Art is a place for children to learn to trust their ideas themselves and to explore what is possible.

Maryann F.Kohl

Intent

At Chivenor Primary School – we are artists. By encouraging a high-quality art and design education we engage, inspire and challenge pupils. We aim to ensure they learn the knowledge and skills to experiment, invent and create their own works of art, craft and design to develop them into highly skilled, creative thinkers who will go on to re-imagine their futures.

Art is at the core of our school ethos and we firmly believe that all children have the right to be exposed to high quality art experiences regardless of their background. We want children at Chivenor School to have high aspirations and see the arts as a potential career route.

We recognise how the arts can support cognitive and physical development as well as communication and presentational skills from an early age. We also identify the how the development of skills for both staff and children can be transferable across the curriculum as well as beyond school. We aim to give all children the platform and opportunity to achieve this.

Implementation

Within school, our Arts provision is led by a member of SLT who works closely with designated hub teachers to adapt and update the curriculum to provide high quality arts activities across all subjects. All plans are guided by a Medium Term Plan -which is underpinned by the Access Art scheme- and this feeds into a whole school overview. This ensures children build on prior knowledge ensuring there is a progression of skills throughout the year groups. Plans are evaluated and reviewed and best practise is shared through continuing CPD which is supported through a network of schools within the Griffin Schools Trust.

Teachers use quality first teaching ensuring that all skills are modelled effectively to the children. They give continual feedback through live-marking to ensure children are making the progress needed to succeed. All children are encouraged to meet the art objective for the lesson and specific children are provided with scaffolded support where appropriate to reach this goal. Children who are confidently applying their skills are given access to challenges to explore their learning further. Children are encouraged to reflect on their learning and identify how they can move their learning on.

Children are provided with a number of opportunities to experience and showcase high quality art through cross trust activities including the Big Draw, International Day of Dance and the Griffin Arts Festival. Opportunities are also provided though our wider curriculum and as part of our Proud Traditions. Visits from arts experts and professionals provide further opportunities for children to develop their skills and to consider their futures within the arts.
We offer an extensive range of free clubs across the school, where facilitators have the freedom to bring simulating art subjects to life. Children are encouraged to get involved in after school activities such as sketching, drama, arts and crafts, and textiles. For all our children, our clubs offer opportunities for us to nurture and develop talents.
To further develop children’s individual talents the Griffin Schools Trust provides children with the opportunity to apply for funding to support artistic endeavours outside of the school setting. To ensure our children’s voices are heard within the arts at Chivenor School we have arts ambassadors who support events within school and suggest arts activities in the wider curriculum. Our pupil parliament also includes a minister for arts and culture who influences our curriculum planning to ensure it is relevant and exciting.

Chivenor is also accredited by the Arts Council England for the Gold Artsmark Award ; our involvement in this process has made certain that we put art, culture and creativity at the heart of our curriculum. We are proud to be working towards the Platinum Artsmark Award. We are also working with providers of the ‘Arts award’ to ensure our children are able to achieve this prestigious award.

EYFS Art Curriculum Journey:

• To encourage children and staff to explore creativity in a holistic way.
• To encourage an open-ended exploration of materials, ideas and techniques.
• To encourage children and staff to value the journey over or alongside outcome.
• To encourage children to explore notions of “identity”, gain the confidence to share their exploration and their thoughts, and to learn to appreciate and respect that others might have different experiences of their own identity.
• To encourage children to work together as a team, as well as value their ability to work alone.
• To demonstrate that drawing, mark-making, making etc are physical as well as mental activities in which the mind and the body are involved.
  To demonstrate that every individual has the power to create and make, to manipulate and contribute to the world, for the enjoyment of their own self and for others.

Impact

Children will achieve highly in the arts, which is reflected in the standards they achieve against the planned outcomes. Artwork will be of a consistently high standard and will showcase clear progression of key skills within the subject of art.

They will have been exposed to a wide variety of diverse artists, traditional and modern, local and international, from whom they can learn and be inspired. They will have explored the world around them and will appreciate their cultural heritage as well as the cultural heritage of others.

Children will leave Chivenor school having fully explored their creative skills and be ready to apply them in all that they do. They will have the ability to think critically and will have developed a more rigorous understanding of art and design. Every child will choose to use Art in a variety of ways, whether it be to create art, to replicate art, to be inspired to pursue art, to celebrate their hard work or understand the emotional impact of art. They will be confident to experiment and express themselves through art and understand that each individual may demonstrate their creativity in a different way. Every child will understand the power of their imagination and perceptions, creating a brighter future for themselves and making valuable contributions to society.