Art

Art Intent at Castleton

Castleton believes that art is a vital part of children’s education and has a significant and valuable role in the curriculum. As a result, Art is one of our key subjects.  The art curriculum will develop children’s basic skills to enable them to express themselves and build their confidence.   The range of experiences our children have will allow them to develop a critical eye for their own work and the work of others. In addition, children will have the freedom to explore different techniques without the fear of making mistakes.  

“Our vision is to create a school community where children engage in their learning, achieve their full potential and are positive members of our community…”

Art Implementation at Castleton 

The skills and knowledge that children will develop throughout each art topic are mapped across each year group and are progressive throughout the school. The emphasis on knowledge ensures that children understand the context of the artwork, as well as the artists that they are learning about and being inspired by. A systematic approach to the development of artistic skills means that children are given opportunities to express their creative imagination, as well as practice and develop mastery in the key processes of art: drawing, painting, printing, textiles and sculpture.

The school’s high-quality art curriculum has been designed to meet the needs of the children within our school and is supported through the availability of a wide range of quality resources, which are used to support children’s confidence in the use of different media.

The impact of Art at Castleton

The structure of the art curriculum ensures that children are able to develop their knowledge and understanding of the work of artists, craftspeople and designers from a range of times and cultures and apply this knowledge to their own work. The consistent use of children’s sketchbooks means that children are able to review, modify and develop their initial ideas in order to achieve high quality outcomes. Children learn to understand and apply the key principles of art: line, tone, texture, shape, form, space, pattern, colour, contrast, composition, proportion and perspective. The opportunity for children to refine and develop their techniques over time is supported by effective lesson sequencing and progression between year groups. This also supports children in achieving age related expectations at the end of their cohort year.
Classroom displays reflect the children’s sense of pride in their artwork and this is also demonstrated by creative outcomes across the wider curriculum. The school environment also celebrates children’s achievements in art and demonstrates the subject’s high status in the school. The Art curriculum at Castleton contributes to children’s personal development in creativity, independence, judgement and self-reflection.