Art & Design
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ASPIRE - LEARN - FLOURISH
The Aspire Learning Federation is made up of two schools - Elm Park Primary School and R J Mitchell Primary School in the London Borough of Havering.
Art and Design provides the pupils with the opportunities to develop and extend skills and an opportunity to express their individual interest, thoughts and ideas. Our aim at R J Mitchell Primary school is for our pupils to develop their own human creativity, inspiring them to see art in different ways and how to use art to express themselves. We want Art to allow the child to develop their imagination and creativity, to make connections through their inventive minds and give them the skills to record their imagination and ideas.
Art should enable the children to communicate what they see, feel and think. Children should experiment with their ideas, their use of colour, texture, form, pattern and different materials and processes. Self-evaluation of work is encouraged, and children are taught how to be resilient to achieve their goals.
At R J Mitchell, we give the children the opportunity to be creators. Children value their work and always have high expectations in the process of their work, as well as the outcome. Children are able to experiment with a range of resources and materials and are encouraged to learn different skills and techniques. We encourage them to be proud of what they achieve and what they learn. We want our pupils to be aware of different artists and know that it’s good to have unique and individual styles.
Art starts in our EYFS unit, where the children experiment with colour, textures and materials. Different opportunities are available to the children daily. Children can work on their own ideas and select their own resources. They are encouraged to think about what they are making and use tools in a safe way. The children then build on these skills as they progress through the school. The children study different artists and their styles. They learn how to add detail to their drawing, use different resources to create texture and print as well as using tools to carve and create and add patterns to sculpture.
We follow the Art CUSP curriculum. The learning modules are taught in extended lessons in 3-weekly blocks to make effective use of the time required when making products. Each module aims to activate and build upon prior learning, including from the early years, to ensure better cognition and retention. It includes contextual reference materials, vocabulary modules, explanatory videos and annotated exemplifications. Teacher videos complement the content in each module and provide clear instruction about the techniques and skills that are taught. The exemplifications can be used to support assessment of pupil outcomes and to support teachers in developing their own subject knowledge. Teachers are also provided with a list of materials and resources that they will need to teach each module.
We aim to ensure children have the time to share their work and talk about what skills and techniques they have gained and used so that children are able to progress and develop their artistic flair and skills. We empower our children to know that anyone can be an artist or creator and that being a good artist is part of the process and not always the end outcome. Children are proud of what they achieve and they feel supported so that they are ambitious in their artwork.