Art and Design at St John XXIII Catholic Primary School

At St John XXIII Catholic Primary, we passionately believe in nurturing creativity and artistic talent among our students. Our Art and Design curriculum is thoughtfully crafted to enrich the children's practical skills and broaden their appreciation of visual arts. Through Access Art resources and various educational trips, we provide a stimulating environment that encourages students to explore and express their artistic abilities. These experiences not only enhance their technical skills but also contribute to their overall academic and personal growth.

Intent

At St John XXIII, Art & Design enables children to express their creativity, imagination and individuality, celebrating the beauty of God’s world. Inspired by Pope Leo’s Maps of Hope, we support every child on a creative journey of discovery, developing confidence, skill and self-expression. 

Our Art & Design curriculum is carefully sequenced so that skills build progressively from Early Years to Year 6. Children are introduced to a wide range of artists, techniques and media, and they revisit and refine skills over time. Through drawing, painting, sculpture, textiles and digital art, pupils develop both technical ability and creative thinking. 

We place strong emphasis on artistic vocabulary and purposeful discussion, enabling children to talk about their work with confidence and to reflect on their creative choices. Art is taught as a process of exploration, experimentation and refinement, where children learn to evaluate their own work and the work of others. 

We hold high expectations for all learners. Through inclusive teaching and appropriate challenge, every child is supported to develop their creative potential and to experience success. Our aim is for pupils to leave St John XXIII as confident, expressive and imaginative artists who are proud of their achievements. 

Through Art & Design, our pupils will: 

• Communicate with confidence and clarity, using artistic vocabulary to describe and evaluate their work. 
• Journey as resilient learners, experimenting, refining and improving their creative ideas with perseverance and hope. 
• Recognise their God-given dignity and potential, celebrating individuality and understanding that creativity is for everyone. 
• Step forward with ambition and purpose, producing artwork that reflects skill, imagination and a growing sense of personal expression. 

Implementation

Each term our pupils will study a block of Art lessons followed by a block of DT lessons. Teachers are provided with planning for these blocks that they should implement through knowledge and skills based, weekly lessons. Lessons will vary between mostly practical and some theory based work. 

What does this look like at St John XXIII? 

• We provide a curriculum relevant and tailored to the pupils taught. We celebrate diversity and local artists, embedding them into our curriculum throughout the year. 
• Art and DT work is displayed in and around the school; on classroom and hallway displays, sketch books and whole class evidence folders. 
• A knowledge organiser which outlines knowledge (including vocabulary) all children must master; 
• A cycle of lessons for each topic, which carefully plans for progression and depth. These are presented in the form of lesson overviews.  
• A means to display and celebrate the pupils’ artwork in their class and around the school. 
• Working collaboratively with our local area wherever possible such as the Hammersmith and Fulham Arts Festival Project and Kite Studios (a local Art Studio). 
• Learning from and working with Art specialists from Kite Studios. 

Inclusion  

We aim for all children to participate in mainstream lessons.  Work is differentiated and extra support is in place for children with S.E.N.  Where it is felt necessary, a pupil is withdrawn from class to receive specialist help from school devised intervention programmes, or support from the Language and Communication Service.   We aim to provide a range of resources that reflect the diversity of culture and language within our school community and the wider local community.  

Impact

Our Art Curriculum shows a progression of skills and aims to build upon prior learning. Our Curriculum is well thought out and is planned to introduce and develop skills that can be applied to everyday life. If children are keeping up with the curriculum, they are deemed to be making good or better progress. In addition, we measure the impact of our curriculum through the following methods: 

• Collection of evidence of work in books as well as displayed in classrooms and communal school areas. 
• Pupil discussions about their learning; which includes discussion of their thoughts, ideas, processing and evaluations of work. 

In Class Feedback: 

We understand that feedback is linked to progress and has to be timely to make an impact. In class feedback is used to support teacher’s workload, ensure it is as immediate and timely and specific as possible, and leaves the teacher time to focus on individual identified needs. (see our Feedback policy) 

Corrective Teaching: 

When a pupil has not met the learning objective there is timely support so they are able to continue on the learning journey with their peers. Teachers adapt their planning for the next lesson to ensure there is time to address these misconceptions. It may be addressed in the next lesson, by a Teaching Assistant, in small groups in the lesson. The misconceptions may be addressed through verbal feedback or with the use of mini plenaries.  

Monitoring: 

Subject leaders carry out termly book looks to ensure high quality, practical lessons are being delivered. Pupil voice is completed termly where pupils’ art work is celebrated and shared with the Art leader and added to the Art display board. 

Assessment and Recording: 

Art and DT evidence is recorded in Sketch books and on display around the school. We encourage staff to take photographic evidence e.g. in workshops or trips.  

Teachers assess children’s knowledge, understanding and skills in Art and DT subjects by making observations within class and by analysis of their written evidence. As part of our assessment for learning process (and in line with our school’s assessment policy), children will receive high quality verbal feedback in class. Children are also encouraged to be critical of their own work, highlighting their own next steps. Assessment is carried out through pupil voice, book looks, and lesson participation. The Art and DT Leaders will then analyse this data in order to inform and improve future practice. 

Partnership: 

Teachers engage parents through September welcome meetings. Parents receive updates through the school newsletter on pupil achievements in Art.  

School reports: 

School reports are issued at the end of the school year. Art is marked as Working towards National Expectations, Meeting National Expectations or Exceeding National Expectations. 

Long Term Curriculum and Progression Map

Art Long Term Curriculum and Progression Map