Art and Design

At Saint Joseph's, the Borough, we teach pupils to develop artistic skills and encourage children to express their creativity and individuality, inspired by their own and others’ cultures.

Art and Design embodies some of the highest forms of creativity as a subject and practical discipline. This encourages children of all abilities to excel and express themselves in an almost limitless capacity. Pablo Picasso famously said ‘Every child is an artist’ and he could not have been more correct. Our Art and Design curriculum aims to engage, inspire and challenge all pupils, equipping them with the skills and knowledge to experiment, invent and create their own works of visual art. As children move through the school, we want them to think critically and develop a deeper understanding of many different areas of art from all periods of history and all regions of the world. We want the pupils to produce creative work, exploring their ideas and recording their experiences. We intend that they become proficient in drawing, painting, sculpture and other art, craft and design techniques. Using the language of art, craft and design, we aim for them to critically evaluate great works of art produced by the great artists, craft makers and designers. We scaffold children’s knowledge of how art reflects and shapes our history, and how it contributes to the culture we live in today.

We give all children the opportunity to experience as many rich and diverse opportunities as the art provision allows, with an explicit focus on skills.  Teachers follow the National Curriculum.

Key Stage One

In Key Stage 1, children use a range of materials creatively to design and make products that record their experiences and imagination. They develop a wide range of Art and Design techniques in using colour, pattern, texture, line, shape, form and space. They learn 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.

Key Stage Two

In Key Stage 2, the preceding knowledge and skills are deepened through increasing mastery of art and design techniques. All children have a sketch book that they use to record and revisit ideas. In Art and Design (and some Humanities) sessions they are taught about great artists, architects and designers in history - using these acknowledged masters, the pupils begin to grasp the historical and cultural developments of different art forms and movements.

Click here for the whole-school curriculum map for Art and Design