Our vision for Art at Woodlea

At Woodlea, we want all children to leave at the end of KS2 with a confidence to work creatively with the skills to record their imagination and ideas. During KS3, we want children to be able to apply their experience of a range of techniques, materials and a good understanding of how humans use art for self-expression and making sense of their lives. 

‘It seems so obvious, but a lot of people simply don’t understand that, at the beginning and end of all the things that are essential to a civilised world is a creative human being. That the cars that they drive in, and the suits that they’re wearing, these items all started off with work by a creative person. That if it wasn’t for artists and designers, you would have had to walk out without your clothes on.’  Lubaina Himid RA, CBE

It is therefore an important part of every child’s education, or as artist Bob and Roberta Smith would say:

‘Art is your human right’ and ‘All schools should be art schools’

Our intent 

At Woodlea, we aim to create children who are confident in working creatively. From the minute that they join us in year 3 they are encouraged to see the importance of art to humans from its earliest origins. By the time they leave in year 6, children have experienced a range of artistic techniques and materials and have a good understanding of how humans have used art through the ages for self expression and making sense of their lives. We encourage our children to see art making as a process of experimentation and development and recognise that creative thinking can help us in other areas of our lives.
 

How we implement our curriculum

At Woodlea, we explore the three main techniques of painting, printmaking and sculpture. Alongside this we are continuously developing our drawing skills and techniques.

We learn about artists throughout history; from our prehistoric ancestors up to artists living and working today. Through looking at these artists, we aim to learn their techniques and use them to produce our own artworks. The artists that we study are drawn from a wide and diverse range such as: Lubaina Himid, Yinka Shonibare, Andrea Buttner, Bernini, Hans Holbein, Kiki Smith, Banksy, Shepard Fairey, Barbara Kruger, David Hockney, Tony Bevan, Albrecht Durer, Utagawa Hiroshige and Katsushika Hokusai.

We are also developing links with local artists so that the children can begin to develop their aspirations towards a creative career.

The impact of art in our school

Art has become something that our children love to do and take a great deal of pride in. They can see how their learning in previous years is developed and skills built upon. Our children enjoy the variety of materials and techniques that they use and apply the knowledge that they gained, from looking at the work of other artists, to their own work. Art lessons have inspired some children to explore their interest further at home. For instance: many of our year 6 children have asked their parents to buy them Lino-printing kits after learning the skill at school. 

During the autumn term, Year 3 have been learning about observational drawings. They explored drawing implements that they could use to create different forms, shapes, lines and marks and they explored how to create texture. As part of this unit, Year 3 compared what art looked like in different times and cultures and used different sources to collect and record information. Finally, they recorded from first hand observation and created cave art. 

During the autumn term, Year 4 have been learning about figure drawing and painting. They began by exploring different drawing implements that they could use to draw lines, marks, forms and shapes and how to create pattern, tone and texture. They learned how to draw figures in proportion and in different positions. Finally, they looked at the role and purpose of artists in the Ancient Greek times and used their skills to create Greek vases. 

During the autumn term, Year 5 have been developing their printing skills. They began the unit by comparing the works of Andrea Buttner and Albrecht Durer. Then, they explored creating marks, lines, patterns, textures and shapes. After that, they looked at how to use composition, scale and proportion in their work and they created printing blocks to use the relief method of printing. 

During the autumn term, Year 6 have been further developing their printing skills by exploring how to use a reduction technique to print in two colours. They began the unit by observing the work of Hans Holbein and Tony Bevan, before learning about complementary and contrasting colours. They independently created detailed drawings and created prints using three overlays.