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At St John Fisher, art has been given a high profile. Our art work is linked to our thematic curriculum, whereby every year group focuses on one topic per term. This allows the children to explore topic themed artists, designers and styles. Art currently aids cross curricular learning by linking in with other foundation subjects such as history, geography and science. The aim of this is to immerse our young artists within a familiar topic, hence enabling them to access a progressive range of experiences that equips them for moving forward in their knowledge and artistic ability. The children’s art is highly valued and prominently displayed throughout the school for all to enjoy.
A brief summary of art lesson coverage throughout the school can be found below.
During Years 1 and 2, children will be expected to take their initial ideas from both real and imaginary starting points. Work can range from independent to collaborative pieces.
Evaluating: Children will be encouraged to talk about their own and other’s art work.
Drawing in Years 1 and 2 will begin with a range of sized and shaped crayons where they will be introduced to different colours and discover how to create a range of tones with a single crayon.
Children will be given the opportunity to paint, where they will be encouraged to explore the relationships between colours and mixing them to make secondary colours on the colour wheel. Children will also know about adding a tint to a colour to make it a darker shade. Painting objects they can see allows them to link paint colours to real – life objects.
Collage: Collage is an enjoyable approach to learning key skills such as cutting and tearing paper ( and other materials), matching colours, choosing materials and colours for a purpose and experimenting with a range of textures.
Experimenting with different materials to produce a sculpture involves a range of skills from cutting/rolling/coiling and carving materials using appropriate tools. The idea of texture is introduced to add another dimension to work.
Printing: Children will be given a number of opportunities throughout Key Stage 1 to print using a variety of tools such as fruit and sponges onto a variety of materials. Children can make their own printing bocks which will be used by pressing, rubbing, rolling or stamping.
Textile based lessons revolve around the following key skills: sorting threads, weaving different fabrics, using glue to join separate pieces together, begin to use a needle and thread to stitch, adding dye to fabrics and looking at examples of all the above in artist’s work.
Throughout Years 3 to 6 children will progress from using an imaginative or actual stimuli, to actively collecting their own evidence for their art portfolio. Portfolios can then be annotated by the child in some cases to explain their decisions.
Evaluating: In Year 3, children will compare similarities between several pieces of work. The evaluation process will progress up to Year 6 where students are analysing and commenting on ideas used in a range of work and are able to comment on how meaning is portrayed throughout a piece of art work.
The drawing process throughout Key Stage 1 begins where children use a range of pencils and can sketch without needing to use a rubber. Skills then move on to children choosing appropriate materials to produce effects such as reflections and shadows. By Year six, most children should be mixing several medias to create their desired effect
Children will be mixing paints using tints and tones whilst using a variety of paints, Mood and feelings of paintings are discussed and experimented with and different sized bushed are experimented with. Building on this, texture, patterns and lines will be added to paintings by children working at a Year 4 level. By Years 5 and 6, pupils will be encouraged to think about conveying a meaning through their paintings and to begin to refine their own style.
Skills acquired in Key Stage 1 will be built upon where children will have a deeper understanding of the use of colour and its effect. Cutting skills will be precise and materials will be used for visual and a tactile aspect. A clear theme should be evident by Year 6.
By the end of Key Stage 2, children’s work should have a life like quality when observations of the real work have been taken into account. Sculptures are intended to have visual and tactile qualities which are made appropriately by a range of tools.
Printing: Designers in history will often be a starting point of the children’s printing lessons. Fine detail added to their own printing blocks will be enhanced by a number of colour layers being used.
During Key Stage 2, children will be given the opportunity to work with textiles. Throughout this time their skill level will be expected to progress from using basic running and backstitch when using appropriate materials (these materials can be gathered or padded and is intended for a purpose) and being made aware of the textiles used in the past and from different cultures. From this, children in years 5 and 6 are generally expected to convey a purpose through their work and take into account what they have seen from textile work from the past or other cultures.
