Art and Design

Bramber Art Curriculum Intent

At Bramber every child is an artist. We recognise that Art and Design stimulates creativity and imagination. We believe that all children can and should enjoy and appreciate the visual arts and that the arts provide a special way in which to engage children with the world around them. Our curriculum enables all children to explore, question and make through a range of experiences. These experiences are carefully planned to initiate, deepen and enhance learning.

Our curriculum at Bramber is unique to our school, linking Art and Design learning to our topics and themes where appropriate, but recognising that in order to develop all skills successfully, some of our Art and Design learning may be discrete. Children in our school use their sketchbooks to practise skills, explore ideas and document their learning journey.

At Bramber we believe that all children can communicate what they see, feel and think through the use of colour, texture, form, pattern, different materials and processes. We aim to develop critical thinking, freedom of expression and an increasing independence as our children progress through the school. We believe the visual arts can provide a unique opportunity to develop confidence, a sense of identity in our children and the opportunity to work collaboratively. The visual arts at Bramber should enrich our children’s lives now and in the future.

Our Art and Design curriculum enables our children to understand and respond to the world around them. To become true global citizens. We believe that our children should be introduced to artists, craftspeople and designers from their local area and the wider world, from a diversity of cultures and backgrounds and from contemporary society and the past. The aim is that through this, our children will understand the role, function and impact of art and design in a truly broad sense.

How is the Curriculum Structured?

We use Access Art resources and planning as the core of our curriculum. The main aim of Access Art is to 'enable creativity', placing an emphasis on 'encouraging exploratory journeys, working towards varied and individual outcomes.' 

You will find the Access Art units of learning in our curriculum overview below. Each year group will work on three discrete projects throughout the year. These discrete projects may be linked to the topic, but this is at the discretion of our teachers. Each project will have a focus of either drawing and sketchbooks, surface and colour or working in three dimensions.

Each unit of learning is a journey. The children record this journey in their sketchbooks. Sometimes there will be a final outcome, but sometimes the outcome IS the journey. During each unit of learning, we encourage  the children to reflect on and critique their own art and the art of others. 

For each unit of learning we will often study an artist or artists from a broad range of backgrounds and cultures. We also try to include local artists where we can. 

We assess to ensure children reach their creative potential and to ensure our school offer is as good as it can be. The children and their sketchbooks are at the heart of how we assess the children's learning at Bramber. It is ongoing and informal. In line with the ethos of Access Art, we do not mark children's sketchbooks or set rigid expectations for presentation (although we do expect the children to be ambitious and take pride in what they create). We are aware that progression may not always be linear and they will revisit and spiral back to similar experiences throughout their learning journey and from this they will grow. 

The children's experiences of art at Bramber are not limited to the three Access Art projects. Our curriculum makes space for ongoing drawing skills practise, other creative projects linked to topics, whole school projects, competitions and home learning tasks. We also provide extra-curricular experiences through after-school art clubs. 

Art and Design in EYFS

The EYFS framework is structured very differently to the national curriculum. The prerequisite skills for art and design are developed through the following areas of learning: physical development and expressive arts and design. In EYFS, children will:

• Develop their small motor skills so that they can use a range of tools competently, safely and confidently.
• Use their core muscle strength to achieve a good posture when sitting at a table or sitting on the floor.
• Develop overall body-strength, balance, coordination and agility.
• Hold a pencil effectively in preparation for fluent writing - using the tripod grip in almost all cases.
• Use a range of small tools, including scissors, paintbrushes and cutlery.
• Begin to show accuracy and care when drawing
• Explore, use and refine a variety of artistic effects to express their ideas and feelings.
• Return to and build on their previous learning, refining ideas and developing their ability to represent them.
• Create collaboratively, sharing ideas, resources and skills.
• Safely use and explore a variety of materials, tools and techniques, experimenting with colour, design, texture, form and function.
• Share their creations, explaining the process they have used