Art and Design

At Holy Family our primary intent in teaching Art is to develop children’s confidence in experimenting with their imagination and creativity. Children study and learn to appreciate a range of media and artists and have numerous opportunities for their own creative response.  Our curriculum enables children to develop their artistic skills progressively, throughout their time with us, and units of work are designed to build on children’s prior knowledge and skills. 

Children in Key Stage 1 are taught a range of foundational skills and techniques, with studies of artwork and artists linked to their wider curriculum themes.  Children in Key Stage 2 are introduced to more complex skills, techniques and artistic movements.  Children are supported in developing their knowledge and understanding of influential artists within specific art movements and links are made to prior and further learning, often chronologically.  

Development of Knowledge and Skills

• Generating ideas – encouraging autonomy; developing creativity; generating original ideas through experimentation.
• Making skills – becoming familiar with the formal elements of art; developing practical knowledge of a variety of media and materials; exploring and testing out different creative methods, tools and techniques.
• Evaluating and analysing – discussing art using appropriate language to analyse a creative work; considering how art is studied, discussed and judged; examining what art is and why people make it.
• Knowledge of artists – exploring traditional and contemporary artists, craft-makers and designers from diverse communities; studying the materials, processes and meanings of these artists.
• Using sketchbooks – documenting and trying out different ideas and media; evaluating and evolving the children’s artwork.

The appreciation of and opportunities to respond to various artists and works of art is embedded within the spiritual life of the school and throughout our wider curriculum, for example in RE, History and English.  Links are made to the wider social, cultural and historical context of the artistic movements and the diverse range of artists studied supports children in developing their understanding of a diverse global society.  

Design Technology

Design and technology intent and implementation at Holy Family School is through discovery, awe and wonder, using problem solving skills and creativity and imagination to design and make products that solve real and relevant problems within a variety of contexts. Our aim is to make the learning journey of DT purposeful, considering others needs, wants and values. Our DT, where possible, is cross curricular, allowing the children to develop their knowledge of a topic they are learning about and provide deeper learning experiences.

Through DT, we enable the children to apply learning from across the curriculum, including opportunities to apply maths, science, computing, art, communication, team work and motor skills. Children are able to take risks and to be resourceful.

Through communication, trial and error, learning from our mistakes and our successes the children evaluate their own and others work, deciding if products that already fit a desired spec are suitable or considering their own design to be more efficient. They develop the ability to analyse and make decisions that have an impact on the wider world. 

Our Design and Technology curriculum is sustainable, economical and resourceful in its aim to provide high quality DT without having a large impact on our planet and the carbon footprint we create. We aim to use recycled products and we learn how to use these with care so that we can share, reuse and recycle.