INTENT

At Maltby Redwood, our art curriculum is designed to inspire, engage, and challenge all children. We aim to provide a rich and varied learning experience where every child can explore their creativity, develop technical skills, and express themselves through a range of artistic forms. Our intent is to foster a love for art and culture, helping children appreciate the value of creativity both in school and in wider society. Through engaging in different media, techniques, and art traditions, children will build confidence in their abilities, development in creativity and independence.

We strive to promote and develop our children’s critique whilst studying their own and others’ cultural backgrounds and a range of famous and local artists that they can reflect upon. The children will learn to evaluate and reflect upon different forms of art and understand how art contributes to the world around us.

We believe that children are naturally creative, and that it is our job to offer them the freedom, space and materials to allow their creativity to grow and develop.

IMPLEMENTATION

The teaching and implementation of Art and Design at Maltby Redwood is based on the National Curriculum and, where possible, is linked to year group topics to ensure a broad and balanced curriculum is offered to meet the learning needs of the children in our school. Art is taught on a regular basis, linking into the learning journeys planned and delivered in each year group, inspired by the work of notable artists from the modern, contemporary and traditional era. This is taught over a six-week block which would incorporate:

• observational drawing;
• the study of a relevant artist;
• the skills and techniques taught and practised;
• the application of the skills;
• the publication of the final art outcome and evaluation of their own and their peer's work.

Throughout the block of work, the children have the opportunity to investigate, explore and develop ideas and techniques. They are also involved in evaluating their work, celebrating success and identifying areas for improvement.

In EYFS Art and Design opportunities are part of continuous provision: these activities make important contributions to children’s development in not only 'Expressive Arts and Design’ but other areas of learning such as ‘Communication and Language’. Art projects are taught as a sequence of lessons linking to the children's current learning journey and where appropriate an artist

IMPACT

At Maltby Redwood we aim for each child to leave our academy as creative and critical thinkers with a passion for art. By providing our children with the skills and confidence to pursue their interests, we have seen many children continue to engage with art beyond the classroom, whether through extracurricular activities or personal artistic projects. Our curriculum instils a sense of curiosity and a lifelong appreciation for the arts, and we are proud to see our children develop not just as artists, but as critical thinkers, communicators, and active contributors to their communities.