Art and Design

In Art and design, we aim to help children develop a love of art and design and find challenge, enjoyment and satisfaction in their creativity. We plan to provide children with a variety of experiences where both their imagination and technical skills can be developed. Children have the opportunity to experiment and explore by improving their skills in drawing, collage, painting, mixed media, printing, model making and pottery.

At Stanley Park Junior School, we help children to develop their skills by learning to improve their use of; Line, tone, colour, form, composition and depth. We focus on these 5 formal elements across all year groups. In each project, teachers focus on progressing the relevant skills and techniques for the medium the children are working with.

The children study art history, focussing on the work of relevant contemporary and historical artists, craft makers and designers. We aim to increase children's awareness of art history from our own country as well as others. Including some of the historical and cultural development of their art forms, to help children understand the context of the work they see. There should be some evidence of a record of artists and designers studied to date, in the children’s sketchbooks. To see a full list the artists, craft makers and designers to include in plans, please scroll down to the bottom of the Art and Design curriculum ladder.

We aim to inspire children to respond creatively to the world around them and to develop an understanding of our cultural heritage. Children in the world today learn as much through visual images as they do through words. The understanding and use of visually communicated information, gathered from a wide range of sources, has become a basic skill.

At SPJS, we aim to help children develop visual literacy; the language and ability to interpret art and design confidently. Pupils need to learn that pictures and symbols can have several meanings and that different interpretations of them are possible and valid in a multicultural world. Every child has a sketchbook where they record most of their progress and end of project evaluations, usually alongside photographs, of final pieces produced.

In these evaluation lessons, teachers may show children an example of how they can write about the progress they have made in a certain formal element eg. Colour. For example; In painting, having learnt how to mix and apply colours, next they could have made progress, in the same medium, by learning how to represent form, using colour. As part of the end of project evaluation, teachers may lead children in understanding key vocabulary, relating to the skills they have learnt. Key words should be visible, on a slide or on the white board, for the children to use in their written reflections.

We aim to increase children's awareness of the works of artists, craft makers and designers from our own country as well as others and to understand some of the historical and cultural development of their art forms. There should be some evidence  of artists and designers studied to date, in the children’s sketchbooks. To see a full list the artists, craft makers and designers to include in plans, please scroll down to the bottom of the Art and Design curriculum ladder.

Budding artists can further explore specific skills and techniques in their optional homework projects. See project guidance for further details.

Subject Leader: Shannon Kelly

If you would like more information about how this subject is taught, please contact Miss Kelly by emailing the school office at office@spjs.org