Art, Design and Technology

At Boughton-under-Blean & Dunkirk Methodist Primary School we believe art should develop and inspire pupils’ creativity, encouraging them to be engaged and challenged to create their own pieces of art, craft and design work across a range of media and curriculum subjects. Our aims as a school are to help children become confident, happy and caring individuals who achieve personal success that celebrates their uniqueness and creativity and Art, Design and Technology are key elements in achieving these aims. We celebrate the children’s love of learning in art through displaying their work around the school hoping to build their confidence to participate fully in the life of our Methodist School, becoming active and responsible members of the community.

It is important to us as a school that Art, Design and Technology allows ALL pupils to express their creativity and succeed in these visual, practical subjects.  Development of ideas, experimentation and reflection on successes and things to improve are key skills as life-long learners and these can all be encouraged in our pupils through well-planned and inspiring Art, Design and Technology lessons.

Our long term plan for Art, Design and Technology has been devised to ensure our pupils experience a range of stimuli, techniques, tools and medias across all year groups that cover a balance of key skills outlined in the National Curriculum for Art, Design and Technology.

The majority of Art, Design and Technology lessons are taught as subjects in their own right but also as a means of exploring and representing other areas of the curriculum. For example, the children deepen their understanding of the development of art through history and across the world, for instance making Roman shields, Greek masks and Canopic jars linked to History and Clarice Cliff landscapes, Henri Rousseau watercolours linked to our Rainforest topic and Hokusai seascapes linked to Geography. Pupils show pride and enjoyment in their final pieces – we even have pupils who have left the school explaining how they still have pieces of art work (eg Canopic jars and Roman shields) at home years after leaving the school! At the end of each year children are also given the opportunity to display and celebrate their artwork at the Summer Fair where canvases are created by every child in the school for their families to take home.

As you walk around the school, it will be clear to you that both children and staff highly enjoy and value this subject. Please take a look at some of the wonderful examples of artwork produced by our pupils.

 

 

What does Art, Design and Technology look like at Boughton-Under-Blean and Dunkirk Methodist School?

We aim to ensure that all children:

• produce creative work, developing and recording their ideas and experiences
• develop skills in drawing, painting, sculpture and other art, craft and design techniques
• share, evaluate and analyse artworks using the language of art, craft and design
• know about great artists, craft makers and designers, and understand the historical and cultural development of their art forms.

In Key Stage 1, children are taught:

• to use a range of materials creatively to design and make products
• to use drawing, painting and sculpture to develop and share their ideas, experiences and imagination
• to develop a wide range of art and design techniques in using colour, pattern, texture, line, shape, form and space
• about the work of a range of artists, craft makers and designers, describing the differences and similarities between different practices and disciplines, and making links to their own work.

In Key Stage 2, children are taught:

• to  record their observations in art books and use them to review and revisit ideas
• to improve their mastery of drawing, painting and sculpture with a range of materials for example, pencil, ink, charcoal, paint, clay
• about great artists, architects and designers in history
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How can I support my child with art?

1. Get messy!

Try to get hold of as many different types of drawing and painting resources as you can to let your child get creative and explore creating art using different materials. Paints, chalk, crayons, pens, pencils, modelling clay and much more can be found in discount shops. Just don’t forget to put lots of newspaper down first!

2. Use household objects creatively

Alternatively, instead of buying materials, let them get creative using things around the house – for example, pasta and pulses to create pictures using glue. Twigs, leaves and sand pictures can be made outside in the garden.

3. Keep a sketch book

Encourage your child to keep a sketch book. Suggest that they take it with them when they go out so that they can look for things to sketch – a tree, a building, a scene. Alternatively, if they see something they would like to draw, take a photo on your phone and let them sketch from it when they are home.

4. Celebrate your child's art

Praise your child’s creations and encourage them not to get disheartened if they feel they have made ‘mistakes’. Explain that art is about being creative and trying out different things. There is no right or wrong way to do things. You could even ‘frame’ their work using coloured paper or card and create a little gallery on the kitchen wall or in their bedroom to display their work.​

5. Discuss and enjoy art together

Find out about local art galleries or museums that you can visit with your child. Encourage them to talk about what they see and to share their opinions – about subject matter, colours, what materials the artist used, and so on.