At Altham we aim:
- To enable all children to have access to a varied range of high quality art experiences
- To provide an imaginative, innovative and co-ordinated art programme which will foster enthusiasm for art and design amongst all the children
- To foster an enjoyment and appreciation of the visual arts and a knowledge of artists, craftspeople and designers, through links with the local and wider multicultural community.
- To stimulate children’s creativity and imagination by providing visual, tactile and sensory experience
- To help children explore the world at first hand, using all their senses and experimentation, and so gain knowledge and understanding of the world in which they live
- To develop children’s understanding of colour, form, texture, pattern and their ability to use materials and processes to communicate ideas, feelings and meanings
- To inspire confidence, value and pleasure in art
- To cultivate children’s aesthetic awareness and enable them to make informed judgements about art and become actively involved in shaping environments
- To teach children to express their own ideas, feelings, thoughts and experiences
- To develop children’s design capability
- To enhance children’s ability to value the contribution made by artists, craft workers and designers and respond critically and imaginatively to ideas, images and objects.
At Altham, art is taught as a stand-alone subject as well as being included in topic work where appropriate. Our curriculum is carefully planned to engage and excite all our learners.
Early Years Foundation Stage
The Reception children will be given the opportunity to explore colour, texture, shape and form in two and three dimensions. The children will have access to a wide range of constructions, collage, painting and drawing activities, using appropriate tools and art materials. In order to tap their artistic potential, the children will be encouraged to develop their own creative ideas.
Key Stage 1
During Key Stage 1, Art and Design is about expanding children’s creativity and imagination through providing art, craft and design activities relating to the children’s own identity and experiences, to natural and manufactured objects and materials with which they are familiar, and the locality in which they live.
- Children will explore the visual, tactile and sensory qualities of materials and processes and begin to understand and use colour, shape and space, pattern and texture, to represent their own ideas and feelings.
- Children will focus on the work of artists, craftspeople and designers by asking and answering questions, such as: ‘What is it like?’ ‘What do I think about it?’
Key Stage 2
During Key Stage 2, Art and Design is about fostering children’s creativity and imagination by building on their knowledge, skills and understanding of materials and processes, through providing more complex activities. Children’s experiences help them to understand the diverse roles and functions of Art and Design in the world around them.