Intent -

At Holy Cross Catholic Primary School, we value Art and Design as an an important part of the children’s entitlement to a broad and balanced curriculum. Art and Design provides the children with the opportunities to develop and extend skills and an opportunity to express their individual interests, thought and ideas. It iss our belief at Holy Cross that all children should have access to the Arts in order to foster a lifelong love and appreciation of this subject.

Art, craft and design embody some of the highest forms of human creativity. A high-quality art and design education should engage, inspire and challenge pupils, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to experiment, invent and create their own works of art, craft and design. As pupils progress, they should be able to think critically and develop a more rigorous understanding of art and design. They should also know how art and design both reflect and shape our history, and contribute to the culture, creativity and wealth of our nation.

Implementation -

The teaching and implementation of the Art and Design Curriculum at Holy Cross Catholic Primary School is based on the National Curriculum and supported through the Thurrock Trailblazer which is an innovative programme of high quality arts and cultural activities, visits to heritage sites and specialist teacher training, that boosts creative learning in schools and accelerates pupils’ development.

The children are taught Art as part of their termly topic work.  Areas covered include sculpture, pattern, texture, mosaics, printing, nature, Roman art, Egyptian art, Mexican art, religious art and symbols, painting, photography, propaganda art and the works of the Impressionist artists.  More detail can be found in our Art Curriculum Map.

The work of famous local, national and international artists are explored to enhance the children's learning. 

The children's learning is further enhanced with whole school arts week where the children have the opportunity for collaborative working and exploring the different styles and techniques of a range of artists.

Impact -

We focus on progression of knowledge and skills and discreet vocabulary progression also form part of the units of work.

We measure the impact of our curriculum through the following methods:

• Assessing children’s understanding of topic linked vocabulary before and after the unit is taught.
• Summative assessment of pupil discussions about their learning.
• Images and videos of the children’s practical learning.
• Interviewing the pupils about their learning (pupil voice).
• Moderation staff meetings where pupil’s books are scrutinised and there is the opportunity for a dialogue between teachers to understand their class’s work.
• Annual reporting of standards across the curriculum.
• Work in children’s own sketchbooks.

Children in Foundation Stage are assessed within Expressive Arts and Design and their progress is tracked termly using Target Tracker. Age related expectation levels are reported to parents at the end of the reception year.