Art & Design

Intent

"Every child is an artist" - Pablo Picasso 

Here at St. John’s, have designed a curriculum that provides children with the opportunity to explore their own creative energy. We concur with the notion that all children are artists and should be treated as such. We believe all children have a right to an excellent and rigorous art education. Art is taught as a distinct subject which enables us to make teaching and learning focussed on clear progression. 

We treat learners as artists; we commit them to our process and celebrate their work.  

Implementation

Our curriculum has been reinvigorated and designed through collaboration of teachers and external experts, ready for pupils to engage with. As a result, all pupils are assigned three artists and art pieces each year to use as inspiration for their artistic progress. From Year One, children use personal sketch books weekly to showcase their progressive art skills with use of multi-media. These skill-based lessons feed into a more in depth Art Day every other half term, in which class teachers and pupils are fully immersed into an artistic day for individuals and whole groups to flourish. Emphasis is made on process, where pupils are encouraged to take risks and try new things. From this, pupil's work is displayed in both classrooms and around school. 

Impact

Pupils at St John's show an appreciation of the subject of Art. Each year group gains new and transformative skills and knowledge from topics covered, from EYFS to Y6. It is understood by learners that without process, there can be no outcome, therefore our routine of committing to weekly sketchbook use has had an extremely strong impact on pupil's understanding of being an artist. Our pupils gain confidence from showcasing their wonderful work in unison with classmates and other year groups on Art Day and also on our Wonderful Working Walls throughout school. Studying Art at St John's aids pupils to become holistic learners, as well as being aware of various cultures. We hope that our curriculum further inspires our learners to go on and explore their own artistic abilities once throughout their education.