Please click the link to open the Mill Lane Primary School Art Curriculum document:

MLPS Art Curriculum

Intent

At Mill Lane Primary School we want to inspire our children to aspire and for our children to dream big through our delivery of the creative arts. Our high-quality art curriculum and planned cross-curricular links provide a real purpose to our children’s creative projects.  It is intended to encourage creativity and individuality in their works.  Through learning about a wide range of art and crafts, produced by different artists and cultures, they will not only grow to love the subject and become passionate about it, but also develop a respect for it and a lifelong appreciation of art.

The National Curriculum for art and design 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.

Our goal is to offer an art and design curriculum that builds on a child’s early creative experiences and gives them the tools they need to express themselves in meaningful and motivating ways.  In the EYFS, this is done through Expressive Arts and Design. Our EYFS follows a child-initiated approach which allows expressive art and design to flourish throughout the different learning areas. 

Our art curriculum aims to stimulate imagination and creativity; involving children in a range of visual, tactile and sensory experiences, which enable them to communicate what they see, think and feel in a range of ways, regardless of their ability.  It is imperative to us that our children are able to explore their creativity through a range of materials.  Mill Lane Primary School, promotes careful observation and an appreciation of the world around us.  We aim for children to investigate the effects art has had on modern life as well as on other eras and cultures by learning about the roles and functions of art.

At Mill Lane Primary School, we aim to provide an art and design curriculum which develops learning and results in pupils knowing more, remembering more and understanding how the knowledge and skills can be applied in their own art work.

Our goal is that children at Mill Lane Primary School are taught that art can tell a story and communicate a message. They can explore the meaning behind art by taking on the role of art critics themselves and discover how each of us can view a piece of art differently. Children strengthen their understanding of respect and empathy by examining their own and others’ work, making aesthetic judgements and participating in discussions about art and artists. 

Children frequently have the chance to use their art skills to help their learning in other subjects and are not limited to using them only in art lessons.   Using creativity throughout the entire curriculum enables all students, regardless of ability, to apply what they have learned into practise and reinforce important concepts. It can help bring important ideas to life and give pupils useful, alternate ways to document and show their learning.

Implementation

The Mill Lane Primary School art curriculum is fit for purpose and ensures full curriculum coverage.  Art and design is taught in termly blocks focusing on knowledge and skills stated in the National Curriculum.  The National Curriculum objectives are broken down into key areas so that children develop their theoretical knowledge (inspiration) by researching and developing ideas; build their practical knowledge (skills) through experimenting and responding to research; apply and create using their new skills; before evaluating using their disciplinary knowledge (aspiration).  This cycle of learning helps us to know more, remember more and understanding how the knowledge and skills can be applied in their own art work.  An example of how this cycle works in our school can be seen below:

Various media types are explored within each unit to give the widest possible range of experiences for all children.  The materials and media used are revisited throughout units and year groups to ensure progression of skills previously developed.  Children have access to key knowledge and vocabulary in order to understand and readily apply new terminology to their work in art and across the wider curriculum.

To ensure high standards of teaching and learning in art and design, Mill Lane have developed and implemented a curriculum that is progressive throughout the whole school. 

Activities in each unit build upon the prior learning of the children and develop the use of progressive vocabulary throughout. We give children of all abilities the opportunity to develop their skills, knowledge and understanding so that the children are increasingly challenged as they move through the school.

The most current documents are available at the top of this page.  The curriculum map helps to show the progression planned across the whole school in terms of their theoretical, practical and disciplinary knowledge.  Below is an example of Mill Lane’s termly break down the national curriculum objective.  We plan out the theoretical knowledge needed (referred to as our inspiration); their practical knowledge (which we call skills); before evaluating using their disciplinary knowledge (which we refer to as our aspiration for our art).  At each stage, relevant vocabulary is planned into the unit.

Impact

If you were to walk into art lessons at Mill Lane, you would see:

  • Clear skills being taught.
  • Children using a variety of visual aids and artists work as inspiration.
  • Sketchbooks used for designing and planning.
  • A range of materials and resources used throughout the year.
  • Children confident to express what has gone well in their designs and what can be improved.
  • Children reflecting on their own art work and editing where necessary.

At Mill Lane Primary School, we are able to measure the impact that art and design has had for all children by:

  • Determining the extent to which objectives are met within each lesson and at the end of each unit.
  • Summative assessment of pupil discussions about their learning.
  • Images of the children’s practical learning which may include looking at photos, sketchbooks, Evidence Me, feedback or iPad work.
  • Interviewing the pupils about their learning (pupil voice).
  • Moderation staff meetings where pupil’s books are scrutinised and there is the opportunity for a dialogue between teachers to understand their class’s work.
  • Annual reporting of standards across the curriculum.

A recent pupil voice survey found that children in our school say that they love art at Mill Lane because…

I like being able to research other ideas and then design my own. It is helpful to design them first before making them so you know what you are going to do.”

I like being able to express yourself and my ideas.”