Art & Design
Art and Design
“Art is not just a subject to learn, but an activity that you can practise with your hands, your eyes, your whole personality.”
Quentin Blake.
At St Thomas’s CE Primary School, we aim to inspire, challenge and motivate children so that they will believe in themselves to achieve their very best, and succeed in life. We believe that art stimulates creativity and ignites imagination. It provides visual and sensory experiences and a unique way of understanding and responding to the changing world around us.
A high-quality art and design education should inspire, enthuse and challenge children – enabling pupils to communicate what they observe, feel, think and create through drawing, painting and sculpting with a range of materials. As our children progress through art, they will gain a more thorough understanding of the history of great artists and designers; whilst knowing how art and design both reflect and shape the culture, creativity and prosperity of our nation.
Our Art and Design curriculum encourages responsibility and individuality by inspiring children to take charge of their own learning through independent decision making, manipulating materials and demonstrating high standards of presentation. Finally, resilience through self-evaluation of work is encouraged, children are taught to improve their work and reach their goals to the best of their abilities. We ensure that art and design lessons across St Thomas’s cultivate the children with a range of skills to prepare them for the wider world.
The aims of Art and Design, as outlined in the National Curriculum, are to ensure all children:
- produce creative work, exploring their ideas and recording their experiences
- become proficient in drawing, painting, sculpture and other art, craft and design techniques
- evaluate and analyse creative works using the language of art, craft and design
- know about great artists, craft makers and designers, and understand the historical and cultural development of their art forms.
At St Thomas’s, we use the national curriculum, together with our school values, as the basis for curriculum planning in Art and Design. Art and Design is incorporated into a flexible and creative school curriculum. We ensure that there are opportunities for children of all abilities to develop their knowledge, skills and understanding in each unit.
We plan for progression by using the Chris Quigley milestones as children move through school. We operate three, two year Milestones: Milestone 1 (Years 1 and 2), Milestone 2 (Years 3 and 4) and Milestone 3 (Years 5 and 6). Within each Milestone, children develop knowledge and transferable skills, and work their way through 3 developmental stages; Basic, Advancing and Deep.
The Art and Design taught in EYFS is governed by the Early Years Foundation Stage document.
