Art     

What is the vision for Art & Design at The Phoenix Primary School and Nursery?

At Phoenix Primary School, our intent for the Art curriculum is to develop pupils' artistic skills, creativity, and appreciation for the visual arts, fostering a lifelong love of art. We aim to:

• Promote Creativity: Encourage pupils to express their thoughts, ideas and feelings through various artistic mediums, enabling them to find their unique voice in art.
• Enhance Cultural Understanding: Expose pupils to diverse artists, styles and cultural contexts, fostering appreciation and respect for art forms from around the world.
• Develop Technical Skills: Provide a structured approach to learning essential artistic techniques and skills, ensuring pupils can confidently explore their creativity with a solid foundation of skills.
• Encourage Critical Thinking: Foster an environment where pupils critically engage with their own work and that of others, nurturing their ability to analyse, evaluate and reflect on artistic processes and outcomes to develop their own individual style.
• Connect with Other Subjects: Integrating the Art curriculum with other subjects, not only builds meaningful cross curricular links but also deepens understanding, reinforces knowledge and helps children make connections across their learning.

How is this vision for Art & Design to be achieved?

Our approach to implementing the Art curriculum is systematic and innovative, reflecting current best practices that engage and inspire pupils. Key elements include:

• Curriculum Design: Our Art curriculum is carefully sequenced to build on prior knowledge and skills. We utilise the Kapow Art and Design scheme where each term focusses on a different discipline; painting and mixed media, sculpture and 3D, drawing and craft and design. Our curriculum is designed so that pupils can revisit and refine techniques, developing confidence, creativity and mastery over time.
• High-Quality Resources: We provide access to a wide range of high-quality materials and resources that inspire creativity and experimentation. This allows all children to have the widest possible range of experiences throughout their time at Phoenix.
• Skilled Teaching Staff: Our teachers are passionate and knowledgeable about art, equipped with ongoing professional development to enhance their teaching practices. Teachers are encouraged to make cross curricular links to allow all children to deepen their understanding across the curriculum.
• Regular Assessment: We use formative and summative assessment techniques to monitor pupil progress. Children have opportunities to reflect and develop their work through the use of self and peer assessment that is carefully integrated into lessons. The children are then able to use this to enhance their final pieces further.

How does the school know if the Art curriculum has been effective?

The impact of our Art curriculum is evidenced through the following outcomes:

• Pupil Engagement: Increased enthusiasm and engagement in artistic pursuits, demonstrated by high levels of participation in art lessons and extracurricular activities, such as art clubs and frequent competitions within the school.
• Pupil Confidence: By supporting and nurturing their artistic development during their time at Phoenix, pupils are able to take a real pride in their final pieces whilst recognising the hard work and resilience that got them to that stage.
• Skill Development: Pupils demonstrate clear progression in their artistic skills and understanding, as evidenced by their sketchbooks, which showcase a range of techniques, styles and artist studies.
• Cultural Awareness: Through exposure to diverse artists and traditions, pupils show a greater cultural awareness and appreciation for the global arts landscape, fostering openness and respect for different perspectives. 

By prioritising these elements, Phoenix is committed to providing an outstanding Art education that nurtures creativity, fosters a love and appreciation for the arts, and equips pupils with the necessary skills and confidence to thrive in a diverse and ever-evolving world. 

 At the Phoenix Primary School and Nursery, we are able to measure the progress children have made in Art and Design by:

• Determining the extent to which objectives are met within each lesson, and at the end of each unit.
• Images detailing children’s practical work
• Interviewing the pupils about their learning (pupil voice).

Art and Design Progression Map