Art

 

Subject leader: Mrs Trounson

Our art curriculum intent

At Porthleven School we aim to offer a high-quality Art and Design education that inspires and empowers children to be creative. Our curriculum, encourages our children to become confident and creative artists. We want them to enjoy Art and Design and feel confident to express their creativity in an environment where they can make ‘happy accidents’ as they become resilient learners. Around our school there is a buzz of excitement when children are in Art and Design lessons as they encourage each other to show off their creativity and celebrate their own and others’ success. Through our Art and Design curriculum, we want children to be ambitious for the future by learning about the world around them through a creative eye.

Where possible and appropriate, links across the curriculum are made to other subjects such as English or History. There are also opportunities for inspiration as children explore local studios and attend workshops by local artists.

The Porthleven Way

We embed the culture of the Porthleven Way into our teaching of Art by linking its affirmations and principles to creativity and expression.

Children explore how artists throughout history have responded to the world around them, using art to document events, express emotions, and inspire change. They learn that experimentation, reflection, and learning from mistakes are essential parts of the creative process, leading to deeper understanding and artistic growth. We want children to feel safe in expressing themselves through art, developing confidence in their abilities while embracing challenges. Through exploring a range of styles, techniques, and cultural influences, they develop a sense of belonging in a world rich in artistic diversity.

We encourage children to take responsibility for their artistic journey, developing independence in using a variety of materials, tools, and techniques. They explore different media, including paint, charcoal, pastels, and sculpture, while also learning how to research and take inspiration from artists using books and digital resources. Art lessons are designed to be engaging and exploratory, fostering curiosity, creativity, and self-expression.

Creativity extends beyond the classroom through our ‘topic homework choosing grid,’ encouraging children to continue their artistic exploration at home. By the time they leave our school, children will understand how art can communicate ideas, reflect cultures, and open doors to future creative opportunities in our vibrant, diverse world. Most importantly, they will learn that art is a powerful way to express themselves, connect with others, and make a meaningful impact. At Porthleven School, we want our children to feel empowered and confident in their ability to achieve anything they set their minds to as developing artists. Our curriculum ensures that Porthleven children fell they can be highly creative, inventive and proficient artists equipped to be critical thinkers, with the knowledge of great artists and their cultural origins.

What will children experience through art at Porthleven?

We follow a split curriculum in Art and Design where Art and Design alternates with Design and Technology every half term. Art and Design is taught at the beginning of each term with a whole school focus:

• Autumn term 1 is ‘Drawing and Sketchbooks’,
• Spring term 1 is ‘Painting and mixed media’
• Summer term 1 is ‘Sculpture and 3D’.

We follow the Kapow approach to learning where each area of focus is broken down into units for each year group where there is a progression of skills and knowledge drops. Each unit has a specific focus on an artist where the children make visual notes to develop their understanding. The children learn about artists such as Andy Warhol and Georgia O’Keefe to understand how they influenced art in the past and how we can still be influenced by them now. The children then feel safe to take risks to develop and try out the artist approach. We also learn about contemporary artists as they are important to learn about so the children can be inspired by and relate to them.

EYFS

In Nursery and Reception, Art plays a vital role in the Early Years Learning Goal: Expressive Arts and Design. Children have daily opportunities to explore a variety of artistic materials, such as paint, collage, charcoal, pastels, chalk, felt tips, and pencils, which encourage creativity and self-expression. These hands-on experiences support the development of both fine and gross motor skills through creating artwork of different scales, both indoors and outdoors.

There are opportunities for children to focus on a particular artist, giving children the chance to explore different artistic styles, techniques, and processes. This helps them develop new skills, build confidence in their creative abilities, and learn how to incorporate their knowledge into their own artwork.

KS1&2

Key skills have been identified across the school and implemented through our curriculum to ensure progression. From Year 1 onwards, the children have sketchbooks where they can practise and develop these skills over a sequence of lessons. In each lesson there is an opportunity for the children to reflect on their work and the work of their peers helping them to become responsible learners . At the end of each unit, children invite their parents into school for a ‘class crit,’ where they proudly share their artwork and reflect on their creative journey. Using their sketchbooks and final pieces, they demonstrate their progress, discuss the skills they have developed, and showcase their achievements.

During their time with us at Porthleven School, children will cover every aspect of the Art National Curriculum. The exciting and creative units we follow include drawing “What can I see”, painting and mixed media ‘Colour splash’, “portraits ‘, sculpture “ life in colour”

Curriculum impact

At the start of each unit, teachers establish the starting point for each child and ensure that all lessons taught are relevant and developmental, and consideration is given to how greater depth will be reached within each lesson, as well as how learners will be supported in line with the school’s commitment to inclusion.

Assessment for Learning (Daily in class)

• Teachers have their own sketchbook to model the skills to children using the visualiser. Teachers assess through the lesson and give the children feedback. They revisit the skill in their sketchbook if needed.
• Teachers give individual feedback to the children throughout the lesson but never make marks in the children’s sketchbooks. If they need to give written feedback, the teacher uses a post it note.
• Pupil self-assessment and peer-assessment against success criteria
• Targeted questioning
• ‘Class crit’ at the end of a unit with parents invited into school
• Examples of children’s work to be shown under the visualiser.

Formative Assessment

• Teacher to assess each child at the start of a new unit.
• Learning in Art and Design is evidenced in our learning conversations (adult/child, child/child, etc).
• Learning in Art and Design is evidenced in targeted questioning and response.