We want our school community to SHINE as artists and creators.

Intent

Cookham Rise is committed to providing children with a rich and engaging artistic experience. Most importantly, we want our children to enjoy their art journey and be excited to engage in creative activities that develop artistic skills and allow exploration. We believe art is a vital subject within our broad and balanced taught curriculum that not only enriches our lives but also lays the foundations for future employment in creative industries.  We want to enable all children to feel able to think and act creatively and to be part of a community that celebrates the richness of artistic talent in our immediate locality, the wider world and from different periods.

We are committed to constantly developing our art provision. We look for opportunities to widen our knowledge and refresh our creativity, which supports us to approach our teaching with vigour and passion.

'Every child is an artist.

The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.'

Pablo Picasso

Implementation

Implementation 

of Art and Design at Cookham Rise Primary School is based on the National Curriculum and supported by further expert guidance from NSEAD (National society for Education in Art and Design). We use the expertise of the well regarded Access art organisation to deliver our curriculum. Our curriculum provides well-structured and progressive creative content. Children are given exploratory opportunities as well as the opportunity to practise and develop skills in a range of mediums which include drawing, painting, printing, collage, textiles, digital media and sculpture. Within this, children examine the key elements of line, colour, texture, shape, form, space, tone and pattern.

The work of artists from a range of historical periods and cultures as well as contemporary art are used to help children learn to think critically as well as using to inform their own work. Children at Cookham Rise have the opportunity to periodically work with professional artists through a partnership with our local arts centre, Norden Farm. This enriches their experiences and supports the development of aspirations.

Cookham Rise is committed to evaluating and developing the art journey for children as they travel through our school, reflecting on current research and making adaptions and changes as necessary. As a School, we look for opportunities to widen our experience, refresh our creativity and enable us to approach our teaching with vigour and passion.

We have chosen three key drivers, which are reflected within each of the topics that we cover:

Opportunities - this encompasses our desire to introduce the children to as many possibilities as possible. We will enhance this through inviting speakers into school, as well as going on school trips. A recent example of this was a mosaic artist working in the school with children to create a group mosaic for the school grounds. Another example of this is the annual lantern festival held in Maidenhead where our children have the opportunity to work with professional kite makers and exhibit their work.

Community - we are at the heart of a lovely school community, but want the children to learn about and understand the wider communities they are part of, both in the UK and the wider global community. We believe we have a responsibility to help children understand and embrace diversity. Examples of this include taking part in the annual Cookham Arts Festival and the annual Children’s Summer Exhibition at the Royal Academy. Some of our Art units examine how Art can be used to celebrate and bring communities together.

Creativity - we aim to be as creative as possible in how we teach our children, but also want to encourage their creativity across the curriculum. The art curriculum allows children to take risks and apply their learning to their own thinking. The art curriculum is progressive as well as experiential.

Teaching staff will summarise the art and design learning that will take place on a termly basis through our curriculum maps that are published on our class pages and also articulate this to parents through weekly class letters.