Art

Intent

“Our creativity is part of our humanity. If we fail to provide opportunities for pupils to develop their creativity, we are not only letting them down, but we are negatively affecting future society. That’s how important teaching art is.”

We use the ‘Access Art’ Curriculum resources to assist with planning of art teaching and learning across the school. Our intent is that all children will have the opportunity to explore, to question and to make. We will create a safe structure through which ALL teachers feel able to facilitate: Creative risk taking & willingness to experiment, a journey of self-discovery and re-invention creative & critical thinking skills, a journey which allows for the development of each child as an individual and an artist.

Implementation

Access Art provide a wealth of resources to support teaching and subject knowledge. Every child at Laddingford has their own sketch book and sketch book behaviour is encouraged from Early Years. The national curriculum is delivered through a two year rolling programme of content, which sits alongside a progression in skills. The rolling programme is available for all year groups on our website and in Appendix B of this document. The rolling programme ensures that children get experience of each of the strands below each year. This ensures that their learning in Art is progressive, continuously building on skills learned before and also that it covers a broad range, both in terms of techniques and artists. Children learning about a diverse cross section of artists and designers throughout their time at Laddingford.

SEND and Vulnerable Pupils

Art is a form of self expression. All children can achieve in art, their skills may progress at different rates but all children are provided with the same opportunities to access the art curriculum and to begin to not only develop technical competency but also to  find the value in art as a tool for personal expression and freedom.

Impact

Children use sketchbooks as a matter of course, for artistic development but also to ‘think around’ other subjects. They have well-honed practical art skills alongside an understanding that art is a space for freedom of expression. They know that whilst individual skills can be practiced and improved and different techniques learned, there are no wrong answers when it comes to artistic expression. Children understand that art, like music, is a way in which people have explored the world and their place in it, and they have the opportunity to do the same.

Design and Technology

Intent

Our intention is to provide children with a real-life context for learning. As an inspiring and practical subject, we intend to prepare children to deal with an ever-changing technological world, encouraging them to become creative and resourceful problem solvers, working both independently and as members of a team. We teach them to be inspired by real world opportunities and relevant problems, identifying needs and developing a range of ideas and solutions in a variety of contexts. By researching past and present technologies, applying knowledge learnt across other areas of the curriculum, children build their confidence, resilience, practical and analytical skills. Furthermore, they learn to overcome challenges and improve designs and products, all the while finding motivation and meaning for their learning

Implementation

We base our DT planning on the D and T association’s projects on a page, children complete 3 DT projects each term, one of which is a food technology project. Research suggests D&T is one of primary-aged children’s favourite subjects. Projects on a Page maximises their enjoyment by providing scope for teachers to meet children’s needs and interests through creative and motivating projects within a range of contexts. Projects on a Page is based on the six essentials of good practice in D&T. These need to be in place in teachers' planning to ensure children’s learning is genuinely design and technological in nature. They are consistent with the new National Curriculum requirements and are applied whenever children are designing and making products:

· User – children should have a clear idea of who they are designing and making products for, considering their needs, wants, interests or preferences. The user could be themselves, an imaginary character, another person, client, consumer or a specific target audience.

· Purpose – children should know what the products they design and make are for. Each product should perform a clearly defined task that can be evaluated in use.

· Functionality – children should design and make products that function in some way to be successful. Products often combine aesthetic qualities with functional characteristics. In D&T, it is insufficient for children to design and make products which are purely aesthetic.

· Design Decisions – when designing and making, children need opportunities to make informed decisions such as selecting materials, components and techniques and deciding what form the products will take, how they will work, what task they will perform and who they are for.

· Innovation – when designing and making, children need some scope to be original with their thinking. Projects that encourage innovation lead to a range of design ideas and products being developed, characterised by engaging, open-ended starting points for children's learning.

· Authenticity – children should design and make products that are believable, real and meaningful to themselves i.e. not replicas or reproductions or models which do not provide opportunities for children to make design decisions with clear users and purposes in mind.

SEND and Vulnerable Pupils

Careful planning and opportunities for collaborative working allow all children to access the design and technology curriculum. Where necessary pre teaching of key concepts and vocabulary may be required to support specific children.

Impact

Projects on a Page provides progression and coverage of the new NC programmes of study for KS1 and 2. For each planner, National Curriculum coverage is indicated in Key Learning in D&T, this sets out what children should have previously learnt and summarises what they will learn through the project. This indicates an appropriate expectation for children’s learning according to their ages and ensures that knowledge is built sequentially. A rolling programme and skills progression are on the school website.