Art
Statement of Intent
At Hill Top Primary Academy our intent is to develop in children an enjoyment of Art and an excitement about being creative. They will be provided with a wide variety of experiences which allow them to develop and extend skills and express their individual interests, thought and ideas.
We believe that a high-quality art and design education should develop creativity, engage, inspire and challenge pupils, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to experiment, invent and create their own works of art, craft and design. As pupils progress, they should be able to think critically and develop a more rigorous understanding of art and design. Children will be introduced to a range of works and develop knowledge of the styles and vocabulary used by famous artists.
Implementation
The teaching of Art at Hill Top is linked closely to our chosen topics from the International Primary Curriculum. We provide all children with a broad balanced curriculum which allows them to develop knowledge and skills in all areas of Art while endeavouring to cover the National Curriculum and the EYFS curriculum. Our progression document shows the expectations for the coverage of skills and knowledge in each year group and can be used by each individual teacher to plan for the needs of the children in their class, linking to their IPC topics where possible, while ensuring the skills and knowledge taught are progressive across year groups.
During an Olympic year, each year group will cover The Olympics through a cross-curricular approach which includes the Arts. For the following three years at least one of our IPC topics each year will be heavily Art based. This allows the children to become fully immersed in the Art curriculum and gives them time to build on their knowledge and skills from previous year groups. It also ensures that Art and Design is given a similar status to core subjects and allows children to gain from ‘real life’ experiences.
Children showing aptitude in Art and Design are celebrated in weekly celebration assemblies which parents attend. Parents are also invited to join our IPC exit points where the children’s topic related artwork is celebrated. Examples of Artwork are displayed around school and students have the opportunity to take part in local competitions. Staff make use of our outside areas when planning art activities and Art plays a regular part in the Year 3 experience of Forest School.
The children's learning is further enhanced with a whole school Arts Week in the spring term where the children have the opportunity to explore the different styles and techniques of a range of artists; local, national and international.
We are currently involved in the process of applying for the Artsmark award which is instrumental in raising the profile of Art within our school. As a result of this application we are in the process of developing links with outside Arts based agencies in the local area. Staff are encouraged to plan Art trips and visitors as appropriate to their topics.