“Every child is an artist.”
Pablo Picasso
At Cavendish Church of England Primary School, Art and Design gives children the freedom to explore, imagine, create and communicate.
We want every child to see themselves as someone who can make creative choices, develop ideas and express something of themselves and the world around them. Through Art, children learn that creativity involves curiosity, experimentation, perseverance and reflection, and that there is value in trying, adapting and developing an idea over time.
Art and Design reflects our school vision: We Learn. We Love. We Belong. Children learn new knowledge, techniques and ways of seeing; they encounter and value the creativity of others; and they develop confidence in expressing their own ideas and identity.
Our Art and Design Curriculum
We use the Kapow Primary Art and Design mixed-age curriculum, carefully organised into a two-year Cycle A and Cycle B programme to meet the needs of our mixed-age classes.
Our curriculum is aligned with the National Curriculum and is designed so that children progressively develop their knowledge, practical skills, artistic vocabulary and creative thinking.
Children experience a broad range of artistic disciplines, including:
- drawing;
- painting and colour;
- sculpture and three-dimensional work;
- printmaking;
- textiles and mixed media; and
- other creative processes and techniques.
Alongside developing practical expertise, children explore the work of artists, craftspeople and designers from different times, traditions and cultures. They learn to look carefully, discuss what they notice and consider the ideas, techniques, experiences and contexts that may have influenced a piece of work.
Children revisit important skills and concepts throughout the curriculum, applying them with increasing control, confidence, independence and purpose.
Our Mixed-Age Class Structure
Our Art and Design curriculum is carefully organised around the mixed-age structure of Cavendish.
Robins – EYFS, Year 1 and Year 2
Children explore colour, pattern, line, shape, texture, materials and three-dimensional form through practical and open-ended experiences. Reception children's learning remains rooted in the EYFS, while Year 1 and Year 2 pupils begin to use a wider range of techniques purposefully and talk about their own work and the work of artists.
Wrens – Year 3 and Year 4
Children develop greater control over materials and techniques and begin to make increasingly deliberate artistic choices. They explore artists and artistic traditions in greater depth, experiment with ideas and use their developing knowledge to create and refine their own work.
Owls – Year 5 and Year 6
Children work with increasing independence, confidence and sophistication. They draw upon previous learning, select materials and techniques purposefully, develop ideas over time and increasingly explain, evaluate and refine their artistic choices.
Our two-year rolling programme ensures appropriate National Curriculum coverage while avoiding unnecessary repetition. Teachers adapt modelling, scaffolding, vocabulary and levels of independence according to pupils' prior knowledge and needs.
Developing Ideas and Artistic Thinking
At Cavendish, Art is about much more than producing a finished picture.
Children are taught to explore, experiment, practise, make choices, reflect and refine. They learn that artists develop ideas over time and that experimentation and changes of direction are an important part of the creative process.
As pupils progress through school, they increasingly record and develop their ideas, observations and experimentation. In Key Stage 2, sketchbooks provide an important space in which pupils can investigate techniques, practise skills, collect ideas and develop their thinking before and during a final piece.
We value the creative journey as much as the finished outcome.
The Cavendish 5 in Art and Design
As in all subjects at Cavendish, our Cavendish 5 underpin high-quality teaching and learning in Art.
Retrieval
Children revisit artists, vocabulary, materials, techniques and prior learning so that new knowledge connects securely with previous experience.
I Do, We Do, You Do
Teachers explicitly model techniques and processes, explore them alongside pupils and gradually support children towards increasingly independent artistic choices.
Purposeful Practice
Children are given time to practise and experiment with techniques before applying them within more developed pieces of work.
High-Quality Questioning
Children are encouraged to observe closely, interpret, compare, explain choices, make connections and evaluate how effectively different techniques communicate ideas.
Feedback
Feedback and reflection help children refine techniques, reconsider choices and develop their ideas. Children learn that improving a piece of work is part of the creative process rather than evidence that something has gone wrong.
Art and Design in the Early Years
Creativity is an important part of children's learning from the moment they begin at Cavendish.
Within the EYFS, children explore Art predominantly through Expressive Arts and Design, supported by experiences across Physical Development and Understanding the World.
Children have opportunities to make marks, mix colours, manipulate materials, construct, create patterns and explore different textures and tools.
Adults model techniques and introduce artistic vocabulary while protecting children's opportunities to experiment, make choices and develop their own ideas.
These early experiences build the confidence, physical control and creative curiosity upon which later Art and Design learning is developed.
Artists, Culture and the Wider World
Art provides children with a powerful way of understanding people, places, cultures and experiences beyond their own.
Throughout our curriculum, children encounter a diverse range of artists, craftspeople and designers, helping them understand that art has been created by people across cultures, communities and periods of history for many different purposes.
We encourage children to look beyond simply whether they “like” a piece of art. They learn to ask questions, notice detail, consider context and think about what an artist may be communicating.
In doing so, children learn both to appreciate the creativity of others and recognise that their own creative voice has value.
Inclusion in Art and Design
Art and Design is for every child.
Teachers remove barriers through explicit modelling, carefully selected resources, adapted equipment, visual support, vocabulary teaching, additional rehearsal and appropriate scaffolding.
Children may access materials and techniques in different ways while continuing to engage with the same important artistic knowledge and creative intentions.
Support does not mean reducing ambition. Pupils who are secure in their learning are challenged through greater independence, more sophisticated choices, experimentation, refinement and increasingly thoughtful evaluation.
We want all children to experience the satisfaction of creating something that represents their thinking and their choices.
Assessment in Art and Design
Assessment takes place throughout the creative process.
Teachers use observation, questioning, discussion, sketchbooks, experimentation, practical work and completed outcomes to understand what children know and can do.
We consider children's developing ability to:
- use artistic vocabulary accurately;
- recall knowledge about artists, materials and techniques;
- control and manipulate different media;
- explore and develop ideas;
- make purposeful artistic choices;
- apply previously learned techniques;
- reflect upon and refine their work; and
- talk thoughtfully about their own work and the work of others.
Assessment in Art does not depend upon whether an adult considers a finished piece attractive. We value children's knowledge, developing technique, creative decision-making and ability to explain and refine their ideas.
Art and Design and Our Christian Vision
Art provides rich opportunities for wonder, reflection and self-expression.
Through encountering art and creating their own, children are encouraged to notice the beauty, diversity and complexity of the world and to recognise the creativity and dignity of others.
Art allows children to explore ideas about identity, belonging, community and the world around them. It provides opportunities to encounter experiences and perspectives different from their own and to respond with curiosity and respect.
Our Christian vision reminds us that every child is known and valued. In Art, this means creating an environment in which children's individual ideas are respected, creativity can flourish and there is not simply one “right” way to express an idea.
The Impact of Art and Design at Cavendish
By the time children leave Cavendish, we want them to be confident, curious and thoughtful artists.
They should have secure experience of a broad range of materials and techniques, knowledge of artists and creative traditions, and the confidence to develop and communicate their own ideas.
They should be able to experiment without fear of getting something “wrong”, make purposeful creative choices, evaluate their work thoughtfully and recognise that ideas can be developed and improved over time.
Above all, we want children to leave Cavendish understanding that creativity belongs to everyone and that their ideas, experiences and perspectives are worth expressing.
We Learn. We Love. We Belong.