Art and Design
“Creativity builds confidence.” — Ken Robinson
At WHPS we use the Kapow Scheme to support our teaching of Art and Design.
Our Art and design scheme of work aims to nurture pupils’ creativity, imagination and visual literacy, encouraging them to think like artists and designers.
The intention is for pupils to develop the confidence to experiment, express ideas and communicate meaning through visual and tactile media.
The scheme promotes an appreciation of art as a powerful form of human expression, helping pupils to understand its role across different cultures, time periods and creative industries. It encourages children to value originality, take creative risks and reflect critically on their own work and that of others.
Kapow Primary’s Art and design curriculum is structured around five strands that run through each unit:
- Generating ideas -Producing creative work and exploring ideas.
- Using sketchbooks -Recording experiences and becoming proficient in drawing.
- Making skills -Becoming proficient in drawing, painting, sculpture and other art, craft and design techniques.
- Knowledge of artists -Learning about great artists, craft makers and designers and understanding the historical and cultural development of their art forms.
- Evaluating and analysing -Evaluating and analysing creative works using the language of art, craft and design.
These strands ensure a balanced coverage of the practical, theoretical and disciplinary knowledge pupils need to progress in Art and design, while supporting the development of both creative confidence and critical thinking.
Kapow Primary’s Art and design scheme of work has been designed as a spiral curriculum with the following key principles in mind:
- Cyclical – pupils return to the key knowledge and skills again and again during their time in primary school.
- Increasing depth – each time a skill is revisited, it is covered with greater complexity.
- Prior knowledge – pupils build upon previous foundations rather than starting again.
From exploration to expression
Building on the principles of a spiral curriculum, the Art and design scheme supports pupils in developing from early sensory exploration and mark-making to increasing technical proficiency, personal expression and critical understanding.
