We aim to inspire pupils through practical experiences, exposure to diverse artists, and opportunities to develop skills and confidence. Art at our school encourages individuality, resilience, and a lifelong appreciation of creativity.

 

At Our Lady Catholic School, we value Art and Design technology as an important part of children’s entitlement to a broad and balanced curriculum. We seek to provide the children with the opportunities to develop and extend their skills and opportunities for them to express their own individuality and creativeness.

Intent

Our Art and Design Technology education should engage, inspire and challenge children, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to experiment, invent and create their own piece of art and design. We also aim to teach the children how art and design both reflect and shape our history and contribute to our culture and creativity in our society.

We aim to do this by ensuring that our curriculum aims to:

· Have freedom to express their creativity through design and making.

· To explore their ideas and record their experiences.

· To develop their skills and techniques based on the national curriculum and progression skills.

· To expose children to different artists and designers, past and present.

· To engage, challenge and inspire children to apply their skills and create their own art and design.

· To promote imagination, risk taking and collaboration through a range of projects.

· To evaluate and analyse creative work and applying the vocabulary of art and design.

Implementation

A range of progressive skills taken from the National curriculum are taught for a 45 minute to an hour session weekly across all year groups. Art is taught for 3 half terms a year and DT is taught for 3 half terms a year, making sure that cooking skills are included.

Each year group has its own set of progressive skills, which informs planning and learning objectives which are shared with the children. Each Art and DT skill area is documented in the curriculum map, which shows the skills taught and linked to key topics or themes across the year.

In Early Years, Art and DT is implemented through continuous provision, linked to topic as well as children’s individual interests. In the EYFS environment, there is a workshop area, where children can access various Art and DT tools and materials, both natural and man-made. Areas are set up for children to explore independently, as well as adult led activities. Across the environment, children are exposed to a range of media. Modelling an activity is vital in teaching and developing certain skills. Planning is crucial to develop and assess certain skills as well as link to other areas of the curriculum.

In both KS1 and KS2 Art and DT topics are are cross-curricular, linked to foundation subjects whenever possible. It is important for our children to learn and understand their community, the wider world and important parts of history; for example, Black History Month.

Parent involvement and voice is also welcomed. Yearly art exhibitions take place, where children can showcase their projects and explain developing skills for their parents to view. During special celebrations, school assemblies are held, where parents are invited to join and children can share art work and DT projects to project what they have learnt.

In our practice, you will see:

· A range of resources used both natural and manufactured.

· Sketch books which go with the child throughout their time at our school so progression of skills is easy to see and refer back to.

· We drive units with real-world problems (e.g., designing a stronger bridge or a functional, appealing product).

· Teachers model technical skills (e.g., sewing, joining materials) and prioritise safety.

· We ensure children create items that work for a specific user or purpose.

Impact

The impact of our Art and DT curriculum, equips children to be confident in expressing their own ideas, creativity and become risk takers. To learn how to evaluate and become reflective learners, based on their own pieces of work and of others. We also feel it is important for children to gain transferable skills for the future.

At Our Lady we assess children’s progression through:

· Children self-evaluating their end of piece and their learning journey, either verbally or in written form.

· Evidence of work in children’s sketch books (KS1 and KS2), starting from research to final piece and evaluation. This can include observations and photographs of children practising skills or of the final piece.

· Sketch books to follow children through the school.

· Examples of children’s work on display around the school and classroom, showcasing what the topic or theme children have been learning, as well as the relevant skills. Pupil voice to explain Art/DT work, skills used and what they have learnt.

· For topics that are all year round, scrap books are also compiled of children’s art work.

· Assessment document that has Art and DT skills taken from National curriculum and broken into year group progression grid, to asses if children are emerging, expected or exceeding within those areas, based on observations.

· Key skills planning sheet, where the teacher can assess against the learning objective.

· All sketch books follow the children throughout their years in school. This provides opportunity for the next years teacher to observe the work and skills children have been taught previously.

Inclusion

At Our Lady Catholic School, Art and DT is inclusive and accessible to all pupils, regardless of ability, background, or need. We are committed to ensuring every child can participate, achieve, and express creativity with confidence.

Lessons are planned with adaptive teaching at the core, enabling all pupils to engage meaningfully with the curriculum. Teachers use a range of strategies to support inclusion, including:

· Differentiated tasks and outcomes that allow pupils to work at an appropriate level while meeting the same learning objectives

· Visual prompts, demonstrations, and modelled examples to support understanding

· Scaffolded resources, such as templates, step-by-step guides, and vocabulary support

Pupils with SEND are supported through reasonable adjustments, including adapted tools, additional adult support where appropriate, and opportunities to record ideas in alternative ways (e.g. verbal explanations, photographs, or collaborative work). Targets from EHCPs and support plans are reflected in lesson planning.