Art

Intent

At Dukesgate Academy, we believe that high-quality Art lessons will inspire children to think innovatively and develop creativity. Our Art curriculum provides children with opportunities to develop their skills using a range of media and materials. Children learn the skills of drawing, painting, printing, collage, textiles, 3D work and digital art. They are given the opportunity to explore and evaluate different creative ideas. Children will be introduced to a range of works and develop knowledge of the styles and vocabulary used by famous artists. The skills they acquire are applied to their cross-curricular topics, allowing children to use their art skills to reflect on and explore topics in greater depth; for example, by sketching historical artefacts in detail, researching geographical locations to support their work on landscape painting; or using art as a medium to express emotion and thought to enhance their personal, social and emotional development. In Art, children are expected to be reflective and evaluate their work, thinking about how they can make changes and keep improving. This should be meaningful and continuous throughout the process, with evidence of age-related verbal and written refection. Children are encouraged to take risks and experiment and then reflect on why some ideas and techniques are successful or not for a particular project.
 

Implementation

We teach a skills-based art curriculum, which allows children to express their creative imagination as well as providing them with opportunities to practise and develop mastery in the key processes of art: drawing, painting, printing, textiles and sculpture. This is supported through the study of key artists and the development of a knowledge of their work.

Lessons are taught in blocks on a half termly basis. These involve studying existing pieces of art and sketching aspects of them, with a particular focus on the necessary skills, before completing a final piece. The children will then be given constructive feedback and next steps, with further opportunities to create the art piece, to improve their work and ensure that their skills are being developed. The evidence of their work is collected within the art sketch book which follows the children through the school. Photographs of larger, group or 3D pieces are also kept within this book.