Intent

Maltby Manor Academy believes that Art is a vital part of children’s education and is designed to be creative and offer a vibrant learning experience.  Art develops this creativity, sets challenges, engages and inspires children; equipping them with the knowledge and skills to experiment, invent and create their own work of art.  Children are taught to be reflective and evaluate their work, thinking about how they can make changes and keep improving.  This is meaningful and continuous throughout the process. 

Art Curriculum aims are to ensure that children: 

• produce creative work, exploring their ideas and recording their experiences; 
• become proficient in drawing, painting, sculpture and other art, craft and design techniques; 
• evaluate and analyse creative works using the language of art, craft and design; 
• know about great artists, craft makers and designers, and understand the historical and cultural development of their art forms. 

The National Curriculum for Art aims to ensure that all pupils: produce creative work, exploring their ideas and recording their experiences. Children become proficient in drawing, painting, sculpture and other art, craft and design techniques. Through our cross-curricular approach, children are exposed to memorable, purposeful and exceptional experiences which allows them to build on their skills and knowledge and contribute towards their cultural capital. As a school, we are working towards the ‘Artsmark’ award which is designed to support our approach to embed arts, culture and creativity across our whole curriculum. 

Implementation 

The teaching and implementation of Art and Design at Maltby Manor Academy is based on the National Curriculum and linked to year group topics to ensure a broad and balanced curriculum is offered which meet the learning needs of the children in our school.   

Art is taught on a regular basis linking into the learning journeys planned and delivered in each year group, inspired by the work of notable artists from the modern, contemporary and traditional era.   This is taught over a six-week block which would incorporate: 

• observational drawing; 
• the study of a relevant artist; 
• the skills and techniques taught and practised; 
• the application of the skills; 
•  the publication of the final art outcome and evaluation of their own and their peers work. 

Throughout the block of work, the children have the opportunity to investigate, explore and develop ideas and techniques. They are also involved in evaluating their work, celebrating success and identifying areas for improvement.   

Some of the topics covered include Stone Age cave paintings, Space and the Solar System, sculpture based on Andy Goldsworthy, Egyptian canopic clay jars and Bob Barker inspired charcoal drawings.  Wherever possible first-hand experiences and real objects / artefacts are used to stimulate these lessons.   

In the EYFS there is continuous provision of Art and Design opportunities: these activities make important contributions to children’s development in the areas of ‘Expressive Arts and Design’ and ‘Communication and Language’. They are also important in children’s ‘Personal, Social and Emotional development’. Art is covered in art lessons, continuous provision and as a means of communication and learning in other curriculum areas. EYFS also follows a scaled down version of the six-week teaching block, taught over 3 lessons.