ART

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The Art Team

Curriculum Leader

Miss C Dadson - cdadson@theacademy.me

Teachers of Art

Miss L Green
Mr D Scarlett

CURRICULUM INTENT

COGNITION CURRICULUM

Art and Design makes a unique contribution to Academy life and the learning experience of all students.

Art is enjoyable and accessible for all abilities and ages, the department provides a quality experience that can be life enhancing and enriching. We offer opportunities to experiment and explore many disciplines in Art and Design, enabling students to be creative through expressing individual thoughts, ideas and opinions in varied ways. To respect one another views which challenge their own and to take these into consideration when reviewing and refining their ideas.

Art and Design develops student’s awareness of the visual world and the cultures that have shaped it throughout history. The department promotes decision making and problem-solving, while developing practical skills which can be transferred into all subject areas

The Art department opens the student’s eyes to the world of Visual Arts in a broad sense.

Reciprocation is incorporated into lessons by students having group discussions and sharing their own opinions about each other’s work and work of famous artists and cultures. As Art is a very personal subject students are encouraged to express their views with no right or wrong answer which enables them to look more closely at and appreciate the visual world around them.

Resilience is an integral part of Art, throughout KS3 and KS4 students will be introduced to many new skills and techniques, where they will be given the opportunity to experiment and explore these finding their own creative pathways. The students are encouraged to think outside of the box use a trial and error approach in building independence and confidence in their ability.

Resourcefulness is the environment of the Art Department, all rooms and corridors surrounding the department are filled with inspirational and informative displays which students refer to regularly to enable them to move forward. At KS4 students create a personal portfolio of work and take control of their development with guidance form exemplar work, steps to success and Personal Learning Checklists.

Reflectiveness is an important element of both KS3 and KS4 Art as they develop confidence and independence of the subject by reflecting on what has worked well and what would have been better, these are shown through responses to SIR marks and annotations with in sketchbooks. These enable students to show how they have progressed within their practical skills and development of projects.

Recall is a key skill used during starters and plenaries to lessons, during this time students regularly recall keywords and reminders of how to use techniques through group discussion, teacher or student led demonstrations.

CULTURE CURRICULUM

Throughout KS3 and KS4 all projects are influenced by a range of artists and cultures from around the world, students research these and develop their own work in a similar style.

We have an annual project working with an Artist from Waddesdon Manor, where a group of year 9 students create a piece of art which is placed in the Manor grounds as part of the Christmas Light Festival.

Termly competitions are held to celebrate international days, which enables the students to express themselves in creating personal pieces of work outside of the curriculum.

Weekly Art clubs are held for both KS3 and KS4 students, we also open the department at lunchtime for those who like to have a quiet space

CORE CURRICULUM

KS3 Art and Design follows the National Curriculum, throughout KS3 students will be taught the visual language of Art and Design through the promotion of skills, knowledge and understanding. All topics will encourage students to recognise and appreciate qualities of the formal elements of Art and they are given the opportunity to work with a variety of materials and processes using a range of tools and techniques. These will include drawing, painting, collage, printmaking and clay.

Students are introduced to the use of sketchbooks and are encouraged to use them to record observations and gather resources to help stimulate and develop imaginative ideas. Stimuli generally used includes using the school environment, objects from nature, the home and themselves. Work from other artists and other cultures is introduced where appropriate. Themes are introduced whereby students are encouraged to look for meanings in their work and in other artists' work.

At KS4 we offer two GCES options:

1. EDUQAS GCSE FINE ART

Work produced for this qualification will demonstrate the use of formal elements and creative skills, and give form to individual thoughts, feelings, observations and ideas. Students will show evidence of trying to extend their own and others’ ways of seeing the world. They will use the language of the subject sensitively and thoughtfully to support their intentions.

Students will develop skills in:

Creative and imaginative ability and the practical skills for engaging with and for communicating and expressing original ideas, feelings and meanings in art, craft and design.

Investigative, analytical, experimental and interpretative capabilities, aesthetic understanding and critical and enquiring minds, with increasing independence.

Cultural knowledge and understanding of art, craft and design and of the media and technologies used in different times, contexts and societies.

Personal attributes including self-confidence, resilience, perseverance, self-discipline and commitment.

The course consists of two units of work:

Unit 1: Personal Portfolio in Art and Design (60% of overall grade)
Unit 2: Externally Set Assignment / Exam (40% of overall grade)

2. EDUQAS GCSE ART, CRAFT AND DESIGN

The GCSE in Art, Craft and Design is a broad and flexible course that requires students to develop an appreciation of the creative process through a practical response, using a variety of two-dimensional and three-dimensional media, materials, techniques and processes.

Students should explore critically how artists, craftspeople and designers from diverse cultures, times and societies have arrived at solutions and communicated meaning using the formal elements. Students should use this knowledge when developing new ideas, recording observations and creating outcomes which fully realise their personal intentions.