Art & Design

The aims of the Art and Design Curriculum at Stockingford Academy are:

• To inspire children’s creativity when expressing what they observe, think and feel using different media
• To develop children’s knowledge and appreciation of a diverse range of artists and their work
• To develop children’s art, craft and design skills including drawing, painting, sculpture, collage, printing and digital art
• To build children’s knowledge and use of the language of art, craft and design.

Delivering the Art and Design Curriculum at Stockingford Academy:

In Early Years, the foundations of Art and Design are taught holistically, with knowledge and skills woven into engaging topics that have been developed systematically to ensure progression. Children develop knowledge about colour, texture and form, and learn to draw, paint, print and collage in a variety of contexts including painting self-portraits, pattern printing and observational drawings.

In Key Stage 1, Art and Design is taught through termly art projects, each focused on one of the core disciplines of art and design – drawing, painting, sculpture, collage and printing. Children’s knowledge of the differing disciplines is built through projects including painting a school playground scene, drawing a city scape from the local area and printing patterns inspired by Indian culture. They develop their skills across the disciplines, including colour mixing for painting, selecting colours for collage and designing an indented printing tile.

In Key Stage 2, Art and Design continues to be taught through termly art projects focused on the core disciplines of art and design – drawing, painting, sculpture, collage and printing. In addition, digital art is introduced in Upper Key Stage 2. Children further their knowledge of the differing disciplines through projects including landscape painting, drawing a still life and using recycled materials for a sculpture. Children continue to develop their skills across the disciplines, including considering proportion, creating mood and atmosphere and selecting from different shading techniques.

Across the key stages, art projects are taught using a bespoke teaching sequence:

Explore > Practise > Develop > Express

In each art project, children explore the work of a significant classic or contemporary artist whose work is linked to the project outcome. 

Our Inspire Artist Spine identifies British, European and World artists who have been chosen for focused study within Themes, allowing children to experience and appreciate the work of a diverse range of artists, from the past and the present. Selected artists include contemporary artists such as Banksy and Michelle Reader, as well as classic artists including Frida Kahlo and Van Gogh.