Art

Appreciation of  Art’s Impact

Our Art & Design curriculum allows children to develop ‘an appreciation of the arts’ impact’. This mantra is an underlying feature of lessons and is planned for in order to allow curriculum links to be made and to promote an awareness of the different forms of art and the impact it can have on its spectators. This helps children to show an awareness of the impact that art can have on them and actively link their knowledge across the curriculum. In each year group, children are taught progressive skills in drawing, painting, collage and sculpture and are encouraged to self assess their artwork to ensure they create the best piece of artwork they can; our mantra of ‘Appreciation of the Arts’ helps the children to reflect and understand how they can improve further.

Early Years Art and Design

In the Early Years Foundation Stage educators will prepare children for the primary art curriculum through practical explorations of a variety of media and materials. Educators will offer a wide range of provocations which inspire children to observe, investigate and make their own creative works of art, both indoors and outside. Children will work with a range of media and materials including paint, printing, collage, malleable materials, and natural materials. The focus is on the exploration and processes of art as well as on the development of early skills in using media and materials.

Key Stage 1 & 2

Across KS1 and KS2, as part of each project, our children are able to explore different artistic styles, movements and mediums in engaging and innovative ways, seeing how and where art has made an impact on the wider world. Children are given the opportunity to explore key skills before applying them to express their own creativity, building on the techniques and styles they have explored. ICT is used in a range of forms to enhance the Art curriculum. Children use ICT to research, plan and present information in digital forms. 

Throughout the curriculum, we offer a range of extra curricular activities to support and enrich learning in school. Children enjoy having the opportunity to work collaboratively on Art and Design projects both in school and with our wider collaborative group of schools. Some of these opportunities involve a range of different art clubs for a range of different year groups, taking part in the Whitley Bay Carnival each year as well as opportunities to compete in art competitions across school, locally and nationally. 

Children are encouraged to develop an awareness of their position in the world and actively link their knowledge and awareness across the curriculum. To further develop our children’s cultural knowledge, we explore a range of artists with them during their time with us at Monkhouse. Artists to be studied have been specially selected to further promote our core values of respect and equality. All children should be provided experiences to explore, discuss, appreciate and reflect on their learning, understanding the impact art can have on the lives of those around them. 

Appreciation of  Art’s Impact