Art and Design

Intent

At Hillborough Infant and Nursery School, we want our children to love art and design! We want them to have no limits to what their ambitions are and to grow up wanting to be illustrators, graphic designers, fashion designers, curators, architects or printmakers. Our Art curriculum is designed to engage, inspire and challenge pupils, whilst equipping them with the knowledge and skills to be able to experiment, invent and create their own works of art. As pupils progress, they should gain a deeper understanding of how Art and Design reflects and shapes our history, and how it contributes to the culture, creativity and wealth of our world.

Implementation

At Hillborough Infant and Nursery School:

• Throughout the Hillborough journey, every child is given the opportunity to learn the skills of drawing, painting, printing, sculpture and digital art through the exploration of an initial key artist, craft maker or designer and their work.
• Through in-depth discussion, the pupils explore how their art can share commonalities with famous art and use subject-specific vocabulary to discuss key artworks and their own work.
• In the development of confident art critics, the pupils share their opinions and make informed observations about what will improve their own practical work.
• Cross-curricular links are promoted to allow all children to deepen their understanding across the curriculum, including the use of technology, and artworks from year group specific historical, geographical and scientific contexts.
• Teachers follow a clear progression of skills which ensures all pupils are challenged in line with their year group expectations and are given the opportunity to build on their prior knowledge.
• Opportunities to reflect and develop, and chances for self and peer-assessment are used across the school

Impact

The impact of this curriculum design will lead to outstanding progress over time across Early Years and Key Stage 1 relative to a child’s individual starting point and their progression of skills. Children will therefore be expected to leave Hillborough reaching at least age-related expectations for Art and Design. Our Art and Design curriculum will also lead pupils to be enthusiastic Art and Design learners, evidenced in a range of ways, including pupil voice, their final pieces and sketches in Topic and English books. We ensure that children who are achieving well, as well as those who need additional support, are identified, and additional provision and strategies are planned in and discussed with class teachers. Achievements are celebrated in classrooms during walking-galleries and corridor displays, and by building in increasing connections with local galleries, we aim to develop our future artists and their appreciation of the art around them.