At Riverside we believe that Art and Design is for everyone.

Curriculum Intent

At Riverside Primary School, we value Art and Design as an important part of the children’s entitlement to a broad and balanced curriculum. Art and Design provides the children with the opportunities to develop and extend skills and an opportunity to express their individual thoughts and ideas.

Out Art and Design curriculum embodies some of the highest forms of human creativity. Pupils will be exposed to a high quality Art and Design education, in which they will be engaged, inspired and challenged, and they will be equipped with knowledge and skills enabling them to create their own works of art, craft and design.

As pupils progress, they will be able to think critically and develop a more in-depth understanding of Art and Design. They will also learn about how Art and Design both reflect and shape our history, and contribute to the culture and creativity of our society. 

Early Years Foundation Stage

Within the Foundation Stage (Nursery and Reception), the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework is followed. The ‘Art’ aspect of the curriculum is followed through the area 'Expressive Arts and Design'.

Art teaching is integrated into the overall topics or themes of the half term. During EYFS, children learn to:

Create closed shapes with continuous lines, and is beginning to use these shapes to represent objects

Draw with increasing complexity and detail, such as representing a face with a circle and including details

Use drawing to represent ideas like movement or loud noises

Explore colour and colour-mixing

Show different emotions in his/her drawings and paintings, like happiness, sadness, fear etc

Explore, use and refine a variety of artistic effects to express his/her ideas and feelings

Return to and build on his/her previous learning, refining ideas and develop his/her ability to represent them

Create collaboratively sharing ideas, resources and skills

Safely use and explore a variety of materials, tools and techniques, experimenting with colour, design, texture, form and function (ELG)

Share his/her creations, explaining the process he/she has used (ELG)

Charcoal drawing of WWII Air Raid Shelter in the style of Henry Moore, Year 6

Key Stage 1

Our pupils will be taught:

• to use a range of materials creatively to design and make products
• to use drawing, painting and sculpture to develop and share their ideas, experiences and imagination
• to develop a wide range of art and design techniques in using colour, pattern, texture, line, shape, form and space
• about the work of a range of artists, craft makers and designers, describing the differences and similarities between different practices and disciplines, and making links to their own work

Key Stage 2

Pupils will be taught to develop their techniques, including their control and their use of materials, with creativity, experimentation and an increasing awareness of different kinds of art, craft and design.

Pupils should be taught:

• to create sketch books to record their observations and use them to review and revisit ideas
• to improve their mastery of art and design techniques, including drawing, painting and sculpture with a range of materials [for example, pencil, charcoal, paint, clay]
• about great artists, architects and designers in history