Art and Design | smithills-school

ART, DESIGN and photography

“Art is our one true global language. It knows no nation, it favours no race and acknowledges no class. It speaks to our need to reveal, heal and transform. It transcends our ordinary lives and lets us imagine what is possible.”

Richard Kamler

artist/activist/curator/educator

Subject Intent:

Our curriculum is about engaging, inspiring and challenging students. It is fully inclusive, supporting all students to access the knowledge and skills regardless of their starting points and barriers to learning, enabling them to participate in, experiment with, invent and create their own works of art, craft and design. Learning will enable students to realise that everything they encounter has been designed by someone, whose ideas began with a pencil and paper. Seeing the differences between art, craft and design is paramount to their understanding of the subject. Art is creating for personal enjoyment and wellbeing, craft is making using traditional making techniques and design is created to fulfil a purpose in any form. All of these are still in high demand today, resulting in the creative industry being the second largest in the UK.

We built the curriculum with the intent that students will:

Experience a broad, deep and knowledge rich curriculum by making art and creativity accessible for all and to encourage students to extend, explore and expand their creative thinking and problem solving skills. To inspire students by introducing them to artists, craftspeople, designers, photographers and movements in art, alongside a variety of art made across different time periods, cultures and countries; to expand student knowledge and understanding by putting into context different periods of art history.
Be literate and numerate to develop a critical and technical vocabulary relevant to art, craft and design and to creative, media and design industries. Students will develop and apply their reading and writing skills alongside their speaking and listening skills as they research, communicate, analyse, critically evaluate and review the work of significant artists, craftspeople, architects, film makers, photographers and designers.
Have opportunities to work in a range of scales (from small size to large scale works) in 2 and 3 dimensions and in virtual and time based media, becoming visually perceptive and visually literate through looking, thinking, recognising, interpreting and understanding art, craft and design as a medium of communication and meaning which uses visual symbols and icons.
Have high expectations for their behaviour and achievement through engaging experiences within the subject. Students will develop creative confidence and learn how to make individual choices, improve their creative and technical skills and gain mastery as they increase proficiency in their execution.
Develop their cultural, moral, social, mental and physical development through reflection and response to the work of artists, craftspeople and designers, and to the social and historical context in which they worked. Pupils develop their spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding, empathising with others and learning more about world cultures. They develop awareness of the place of art, craft and design in the world to comment on and change opinion, or transform life experiences.
Be prepared for life beyond the school by providing opportunities to investigate a wide range of creative outcomes from past and present and how they shape our history and future; enabling students to contribute as confident citizens and future professionals to the culture, creativity, economic success, leisure, material and emotional well-being of our society within both national and global contexts.

Subject Implementation:

In art, design and photography we implement our curriculum through teaching methods that promote an understanding of not simply what, but why we are learning and how this learning might impact and enhance a student’s overall learning experience.
Our curriculum is focussed on embedding challenge, metacognition, memory techniques and literacy, whilst providing contexts that are relevant to enhance their experience of the subject and deepen their understanding and ability to apply key concepts and ideas to a multitude of everyday situations.
In years 7 and 8, skills-based lessons allow students to express their creative imagination as well as providing them with opportunities to practice and develop mastery in the key processes of art. This is supported through the studying of a chronological art timeline in KS3, looking at key art movements and featured artists and the development of a knowledge of their work ranging from pre-historic cave painting through to contemporary art. We believe that this provides a sound platform of knowledge and skills for pupils who wish to further their studies into GCSE art or photography.
Schemes of learning at KS3 allow students to look at a range of different techniques and skills-based activities, introducing them to all areas within art, craft and design. Drawing, painting, printmaking, sculpture, collage, textiles, graphics, photography are studied to further develop, broaden and extend their skills knowledge and understanding of materials and processes through the key concepts of art, craft and design.
In years 9, 10 and 11, students work towards a GCSE in either art or photography. Broader concepts are revisited, however, knowledge is built upon foundations from previous study, enabling students to make individual choices, improve their creative and technical skills and gain mastery of specific techniques as they increase proficiency in their execution. This allows for progression from KS3 whilst providing a strong foundation for further study at AS and A-level as well as vocational pathways.
Schemes of learning at KS4 have been designed to allow students a variety of learning experiences and approaches, including engagement with sources and develop the skills to explore, create and communicate their own ideas. Students will demonstrate these skills through the development, refinement, recording, realisation and presentation of their ideas through a portfolio and by responding to an externally set assignment.

