Art and Design

Curriculum

At Milton Primary Academy, we provide an art and design curriculum that is creative, inclusive, challenging and inspired by the real-world. It inspires future-thinkers, innovators and problem solvers in an immersive environment that stimulates curiosity and supports high-quality learning, allowing each and every learner to fulfil their potential, all whilst fully meeting the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Framework and National Curriculum. 

Our curriculum aims to ensure that all pupils:

• 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.

Art and Design Programme of Study

Our programme of study for art and design was developed internally and it clearly sets out what will be taught and learnt at each point in the year for all year groups, including a range of famous artists. Although this bespoke programme of study is the 'spine' of our art and design curriculum, as it sets out the essential knowledge and skills that pupils must be taught and learn, teachers have the autonomy to make their own judgement as to the best way to achieve this and they enrich the content with a range of high-quality resources from a range of different sources.

Sketchbooks

Pupils in Years 1 - 6 each have their own personal art sketchbook that follows them on their journey through our school. Although sketchbooks record the thinking process which often leads to art outcomes, the sketchbooks themselves often become an art form. 

Children use sketchbooks for many different purposes during our art and design lessons, and these include:

• developing and organising their thinking;
• developing and improving their designs;
• evaluating and assessing their own work and that of other artists;
• experimenting with materials, media and colour;
• capturing and recording their imaginative ideas;
• collecting images to inform the development of their work;
• organising their thinking through annotation, labels, thought bubbles and listing intentions;
• recording their responses to looking at works of art, craft and design;
• sharing their designs and planning with others;
• drawings or notes;
• etchings.

Assessment

During the teaching of each curriculum objective, children’s subject knowledge and artistic ability will be assessed using formative evaluation by their class teacher on a lesson-by-lesson basis. Teachers consider the objectives covered during each session and the end-goal that is to be achieved; in doing so, they will then make judgements that are subsequently used to inform future teaching based on the children’s artistic competencies relating to the piece of art produced or explored.

Where possible, children will receive verbal feedback during the lesson, based on the knowledge they are learning and developing.

• Written marking or critique by a peer will take the form of a post-it note in children’s sketchbooks. Children take great pride in their composition and presentation of their sketchbooks, and therefore we believe that writing a comment on the pages of a child’s sketchbook may be viewed as a lack of respect for their efforts.

At the end of each unit of learning, teachers then make a summative judgement relating to each child’s knowledge and understanding of artistic context and composition in line with the objectives set out in the National Curriculum. This information is recorded online, allowing leaders to track and monitor the progress and attainment of individuals as they make their way through the school.