Art

The Art curriculum is structured to build a child’s confidence by progressing from basic tactile experiences to complex masterpieces.

• Foundation for All: In Nursery and EYFS, children begin with fundamental skills in drawing, painting, printing, and modelling, ensuring a level playing field for every child before they enter Key Stage 1.
• Accessible Media: By using varied materials like tissue paper for moths in Year 1 or soap for sculptures in Year 3, the curriculum ensures that children with different fine motor abilities can find success in different mediums.
• Step-by-Step Mastery: Complex concepts, such as “One point perspective” in Year 5, are introduced only after children have mastered simpler drawing techniques in previous years..

• Master Artists: Children study and emulate “excellent” creators, including Claude Monet (Year 1), Pablo Picasso (Year 2), Henri Matisse (Year 3), and Vincent Van Gogh (Year 5).
• High-Quality Links: Art is used to bring other subjects to life, such as painting the Great Fire of London in the style of Joseph Turner (Year 2) or creating WW2 silhouette art (Year 6).
• Diverse Styles: From the ancient “Cave art” of the Lascaux caves to the modern “string printing” of Ben Koracevic, pupils are exposed to a broad spectrum of artistic excellence.

• Observational Skills: Tasks like drawing Tudor portraits (Year 5) or seaside paintings (Year 1) teach children the life skill of keen observation and attention to detail.
• Working with Nature: In Year 4, pupils use Andy Goldsworthy as inspiration to create sculptures using natural materials, fostering an appreciation for the environment.
• Technical Versatility: Throughout their time at the academy, children develop a toolkit of skills—relief printing, watercolour painting, charcoal drawing, and soap carving—that allow them to communicate ideas visually.

The curriculum encourages children to be “Trailblazers” by experimenting with perspective, mood, and abstract forms.

• Innovative Techniques: Year 6 pupils act as trailblazers by exploring the elongated, abstract human forms of Giacometti.
• Emotional Literacy: In Year 5, children think critically about how colour affects mood by painting “hot and cold images” inspired by Van Gogh.
• Historical Inquiry: By recreating Ancient Greek vases (Year 4) or Cave art (Year 3), children must think like historians to understand how ancient peoples used art to tell their stories.