Art & Design at Grenoside Community Primary School

Statement of intent for art and design

At Grenoside we believe that art and design is a vital part of every child’s education and has a significant and valuable role in our curriculum. The art and design curriculum develops each child’s artistic skills and vocabulary as well as their understanding of their own and others’ cultural heritages through studying a diverse range of artists.

Children will develop their understanding of the visual language of art with effective teaching and consistent sequences of lessons and experiences. Understanding of the visual elements of art and design (colour, form, shape, line, pattern, texture and tone) will be developed by providing a meaningful and engaging curriculum which will enable children to reach their full potential; enabling the children to know more, remember more and understand more. 

The skills and knowledge that children will learn and develop throughout each art study are displayed within the Art and Design Whole School Curriculum document; based on the National Curriculum. The emphasis on knowledge ensures that children understand the context of the artwork, as well as the artists that they are learning about and being inspired by. There are opportunities for cross-curricular links, including History, with children developing a considerable knowledge of individual artists as well as individual works and art movements. A similar focus on skills means that children are given opportunities to express their creative imagination, as well as practise and develop mastery in all areas of art and design.

Statement of implementation for art and design

The Grenoside teaching sequence for art consists of four developmental stages:

1. Inspiration: Artist(s) or designer(s) are used to engage and provoke inspiration. They are researched and studied before evaluating and critiquing their work; focusing on the application of taught specific art vocabulary. This is recorded age appropriately in sketch books.
2. Design and Skill: The focused skill(s) and crucial knowledge are taught and practised in isolation to develop fluency.
3. Creation: The final piece of artwork is created with the application of crucial knowledge and the key skill(s) taught.
4. Reflection and Presentation: Time is given to focus on reflecting upon and critiquing the pupils finalised art piece; where in some cases a presentation and celebration of their artwork will take place.

Sketchbooks are labelled as art and design books and they are introduced in year 1 and used through to year 6 to allow pupils to build on their personal learning journey and will showcase their learning and progress through the four sequential stages. Knowledge organisers are used in sketchbooks to introduce every new unit of learning from year 1 to year 6.

Coordinated whole-school project work ensures that art is given high status in the curriculum; the whole school takes part in the ‘Grenoside Art and Design Day’ annually which enables further focus on children’s artistic skills and knowledge with a whole school theme to explore. The Grenoside Art and Design Day encourages children to discover their artist within and allows children to appreciate art as a profession in a variety of contexts.

The school’s high quality art curriculum is supported through the availability of a wide range of quality resources, which are used to support children’s confidence in the use of different media.

Statement of impact for art and design

Classroom art and design displays reflect the children’s sense of pride in their artwork and shows how they are encouraged to use their imagination and creative ideas to explore a range of media and materials. The wider school environment celebrates children’s achievements in art and design and demonstrates the subject’s value to the curriculum at Grenoside. Children’s individual sketchbooks celebrate their personal artistic journey as they progress through school and deepen their art and design capital. The art and design curriculum at Grenoside contributes to all children’s personal development in communication, co-operation, self-esteem, creativity, independence and reflection. The children at Grenoside are able to discuss their knowledge and skill development in art with confidence, showing good understanding of their art and design learning.