Art and Design Leader: M. Ridgard

Year 1 and Year 4 have recently had the opportunity to take part in a 'Chicken Wired' workshop.

The Year 1 children had sent in their alien designs before half term. Mr Norman, who ran the work shop created two of the alien designs out of chicken wire for the children to then complete by weaving tissue paper.  

The Year 4 children created birds using the chicken wire. They had to use their mathematical skills to measure and cut the wire creating the bird shape and then they decorated by weaving tissue paper. 

All children enjoyed the experience of creating 3D sculptures and working with chicken wire.

The National Curriculum

“Art, craft and design embody some of the highest forms of human creativity. A high-quality art and design education should engage, inspire and challenge pupils, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to experiment, invent and create their own works of art, craft and design. As pupils progress, they should be able to think critically and develop a more rigorous understanding of art and design. They should also know how art and design both reflect and shape our history, and contribute to the culture, creativity and wealth of our nation.”

Our Vision

At Moon’s Moat First School, art plays a significant role as we aim to engage, inspire and challenge children. By teaching our children the knowledge and skills of art, we can then allow them to experiment, imagine and invent their own pieces. To create meaningful learning opportunities, we embed art and design within our topics.

Artistic skills are taught and developed alongside exciting topics, allowing children to be enthusiastic and imaginative through their learning journey. A variety of artists, both historical and modern, are used for the children to build an appreciation of art and to help engage and inspire the children when delivering their own pieces of art. Children are given opportunities to reflect on their work allowing them to give their own opinions and look at their next steps within their learning.

Children’s work from home and in school is celebrated and displayed around the school to allow for a love of art to be further developed.

At Moon’s Moat First School our aim is:

• To develop an enjoyment and appreciation of the visual arts and knowledge of artists.
• Give children the opportunities to explore their own ideas as well as ideas linked to a specific topic.
• Allow children to analyse artwork using the language of art and design.
• Develop children’s confidence and individuality through art.
• To celebrate children’s work and raise their self-esteem.
• Develop creativity and imagination through a wide range of activities.
• To enable children to record from  first-hand experiences, their imagination and to select their own ideas to use in their work. 
• To improve the children's ability to control materials, tools and techniques. 
• To develop the ability to evaluate their own and others artistic achievements 

The teaching of the art and design curriculum at Moon's Moat First School is based on the National Curriculum and links to topics to ensure a well-structured approach is taken to this subject. By teaching through a topic approach, it allows for the children to be immersed fully into art and be able to make links across subjects. School planning also ensures that children are broadening their experiences by allowing them to deepen their knowledge and understanding through experiences. Areas covered include sculpture, printing, Pop art, painting, seaside collages, sketching, aboriginal art, pointillism, and artist exploration. The work of a wide variety of artists are explored to enhance the children’s learning further. More details can be found in our Long-Term plan.

Children in the Early Years explore and use a wide variety of media through a variety of adult directed and child led activities. They are provided with opportunities to explore a range of textures and use a variety of media and materials. They develop skills to use simple tools and techniques competently and to use them with a specific purpose.

By the end of Year 4 we aim for children to have learnt and embedded a wide range of artistic skills and to have an understanding of a broad range of artists, their artwork and the skills learnt through those artists. We want children to have an enjoyment of art and the skills to enjoy and explore the process of art not just value the final piece. Children should be able to use art as their own creative expression and feel confident to experiment and explore. We believe that by teaching art through a topic approach across years 1-4 the children can make links with other subject areas and show an understanding of how knowledge and skills can be transferred across the curriculum. This can be seen in the topic webs produced for each topic.

Click here to see how Art and Design is taught in the Foundation Stage.

Click here to view our Art and Design policy.

Click here to view knowledge and skills progression in Art and Design at Moon’s Moat First School.

Click here to view the progression of vocabulary from Year 1 to Year 4.