Art and Design
Why do we teach art at Westcliff?
We want our children to be creative and engaged, with the knowledge, skills and vocabulary to experiment and create their own works of art. They should be critical thinkers and develop a deeper understanding of the subject as well as art forms that have shaped our history and culture.
Most importantly, we want our children to enjoy the journey so that they want to engage in creative activities and so that they can grow to appreciate and value the importance of art as a highly subjective and individual experience, but one which is capable of bringing people together.
How do we teach art at Westcliff?
In Early Years, we focus on developing children’s creativity through exploration. Children have the opportunity to engage with a range of different materials and medium through continuous provision. They can explore their own techniques and ways of work, as well as having specific skills such as mark marking and early modelling techniques taught alongside this.
Our curriculum is designed around three threads:
Exploring and Developing (looking at different artists and experimenting with techniques)
Artistic Skills (including painting, 3D sculpture, collage and printing)
Control and Expertise (sketching and drawing)
In Year 1 children continue to build on the skills they have developed in EYFS, through the use of the continuous provision. The children are able to spend time developing their own ideas as they engage in more focused adult led art sessions. In Year 2 children continue to develop skills through discrete art lessons which are blocked so the children can deepen and develop their understanding and apply their newly learnt skills.
Through Key Stage Two children revisit and build upon previously taught skills, and test new techniques for different purposes. The children are exposed to a wide range of artists and draw focus on creating discussion from what we observe. We expose the children to a wide range of artists and draw focus on creating discussion from what we observe.
Throughout the school all of the classes follow a long term plan. The children will focus on skills rather than linking it to a topic. The children document their art work through a sketchbook and this will show their skills and practice before their final piece. Through the children’s work we should be able to see the inspiration from famous artists.
We believe that it is vital for children to have opportunities to revisit and deepen their learning and the children will develop this through weekly Art WOW (World of Westcliff) sessions.
At Westcliff we endeavour to display children’s work regularly in our classrooms and around the school so they can build a sense of pride and feel that their work is valued.
