Art & Design

Intent

“As Westleigh artists we can make the imagined real and we can capture and reflect the world around us. We can speak when words might fail. We are brave and bold; being inspired by others, making mistakes whilst learning new skills. We, as Artists, will express ourselves freely, as equals”

Implementation

Learning is embedded through the development of knowledge and skills over time through overlapping concepts.
Projects are planned (and marked) holistically across all key stages in order to, whilst following structure, allow for fluidity and change, to reflect the often non-linear journey of the artist. Confidence with dexterity/fine motor skills and practical ability is built through a foundation of experiences with a range of media (both 2 and 3 dimensional) which begins in KS3 when we take the students through all key elements of art and design practice. Throughout KS3 all of these key elements are revisited, whilst accessing different media to ensure a wide range of experiences across Y7/8. This methodology allows for effective differentiation, marking and feedback as well as stretch and ‘mastery’ for more able KS3 students.
In both key stage 3 and 4 students will access written tasks, whether recapping practical skills, understanding subject specific terminology or analysing the work of artists/designers/craftspeople or questioning wider societal issues. The rationale here is that those students who don’t pursue art at KS4 will still have participated in a wide range of creative experiences and developed both practical and written transferable skills.

Our KS4 artists will access activities enabling them to further develop skills at a sophisticated level, providing a ‘tool belt’ of practical applications needed to pursue independent creative lines of enquiries along a loose theme/framework. They will also be encouraged to analyse, explore and question areas of interest at a deeper level through extended writing tasks and thorough written reflections to enable them to examine their own practice and their identity as ‘the artist’.

Impact

The key stage 3 journey… practical skills will commence using various media, demonstrating technical skills around aspects of drawing, painting, printmaking, mixed media, digital art/manipulation and 3D exploration. Formal elements such as basic colour theory and the principals of mark making, application of tone and the qualities of texture should be understood. Students will have the ability to articulate verbally/in writing the work of historic/contemporary practitioners and related themes. Students will be empowered to make informed creative choices regarding use of media, choice of colour and material in order to pursue a successful outcome.
The key stage 4 journey… practical abilities will be more sophisticated which alongside written work will demonstrate a deeper understanding of their own practice and the work of relevant practitioners. Students will be able to independently follow a line of enquiry, planning, exploring, preparing and presenting a body of work which encompasses a range of techniques, styles and approaches.