Rigorous, reliable and accessible assessment tracks understanding and allows bespoke planning to occur as a result. The GCSE Assessment Objectives and Key Stage 3 Progress Objectives are not interchangeable, but there is a strong line of development from KS3 into GCSE coursework programmes through characteristics developed within each of the Assessment Objectives; generating, making, evaluating and knowledge. On-going assessment occurs through teacher monitoring of classwork and discussions with students. Outcomes of these are analysed and discussed within the department and interventions and extra support implemented where appropriate. Assessment outcomes are compared to targets to monitor progress. Specific groups such as SEN, DP, MA are closely monitored and intervention, where necessary, is planned in order to reduce gaps and allow students to meet their targets.
A blended learning approach is used to promote and develop students’ independent learning through the medium of Microsoft TEAM. Tasks are set in lessons and at home and supported by knowledge organisers, which are linked to schemes of learning. Lesson PowerPoints and resources, including home learning booklets linked to each theme, are available to support learning. Teachers will engage with students through feedback on progress which will enable them to improve and extend their learning.

Subject Enrichment:

Enrichment opportunities ensure students get the broad, balanced curriculum they deserve, as well as equipping them with the knowledge, skills and abilities to thrive in the modern world. In the art and photography department, we believe that enrichment opportunities allow students to explore the arts in a different environment to the curriculum with the hope to engage students who may think that art is not for them. Enrichment opportunities are important to help develop skills; having structured, additional time to focus on the art subjects will lead to skills development which can be translated back in the classroom. This is especially important for students looking to take art at GCSE, but also gives students more freedom to try out new things – to fail without negative implications.

Enrichment includes:

Proposed visit to an art gallery (KS4) (Manchester or Tate Liverpool)
Proposed visit to Salford Quays to photograph the urban landscape (KS4)
Proposed visit to Bolton sixth form and/or sixth form students to visit school to run a series of skills-based workshops (KS4 Art and Photography)
Online workshops with artists/craftspeople/designers – small workshop based activities for KS3/KS4
KS4 coursework catch-up sessions/skills booster sessions – by invitation to target specific needs of individuals to boost skills, techniques and understanding.
KS3 art/photography club – weekly lunchtime art club to look at different techniques and materials not used during class time – to encourage and enhance interest and appreciation for the subject.

Subject Impact:

The Art and Design curriculum is designed to be challenging and appropriate to each students stage of development by re-visiting, embedding, extending so that students become proficient in all Art and Design disciplines.
Develop and expand student thinking and challenge preconceived ideas, encouraging them to develop their own opinions, be able to justify these and broaden their own cultural capital.
Enhance and enrich students’ educational experience by encouraging them to express themselves creatively, to feel confident exploring media and to be able to express their own feelings and opinions fluently, whether in the written or visual form.
Inspire students by introducing them to artists, craftspeople, designers and movements in art, alongside a variety of art made across different time periods, cultures and countries; allowing them to critically think about the modern world.
Develop independent thinking skills through the promotion of self-directed study, developing transferrable skills suitable for post-16 study.
Through the study of art and photography our students increase the range and accuracy of skills and techniques, advancing their ability to apply these with increasing independence to the creative and arts industries.

Knowledge and Skills

Year 7:

Pupils will develop their knowledge of:

How to recognise and name different art forms including pre-historic art, Greek art, Roman art, Egyptian art, Medieval art, Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, Fauvism and Expressionism.
Codes and conventions that define the different creative forms in art, craft and design so they can research, plan and develop several interpretations and designs.
The ways in which signs and symbols are designed or used by artists in their work to convey messages.
The importance of mark making – that particular kinds of marks can be made with different materials or controlled using suitable tools.
How to apply their experiences of drawing, painting, printing, tactile and constructed processes/techniques, selecting suitable tools to enable them to design and make artworks.
That particular painting, craft and construction tools can be used to exploit and control properties and surface characteristics of materials to convey meaning.
How to research the work of artists, craftspeople and designers, selecting important visual and text based information to help them resolve creative problems to inform their own work.
How particular periods, genres, styles or aspects of design contain visual and expressive characteristics that convey meaning in ways which can be appropriated in their work.