Intent

Our vision for Art and DT is:

• For all children to learn and embed skills in designing, making and evaluating through the delivery of an inclusive, rich, broad and balanced curriculum.
• For all children to be able to use a wide variety of creative techniques to express themselves and for them to learn skills which enable and enhance real-life application in future
• For all children to be exposed to a diverse range of art and artists and for them to be able to express their own opinions about the creative work they explore.
• For children in the early years to understand their world by being able to choose and explore different artistic techniques which enhance their personal creativity and imagination. 

Implementation

To achieve this, in line with the National Curriculum, we have developed a progressive art and design curriculum for the whole school which supports children in making cross-curricular links and offers opportunities for them to embed the skills they are learning.

How is Art taught at South Camberley?

Art at South Camberley is taught by our specialist art teacher and class teachers in both classrooms and our specialist art studio.  The year group teams work in collaboration with our art teacher to develop exciting learning opportunities which link to the topics and themes across our wider curriculum, where possible.  We support all learners to achieve their best in art and ensure that lessons are adapted to meet individual needs, by paying close attention to some of the sensory challenges that can occur through art, for example.

We teach a knowledge-rich art curriculum from Early Years to Year 6 where each unit of work offers children the opportunity to study one of a diverse range of artists.  By the time children leave South Camberley, they will have explored the art of many different artists and their individual styles.  The inspiration they draw from these artists offers the opportunity for our pupils to create pieces of art which feature characteristics of the artist’s style, whilst giving them freedom of expression.  Alongside traditional art techniques, including sculpture, drawing and painting, the art we create includes opportunities for children to explore comic art, African masks, wax resist paintings and mixed media approaches.

We further enrich our art curriculum by making connections between children’s experiences and the art they create.  For example, where pupils visit an aquarium, the art we create is inspired by the work of Henry Moore, using watercolour and wax techniques to create images of different ocean creatures.  We also strive to support our pupils’ cultural experiences by running our own art club, inviting professional artists to undertake workshops with the children and we have planned a visit to a gallery so that they can further experience the sense of awe and wonder that being immersed in art offers.

How is DT taught?

At South Camberley, DT is taught using a fully immersive approach which ignites curiosity and offers opportunities for exploration, design, implementation and evaluation. Each term, we host DT days for every year group where pupils are given a scenario or brief to fulfil so that learning in DT is purposeful and memorable.  Our pupils love the opportunity to think creatively and refine their skills in logic as they are transformed into architects, builders, engineers, mechanics, chefs and electricians! 

Working collaboratively as part of a team towards an outcome offers our pupils vital opportunities to connect with one another in different ways and to develop essential skills in problem solving and key behaviours, such as social skills and active participation.

Our carefully designed DT curriculum creates links with other subjects and themes, including geography, science, history and computing because we know that creating connections supports children in knowing more and remembering more so that these skills can be used for life.  For example, pupils learning about forces through a science topic become engineers by researching theme park rides, learning about mechanisms and pulley systems and designing a prototype ride for a theme park!  Using some of our exciting technology at school, we are able to further bring this to life for our pupils so that the learning is further embedded.

Fundraising

Here at South Camberley, we are passionate about children’s lives being enriched with memorable experiences and in order to make these possible, we will be holding fundraising events to help support and action these trips and activities.

Celebration of work

We share exciting displays of our children’s passion for art and design across our three campuses.  Once a year, we display our children’s work in frames for all to see as we open our school art gallery!  We award our pupils endeavour in Art and Design with art certificates and Outstanding Art Awards so that we can celebrate together as a school and with our pupils’ families.

Impact

Our diverse and enriching curriculum ensures that children leaving South Camberley and moving to secondary school are equipped with culture, diverse outlooks, artistic techniques and real-life values and technological application. By the end of Year 6, learners will have had memorable experiences, developed more varied ways to express themselves and know how to apply the skills they have learnt on their journey throughout primary school.