'Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.' — Edgar Degas

Curriculum Intent

At St Peter’s, we are committed to providing a high-quality Art education for all our children. We believe that Art is an essential part of a broad and balanced curriculum, enabling children to become creative, confident and reflective artists, with the skills and understanding to express themselves and respond critically to the world around them.

Art lessons at St Peter’s are skilfully designed to provide children with a wide range of artistic experiences, whilst developing the key skills and knowledge they need to explore, experiment and create with increasing independence. Children will be introduced to a diverse range of artists, cultures and artistic styles, both locally and from the wider world, allowing them to become immersed in and inspired by the work of others. However, underpinning every lesson is a rigorous focus on developing core artistic skills, including drawing, painting, sculpting and mixed media, alongside the ability to plan, experiment, evaluate and refine their work.

Through an enquiry-based approach, children will develop a critical eye and learn to reflect on their own work and the work of others. Knowledge and skills are carefully sequenced throughout their time at St Peter’s, ensuring that children build upon prior learning and develop a secure understanding of key artistic concepts. The skills of creativity, experimentation, reflection and evaluation will become increasingly embedded and transferable, supporting children not only throughout their time at St Peter’s but also in their future learning and beyond.

Curriculum Design

At St Peter’s, we want our children to develop more than just practical art skills. We want them to become confident, creative and reflective artists who understand how artists use the visual elements of art to communicate ideas, feelings and experiences and apply their understanding of this through a range of techniques.

Our Art skills and knowledge are built around 4 key big ideas:

 

Painting - Children will develop an understanding of how colour, tone, texture, pattern and composition can be used to communicate ideas and create mood and atmosphere. They will experiment with different paints, tools and techniques, learning how to mix and manipulate colour and make increasingly deliberate artistic choices. Children will explore how artists use paint in different ways, from representing the world around them to expressing ideas, emotions and interpretations

 

Drawing - Children will develop drawing as a way of exploring, recording and communicating ideas. They will learn how artists use line, tone, texture, pattern and proportion to represent what they see, imagine and feel. Children will experiment with a range of drawing materials and techniques, making increasingly purposeful choices to create effects and communicate meaning. They will understand that drawing can be used to develop ideas for other artwork as well as being a finished artwork in its own right.

 

Sculpture - Children will develop an understanding of how artists use form, shape, texture, space and materials to create three-dimensional artwork. They will explore how materials can be shaped, joined, constructed and transformed, making purposeful choices to communicate ideas. Children will learn to consider how sculpture occupies space and how it can be experienced and interpreted from different viewpoints.

 

Mixed media - Children will develop an understanding of how different materials, processes and techniques can be combined to communicate ideas and create meaning. They will explore how contrasting textures, colours, patterns, lines and forms can work together within an artwork. Children will experiment, refine and evaluate their choices, learning how artists select and combine media to create particular effects, express ideas and develop their own interpretations.

 

At St Peter’s, our Art curriculum is rooted in the belief that children become artists by developing both artistic knowledge and creative understanding. Rather than simply learning how to use materials and techniques, children explore the key concepts that underpin art, including line, colour, tone, texture, pattern, expression and interpretation. Through these big ideas, children develop an understanding of how and why artists make choices and how art can communicate ideas, feelings and experiences.

Learning is driven by curiosity and enquiry, with children exploring the work of artists alongside opportunities to experiment, create and develop their own responses. As they progress through St Peter’s, children revisit and deepen their understanding of key concepts, making connections across different artists, materials and art forms. They develop the confidence to take creative risks, reflect and refine their work, building the critical eye, creative thinking and individual voice needed to become thoughtful and capable artists.