St Winifred’s Catholic Primary School
Art and Design Policy
Art is a vital part of the Primary curriculum as it provides a means of expression for all children, regardless of their competence in verbal and written communication.
It is a practical subject which stimulates creativity and imagination through the use of a wide range of materials. Art is very effective as a cross-curricular link, adding to children’s experiences and depth of understanding in other areas of their learning, from creating their own artwork and artefacts to the experience of museum and gallery trips.
Art and design offers opportunities to:
- equip children with the skills, concepts and knowledge necessary for them to express their responses to ideas, feelings and experiences in a visual and tactile form;
- develop children’s understanding of colour, form, texture, pattern and their ability to use materials and processes to communicate ideas, feelings and meaning;
- be able to identify and appreciate the work of other artists which reflect diversity;
- develop skills in drawing, painting, sculpture and craft and design using a variety of materials, enabling them to become independent learners;
- help children to develop socially through collaborative working;
- develop children’s awareness that the process of creating art is equally as valuable as the finished product.
- For children to be given a visually stimulating environment and to have the opportunity to work from direct experience of natural and made objects and environments;
- Children will be given opportunities to work as individuals and collaboratively;
- Children will be given opportunities to attend educational visits to galleries, museums and historical sites to explore the work of artists, sculptors and crafts people to examine relevant artefacts;
- For children to develop a technical art vocabulary as well as expressing their feelings and ideas in a non-verbal way;
- Children will be given opportunities to use ICT to express their ideas through paint programmes and the use of digital cameras and ipads;
- Children will be encouraged to gain a sense of pride and achievement in their own art work and pleasure in sharing it with a wider audience.
Monitoring and Assessment
It is the responsibility of the Art Co-ordinator to:
- monitor the Art and Design curriculum through updating the school’s policy, close communication with other teachers and staff, observation of children’s work and photographs of display work;
- provide INSET training where appropriate. Where possible time will be made available to allow the co-ordinator opportunities to visit other classes, enabling monitoring and support to take place more effectively;
- when assessing children’s work, teachers should take into account ongoing work in sketchbooks as well as other artwork completed throughout the year;
- at the end of each term, teachers to record children’s working at a typical, above or below expectation within their year group.