Art
Here at Hethersett Primary School we believe that Art and Design is a vital and integral part of the children’s entitlement to a broad and balanced curriculum. We have designed an Art and Design curriculum with the intent that it provides children with opportunities to develop a range of ways in which they can share and express their individual creativity, whilst learning about and making links with a wide spectrum of different types of art in our society. This is enhanced by pupils having access to a wide range of high-quality art facilities, such as a room specifically designed and dedicated to the teaching of art including a kiln. This ensures that the children are exposed to a vast variety of mediums which they can explore.
Art contributes to children’s personal development in creativity, independence, judgement and self-reflection. Moreover, it enables pupils to develop a natural sense of wonder and curiosity about the world around them. We feel that this is of high importance to us a school as one of our core values is creativity. We also value our connections with the local community and the wider world and therefore provide pupils with opportunities to explore through the medium of Art and Design different beliefs, cultures and opinions thus promoting an understanding of diversity. Our art curriculum will develop children’s abilities and understanding of their own and others’ cultural heritages through studying a diverse range of male and female artists and designers throughout history.
Children in our school have individual sketchbooks which remain with them through their time at Hethersett. This means they are then able to reflect back on the progression they have made when developing different skills and techniques. Through well-planned lessons and projects, children explore the main disciplines of art and design through a cross curricular approach and whole school events, helping children understand the links and purpose of the subject.
The focus is in developing proficiency in drawing, understanding colour and shade and sculpture, with the overall aim of developing a rigorous understanding, critical awareness and inspiration of art and design. Children will develop their understanding of the visual language of art with effective teaching and carefully thought-out sequences of lessons and experiences. Understanding the visual elements of art and design (line, tone, texture, colour, pattern, shape, 3D form) will be developed by providing an accessible and engaging curriculum which will enable children to reach their full potential.
We aim to expose all children to the arts, giving them a chance to experiment and participate in a range of creative activities and events including extra-curricular opportunities. It allows our children to experiment in a ‘safe’ environment where there are no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ results, thus, both self-expression and self-esteem may be enhanced. We hope that this introduction to the arts will develop their appreciation which will last a lifetime.
