Art & Design
At Maynards Green Primary school, we value Art and Design as an important part of the children’s entitlement to a broad and balanced curriculum. Art and Design provides the children with the opportunities to develop and extend skills and express their individual interests, thoughts and ideas. Art and design embody some of the highest forms of human creativity. A high-quality art and design education should engage, inspire and challenge pupils, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to experiment, invent and create their own works of art and design. As pupils progress, they should be able to think critically and develop a more rigorous understanding of art and design. They should also know how art and design both reflect and shape our history, and contribute to the culture, creativity and wealth of our nation.
Art
“Creativity takes courage.” – Henri Matisse
Intent - What we want our children to achieve
At Maynards Green our art curriculum is designed to encourage creativity and personal expression in our children and to equip them with the confidence, skill sets and artistic experiences they need to fuel their imagination and allow them to flourish as artists.
Implementation - How we teach ART
Our children begin their journey as artists in Reception, exploring the world around them and expressing themselves through creating in two and three dimensions on a small and large scale. As they progress through the school, we continue to develop their artistic skills through using new media such as pencils, chalk, pastels, paints, clay, fabric and mosaics; using them to try out new skills and techniques in drawing, painting, printing, textiles, collage, 3D and sculpture.
We inspire in our children an appreciation of the arts by teaching them about art from other cultures and periods of time, as well as introducing them to the works of great artists. This develops their cultural understanding as well as equipping them with the confidence and artistic vocabulary to reflect upon and evaluate their own and others work.
Impact - What you will see
When you walk into an art lesson at Maynards Green, you will see excited and enthusiastic artists who want to discover, explore and express themselves and who are not afraid to try new things. Children are clear about the intended outcomes for a lesson or series of lessons which provides them with a measure against which to evaluate, reflect upon and then suggest improvements for their own or others' work.
Children demonstrate respect and responsibility for their work by having their own sketch books that follow them through the school and allow space to explore ideas and techniques. This is a meaningful and continuous process which evidences progression of skills and knowledge across the strands of art as well as age-related verbal and written reflections.
Design and Technology
“Design is not just what it looks and feels like. Design is how it works.”
― Steve Jobs
Intent -What we want our children to achieve
The DT curriculum at Maynards Green is designed to encourage children to be creative, innovative take risks as they become designers and makers of purposeful products. By setting the children focused and achievable projects we enable them to develop into confident designers.
Implementation - How we teach DT
Our children begin their journey as designers in the Early Years, where they are encouraged to show an interest in technological toys and explore different materials, tools and techniques for building things. They are limited only by their imagination whilst playing and exploring in the woodwork, mud kitchen and construction areas. As they progress through the school they continue to develop their creative skills, designing and making things through a selection of engaging and practical projects involving, construction, mechanics, textiles and cooking.
Each lesson or series of lessons will provide opportunities for children to Analyse existing products, Explore the how the design could be replicated, Design, Make and Evaluate their own product. Lessons also promote life skills such as positive problem solving, teamwork, creativity and independence and call on skills and knowledge gained from other areas of the curriculum i.e. science, maths, computing, art and literacy for example some food technology lessons are taught alongside science, especially when we are thinking about healthy eating and nutrition.
Impact - What you will see
When you walk into a DT lesson at Maynards Green, you will see designers who have an awareness of environmental issues, who think creatively about how to solve problems, and aren’t afraid to take risks. Children work well independently or as part of a team to create their products and overcome any setbacks or frustrations they may encounter in the course of completing the project, demonstrating our school values of Respect, Responsibility and Resilience.
Children are clear about the intended outcomes for a lesson or series of lessons which provides them with a measure against which to evaluate, reflect upon and then suggest improvements for their own or others' work.
SEND in Art & Design
To enable all children to benefit from the positive impact that creative expression can have on self-esteem and to ensure that all learners are provided with the agency needed to develop and communicate their personal ideas observations and creations, we consider the following factors in planning and delivering lessons.
An Inclusive Environment
- The practical layout of the room and seating - ensure we remove barriers to learning for children with physical disabilities and or sensory needs as well as those with social and emotional needs who may struggle with group or solo working
- Testing a practical lesson to identify techniques or tasks which may need to adapted or whether pre-teaching may be required for some learners
An Accessible Curriculum
- Strategies to Scaffold Learning - These could include visual aids (word banks, Widget instructions, First, Next, last), modelling, embedding key vocabulary sharing outcomes from the previous lesson's work as a memory aid. Paired and small group work. Pre and post teaching.
- Equipment - Ensure any equipment to be used is fully accessible to all and make adaptations for individuals as necessary. Introduce each piece of equipment separately (name, explain and model use).
- Time - Allow sufficient time to encourage talking, thinking and idea sharing (possibly adapting the lesson into chunks). Take time to demonstrate each element of a process - step by step approach. Movement breaks for those who need it.
Safeguarding in Art & Design
Equipment - Before each lesson children are taught how to use equipment and resources safely and with respect and how to share them with their peers.
Mental Health and Well-being - We recognise that artistic expression can be a method for helping children to relax, express feelings and anxieties and as a venue for them talk to their peers and staff openly. To support this all children from EYFS to Year 6 that lessons are a place for acceptance, whether that be of each others' work or that of recognised artist or pieces from other cultures. This complements our School Values and the teaching of our PHSE Curriculum.
