Art and Design

Becoming an Artist at Dove Bank Primary School

Our aim in Art & Design is that children who leave our school in Year 6 will be able:

  • To produce creative, quality artwork and record their ideas in a variety of ways.
  • To have their own ideas and to develop them to create their own artwork through the use of their sketchbooks and in final pieces of artwork.
    To be proficient in their drawing skills, painting skills, sculpture and design.
  • To be able to talk about their artwork using subject specific vocabulary.
    To be able to evaluate and analyse their own work, the work of other artists and of their peers, using the language of art, craft and design.
  • To have a knowledge of Artists and how their work has impacted on society.
  • To be able to apply their art to everyday life.
  • To have a love of art and feel inspired to create and to appreciate others’ artwork.

How our children learn to be an Artist

At Dove Bank Primary we teach Art and Design with the aim to inspire pupils and develop their confidence to experiment and invent their own works of art. Our delivery of an Art and Design spiral curriculum is underpinned by the key skills needed to produce quality artwork and designs. Key skills are revisited again and again with increasing complexity throughout the key stages. This allows pupils to revise and build on their previous learning. The units are carefully built up across each year group and linked to other wider curriculum subjects to provide challenge and a clear progression. They build on prior knowledge which enables children to delve deeper as they move through their primary education. Within each unit children are taught subject-specific vocabulary so they can clearly explain their ideas and learning.

In Reception, KS1 and KS2 children will complete a range of units that cover key areas of Art and Design:

  • Drawing
  • Painting and mixed media
  • Sculpture and 3D
  • Craft and Design

Each unit enables children to build skills and techniques towards exciting outcomes. Children use their sketchbooks to apply skills and knowledge throughout the whole process of creating art, practicing techniques learned and developing and evaluating their ideas towards an outcome.

At Dove Bank Primary all of our children are provided with excellent resources, teaching and experiences to help them bring their own works of art to life. The children learn how to present their learning both orally and in sketchbooks. They are provided with the resources to apply the skills and techniques they have gained, to produce their own creative works of art.

The children are involved in the evaluation, dialogue and decision making about the quality of their outcomes and improvements they need to make. Through working together, our children are supported to give quality critiques of their work and that of their peers. By taking part in the discussions and the decision making process, our children are able to talk confidently about their own learning journey, are able to use subject specific vocabulary and have a growing understanding of the subject and have an understanding of how they can improve. This enables them to become confident, creative, purposeful and reflective artists.

Progression Of Skills [PDF]