ART ACADEMY
Ensuring outstanding teaching in Art & Design
Knowledge in Art and Design
The primary curriculum is a knowledge-based curriculum. In addition to developing their creative skills, a quality art curriculum should allow children to view and appreciate iconic works of art produced by great artists. Developing children’s knowledge of artists, works of art, styles and techniques provides a source for their creativity and is a key component in children understanding the ‘creative process’. This scheme of work provides knowledge of:
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Key artists of the past 500 years
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Iconic works of art
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Art movements and styles
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Art and colour theory
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Key vocabulary for art and design
Before the invention of photography, the work of artists was limited to works of religious art (for churches), historical depictions and portraiture for only the very richest in society. The advent of photography produced a medium that was cheaper and produced realistic portraits and landscapes and in effect could have put many artists ‘out of work’. But this also gave artists the opportunity to experiment and invent new styles and movements in art – thus modern art was born in France in the 1840s.
This scheme of work focuses primarily on Western Modern Art. Through their studies children acquire knowledge and understanding of significant types and styles of art.
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Strands of Learning in Art and Design
There are six disciplines within Art and Design:
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Drawing
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Painting
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Sculpture
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Printmaking
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Textiles
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Collage (Mixed Media)
The National Curriculum only references drawing, painting and sculpture. Art Academy covers all six disciplines. Within each discipline​ there are many different techniques. Many of them are covered throughout the six years, some are covered in greater depth. See below our guide to the 6 strands of learning:​
Drawing
Sculpture
Collage
Painting
Printmaking
Textiles
Knowledge Organisers in Art and Design
Each unit of work within the scheme has a Knowledge Organiser presenting basic understanding and knowledge about the topic being studied. The body of knowledge that the children have acquired by the end of the topic should be deeper and wider that the outline of the Knowledge Organiser. The Knowledge Organiser is just one tool in the teacher’s toolkit to enable children to recall, apply and build upon learnt knowledge and understanding. The Knowledge Organiser is shared with children at the beginning of each unit of work and is referred to in all subsequent lessons.
The Knowledge Organisers include:
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Key vocabulary and technical terms
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Definitions
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Biographies of iconic artists
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Works of art
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Timelines
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Art and colour theory​​​
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Blooming Lovely (Upper Key Stage 2)
Samples of Knowledge Organisers
Klimt Patterns (Lower Key Stage 2)
Art with Elmer (Key Stage 1)
Art History in the Art & Design Curriculum
The National Curriculum states that pupils should know about great artists, craftmakers and designers. They should also understand the historical and cultural development of their art forms. A high quality art curriculum should develop children's knowledge about artists, artwork and art traditions. Many of our art units reference iconic artworks created by famous painters as well as providing knowledge about different art movements, styles and traditions. Many units contain art museum presentation slides that develop children's knowledge and understanding of the history of art.
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