Aims and Objectives:

A high-quality education in Art and Design should engage, inspire and challenge pupils. The teaching and learning at Swalecliffe aims to equip our pupils with the knowledge and skills to experiment, invent and create their own works of art, craft and design. We encourage children to think critically and develop a more rigorous understanding of art and design as well as teach our pupils how art and design has shaped our history and contributes to the culture, creativity and wealth of our nation.

We aim 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.

Expectations:

Pupils at Swalecliffe Community Primary School are expected to explore, analyse and evaluate creative works communicating what they see, feel and think. Our pupils will develop an appreciation, critical awareness, knowledge and understanding of the work of great artists, craft makers and designers. Pupils are encouraged to use colour, pattern, texture, line, tone, shape, form, space and different materials and processes. As pupils progress through our school, they are given the opportunities to develop skills through the mediums of digital media, painting, printing, textiles, 3D art as well as collage. Where possible, we use our school grounds as well as our local environment as stimulus for creating or presenting our works of art. Our pupils explore and record their ideas and experiences in a variety of ways. From Year 3, pupils use a sketchbook which they are taught to use as a visual diary. Whilst pupils are given the opportunity to explore the works of famous artists, we also actively encourage pupils to continually evaluate and refine their own and others learning as it progresses, identifying successes as well as next step targets.

Art Exhibitions:

Every other year, our pupils invite their family and carers to a whole school art exhibition. This is a very popular and successful event which provides our pupils with an opportunity to share their masterpieces with the wider community. We have many framed pieces of our pupil’s artwork proudly displayed around our school.

In addition, our Year 1 team host a ‘Self-Portrait’ exhibition at a local gallery. Parents, carers and members of the public are invited to view and celebrate their amazing portraits.