Art

At St George the Martyr Church of England Primary School, Art and Design Technology are important subjects that we embed in our everyday learning. These subjects are central to our curriculum as they expand children’s understanding and fascination about their world, allowing further develop their creativity.

We teach art as an individual subject each week. Our ‘Units of Work’ in art have been carefully crafted by teachers and link as much as possible to history, geography and science topics being taught simultaneously.

Art and Design Technology are fundamental to children’s learning, helping them to develop their ideas and imagination around a specific topic. The subjects enable children to use a variety of materials and resources to build on their skills, such as making collages, printing, drawing, textiles, 3D designs and cooking. They also enable children to evaluate their own work and make decisions through taking risks and challenging their own ideas and thoughts.

Art and Design Technology are taught in each class throughout the year in a variety of ways, through a blocked afternoon, day or a single lesson, building up to create a final finished piece. We have many exciting topics we focus on, such as making 3D Minibeasts in Early Years, constructing buildings of the Great Fire of London in Key Stage 1 and sketching Kensuke’s Kingdom in Key Stage 2. On a termly basis, each stage works together, to engage in a cooking activity as a whole class. This practical experience allows children to develop their culinary skills through using a range of cooking equipment, measuring ingredients and creating their own recipes. We offer opportunities for parents to get involved through food tasting and support us during our annual International Food Fair and Summer Fair. We also offer an Art and Design Technology after school club where children can expand on their ideas and creativity – the evidence can be found on our school blog!

Art and Design Technology links to our school vision of Compassion, Honesty and Integrity, through children working together during their school-based design projects. Resolving problems through working as a team and being honest with one another through group reflection and self-evaluation.

We assess the children’s learning in Art and Design Technology through self-assessment, whole class reflection, using key assessment criteria alongside teacher observation. We model, and use as a teaching point, how to deal with any misconceptions that may occur and provide verbal feedback to support the children’s learning.

How can parents help?

Art is an enjoyable activity which is easy to do at home. Here are a few suggestions to get started:

Save some of your recycling. Create a ‘bits and pieces’ box out of old pieces of paper, card, sweet wrappers, bottles – anything which could make fun and exciting art!

Have art materials available. Keep art materials easily accessible in the home so that children can practice their artistic skills.

Be observant. When out and about, encourage children to notice buildings and landscapes around them.