Art

Art, craft and design embody some of the highest forms of human creativity. At Belmont Junior School high-quality Art lessons are delivered to inspire all children to think innovatively and creatively and provide them with opportunities to develop their skills using a wide range of media and materials. Art is taught every other half term, alternating with Design Technology, for approximately two hours a week which allows children to have more dedicated time to focus on a specific Art unit. Teachers at Belmont Junior School use the Art Express scheme of work to plan and teach units of art.

Children learn, develop and extend skills of drawing, painting, printing, collage, textiles, 3D work and digital art and are given the opportunity to explore different creative ideas. A drawing unit is taught in each year group as it is a core skill that underpins all activity in art. The remaining units are covered once in Lower Key Stage 2 and once in Upper Key Stage 2 to ensure the breadth and balance of experience, skills and curriculum content. The units build upon prior learning to ensure that progression and continuity is built into the teaching and learning of art. There are three principles underlying each unit and session which are reflected in a consistent pattern of learning questions and assessment outcomes: the development of ideas and creativity; the development of skills and mastery of processes; and the development of knowledge encompassing art and cultures.

Children are introduced to a range of works and they develop knowledge of the styles and vocabulary used by famous artists. Works produced by artists listed in our progression framework are evaluated, used for inspiration and a tool for comparison for pupils throughout different units. This presents them with opportunities to express their individual interests, thoughts and ideas, while experimenting with, creating and inventing their own works of art. The knowledge that they acquire can be applied in cross-curricular topics, allowing children to use the knowledge and vocabulary they have acquired through art lessons to reflect on and explore topics in greater depth.

Children are expected to be reflective and to evaluate their work. They are encouraged to think about how they can make changes to keep improving their work. This is meaningful and continuous throughout the creative process to help them develop their ability to think critically. They are encouraged to take risks and experiment and then reflect on why some ideas and techniques are successful or not for a particular project, in order to build their resilience and elasticity.