The Art curriculum at Wooden Hill Primary School is divided into three big ideas: drawing, painting and sculpture. Each year, the children develop their knowledge and skills within each artistic discipline to support them in building their resilience, embracing their creativity and strengthening their critical thinking skills.

By the end of their primary school journey, we aim for our children to have begun a life-long enjoyment of art through both the practical application of their skills and through the experience of analysing art made by others. To achieve this, each child develops their understanding of key vocabulary to describe parts of the artistic process and theory. They learn how to appraise a diverse range of artists to support them to understand significant artistic movements and tune into their individual artistic taste. Additionally, the children explore how sketch books are used to support experimentation and planning before creating final pieces. Finally, evaluation is an integral skill for the children’s development within art as they reflect on their work and think critically about their own learning.

The Art curriculum is sequenced so that all children make progress through the retrieval and purposeful practice of key knowledge and skills to ensure that they are secure before developing them further. In Early Years, the children focus on strengthening their fine motor skills and exploring different materials. In Key Stage 1, the focus is on developing the children’s skill in using art to communicate their observations, ideas and experiences using a wide range of materials. In Key Stage 2, the children advance mastery of drawing, painting and sculpture by showing greater artistic control and increasing their awareness of significant artists throughout history.