Art and Design

Our Art and Design curriculum aims to inspire pupils and develop their confidence to experiment and invent their own works of art. We believe it is important to nurture creativity, experimentation and exploration of their own ideas.  

At Charlton, we follow the Kapow Art and Design scheme of work to ensure our pupils will have opportunities to develop their ability, nurture their talent and interests, express their ideas and thoughts about the world, as well as learn about art and artists across cultures and through history. We want our pupils to develop the confidence to take risks, express themselves creatively and explore their interests and ideas, as well as be reflective learners who evaluate their work and the work of others.

By using Kapow as our Art and Design scheme, we are enabling our children to meet the end of key stage attainment targets in the national curriculum. These can be found in individual unit planning and in our progression documents. As part of our school development towards an Artsmark accreditation, Kapow Primary is an Artsmark partner and this will give our school additional support on our Artmark journey, inspiring our children to create, experience and participate in great arts and culture.  

Fundamental Concepts 

The Kapow Art and Design curriculum is structured with five key strands that run throughout the scheme. These are: 

• Generating ideas 
• Using sketchbooks 
• Making skills, including formal elements (line, shape, tone, texture, pattern and colour) 
• Knowledge of artists 
• Evaluating and analysing  
  
  Kapow’s Art and Design scheme has been designed as a spiral curriculum, which means the key aims and principles of the curriculum are revisited each year. The key principles we will be following with the Kapow scheme are:  

• Cyclical: Pupils return to the key strands again and again during their time in primary school. 
• Increasing depth: Each time the key strand is revisited, it is covered with greater complexity. 
• Prior knowledge: Upon returning to each key strand, prior knowledge is utilised so pupils can build upon previous foundations, rather than starting again. 
  
  Units of lessons are sequential, allowing children to build their skills and knowledge, applying them to a range of outcomes. The formal elements, a key part of the national curriculum, are also woven throughout units. Key skills are revisited again and again with increasing complexity. This allows pupils to revise and build on their previous learning. Units in each year group are organised into four core areas: 

• Drawing 
• Painting and mixed media 
• Sculpture and 3D 
• Craft and Design 

Other Curriculum Links 

Where possible, our Art and Design curriculum makes links to other subjects without losing sight of learning key skills and knowledge. In the Kapow scheme, the planning for each unit shows our teaching staff how links to other subject national curriculum objectives can be made.