• Medium-term plans that ensure progression of knowledge and skills
• Effective use of Teaching Assistants (TAs) to scaffold and extend learning
• Support and challenge strategies that meet the needs of all learners
• Retrieval of prior learning to strengthen understanding over time
• Assessment and tracking to monitor progress and inform next steps