Art and Design Curriculum

Art and Design Curriculum

Every child is an artist.

Our North Ealing Primary School we value the importance of Art and Design in the curriculum to stimulate creativity, imagination and individuality.

We aim to inspire, challenge and provide our children with a clear purpose for creating their artwork and provide them with a good understanding of how art reflects and shapes our history and contributes to the culture, creativity and wealth of our nation.

Implementation

In the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), Expressive Arts and Design includes two strands: Creating with Materials, where children explore materials to express ideas, and Being Imaginative and Expressive, where they develop imagination through role play, music and performance. Art in Nursery is guided by Development Matters, often linked to celebrations and events, while Reception follows the EYFS statutory framework and aligns with the Kapow scheme to ensure progression and a smooth transition into Year 1.

We follow the ‘Kapow Primary’ scheme of work, in Years 1-6, to shape our curriculum, adapting it to meet the needs of our pupils. This is structured around four key strands:

● Drawing
● Painting and Mixed Media
● Sculpture and 3D
● Craft and Design.

Within these areas, pupils develop skills in generating ideas, using sketchbooks, mastering making skills (including formal elements), acquiring knowledge of the arts, and engaging in evaluation and analysis.

Key skills are revisited regularly with increasing complexity through a spiral curriculum model, allowing pupils to consolidate and build upon their prior learning.

Children receive either a weekly art lesson or a 2.5-day block of lessons.

Our school’s locality easily allows for planned opportunities for learning outside the classroom, as well as the involvement of adults with specialist skills from the local and wider community.

Impact

The structure of the art curriculum ensures that children are able to develop their knowledge and understanding of the work of artists, craftspeople and designers from a range of times and cultures and apply this knowledge to their own work.

Children use sketchbooks to record, explore, and store visual information, notes, and materials. They also use them to work out ideas, plans, and designs, as well as to track the development of their work. The sketchbook serves as a tool for reflecting on and reviewing progress, and as a record of their learning and achievements, helping them to further develop their ideas, skills, and understanding.

Displays reflect the children’s sense of pride in their artwork and this is also demonstrated by creative outcomes across the wider curriculum. The Art curriculum at NEPS contributes to children’s personal development and is underpinned by our school Learning Values.

Art & Design Curriculum – For parents and students

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By the end of Year 6, we want children to:

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