Art and Design

In St Margaret Mary’s Catholic Junior School, we use KAPOW ART and ensure that our children experience the fundamentals of art through broad and balanced units, including exploration of the work of a wide range of artists and makers. They develop the skills required to explore, analyse and discuss art. They are encouraged to combine their knowledge of what constitutes ‘art’, specific artists and techniques with their own experiences to evaluate artworks and to inform their own creative practices.

Each unit works towards all of the National curriculum attainment targets so that children develop their knowledge and skills around the formal elements in a holistic way. Units are divided into four core areas (drawing, painting and mixed media, sculpture and 3D Craft and design) which are repeated in each year group. Children are given opportunities to develop mastery by revisiting core subject knowledge and applying that knowledge practically in a range of contexts with growing complexity. We encourage autonomy, with a greater emphasis on children developing their creativity through experimentation and individual responses. Units provide flexible options, enabling links to other topics and creative outcomes. There is an emphasis on developing children’s use of sketchbooks to apply skills and knowledge. We also incorporate Big Questions and Reading into our art lessons to encourage children to think, make links, reason and remember.

Big Questions and Books