Art & Design

Art & Design Lead: Miss Fernandes

Vision

At Menorah Foundation School, our aim is for our children to develop their imagination and creativity through art and design. Art and design is an essential part of the curriculum and our wish is for our pupils to feel inspired by it and to inspire others through the pieces they produce.

By linking with other areas of the curriculum, children use their wider learning as a stimulus for producing art pieces which draw upon a range of artistic skills and knowledge. Through practical, hands-on sessions, we endeavour to ignite a passion in our learners and for them to develop a genuine appreciation and enjoyment for the arts.

End points are carefully planned for so our children can recognise that their art has a purpose; we celebrate their artistic achievements by holding a pop up art gallery that the wider community are invited to visit. Our hope is that by inviting a diverse group, there will be a critical audience who will provide our children with constructive feedback about their pieces. We want our children to have the opportunity to think and reflect, and be motivated to reach their full potential.

How We Teach Art & Design at MFS

• A progression document from Nursery to Y6 - formulated using NSEAD (National Society for Education in Art and Design) and the National Curriculum - ensures full coverage of the art & design curriculum.
• Teachers reference this document to ensure that children experience and use the full range of artistic skills outlined.
• Each unit covers new skills and knowledge from the following headers: Responding to Art, Drawing, Painting and Sculpture.
• Art and design is integrated into everyday practice in EYFS and children begin to explore skills and knowledge from the headers shown above.
• Medium term plans are used from Y1 - Y6. These enable teachers to ensure that art and design units are covered in full; key artists are highlighted and their artwork is used as a stimulus. The art and design lead supports teachers with this planning.
• Each art and design unit in Y1 - Y6 follows the structure of Immersion, Imitation and Invention:

• Sketchbooks are used in lessons from Y1 - Y6.
• Teachers introduce and continuously revisit key vocabulary at the beginning of each art and design lesson. This enables children to access and deepen their understanding of the art and design curriculum.
• Teachers have the necessary resources for planning and presenting engaging lessons that inspire children.
• Children are encouraged to ask questions and make links with learning in other areas of the curriculum.
• We build on children’s cultural capital by assigning each unit a ‘Key Artist’ – artists from a range of backgrounds and cultures who have had an impact in the artistic world. Children are encouraged to investigate these artists outside of school and present their findings to the class. In addition to this, we link art and design with events such as Black History Month which allows us to cover more skills and knowledge over and above what is outlined in our progression document.
• We promote a love of art by hosting a pop up art gallery for the community to visit.
• Teachers have the opportunity to observe and be observed teaching art and design in order to share best practice.

Impact

Coming soon