Art & Design

At The Horsell Village School, we believe that children should have a rich and varied experience of Art and Design because of the importance it plays in the enrichment of our lives and the contribution it makes to our mental wellbeing. We want them to have opportunities to express their creativity and use their imagination. We want them to have the knowledge and skills to enable them to draw, paint and express themselves through their art.

Planning is purposeful and linked to Enquiry and Investigation starting points, seasons or celebrations that children can relate to and understand but also includes opportunities to explore and learn about art from different cultures. There are links to our school ethos of outside learning and the world around us.

Children are taught to discuss, form a view and appreciate artworks in a range of media. These can be used as a starting point for their own artwork. They are taught appropriate vocabulary when talking about artwork. Art also provides a visual way which can support children can to understand and talk about emotions and feelings.

Skills are taught and progression is seen as the children move through the school, as laid out in the Art progression document. Children are given the opportunity to explore, practice and develop skills in order to be able to use them in their own creations. Resilience is developed as some pieces are created over more than one session. Time is taken to review and evaluate and listen to pupil’s views about their experiences which contributes to engagement and commitment to their artwork. They will have the opportunity to create from their own ideas as well as being inspired by other artists.

A range of opportunities are sought not only to share our artwork with the wider community, for example, Celebration of Learning and community projects such as Art@thestation.