Art & Design

Our Intent (What we do)

At Barwick in Elmet CE Primary School and Nursery, our intent is to provide all pupils with a high-quality, ambitious and inclusive Art and Design curriculum that enables every child to think, work and communicate like an artist. We believe that art is a vital part of a broad and balanced curriculum, allowing pupils to explore creativity, develop technical skill, and better understand the world around them and their place within it.

Through the CUSP Primary Art and Design curriculum, we aim to:

• Ensure pupils acquire secure substantive knowledge (core knowledge of artists, materials, techniques and processes) alongside disciplinary knowledge (what it means to work artistically).

• Provide a carefully sequenced curriculum that builds vertical progression across key artistic disciplines, including drawing, painting, printmaking, textiles, 3D and collage.

• Enable all pupils, including those who are disadvantaged or have SEND, to access ambitious, age-appropriate artistic learning through high-quality teaching and effective scaffolding.

• Develop pupils’ ability to observe, explore, experiment, evaluate and refine their work, fostering creativity, independence and resilience.

• Equip pupils with rich artistic vocabulary so they can confidently discuss their own work and the work of others using subject-specific language.

• Make meaningful connections to CUSP Big Ideas, literature and wider curriculum themes, helping pupils understand how art reflects culture, history and human experience.

• Foster positive attitudes towards art so that pupils approach learning with curiosity, confidence and pride in their creative outcomes.

Our Art and Design curriculum reflects our school’s values of Love, Peace and Respect, encouraging collaboration, appreciation of diversity, thoughtful expression and respect for the work and ideas of others.

Our Implementation (How we do what we do)

Our Art and Design curriculum is delivered through the CUSP Primary Art and Design programme, which provides a coherent, carefully sequenced journey from Early Years to Year 6.

Curriculum Design

• The curriculum is organised into blocks, each focusing on a specific artistic discipline.

• Key disciplines are revisited over time with increasing levels of challenge and complexity, ensuring strong vertical progression.

• Substantive knowledge is mapped within each discipline, while disciplinary knowledge is broken down into granular steps so teachers are clear about what pupils should know and be able to do by the end of each unit.

• CUSP Big Ideas are woven through the curriculum to deepen understanding and provide meaningful context for artistic study.

Teaching and Learning

Art lessons follow the CUSP 6 Phases, which guide teacher instruction and pupil participation:

• Connect

• Explain (including Explicit Vocabulary Instruction)

• Example

• Attempt

• Apply

• Challenge

• Lessons are supported by Knowledge Organisers (minimum expectations of study) and Knowledge Notes, which use chunking, dual coding and clear layout to reduce cognitive load.

• Teachers use precise artistic language and explicitly teach threshold and clarification vocabulary.

• Explainer clips are embedded within units to support teacher subject knowledge and ensure confident, accurate modelling.

Oracy and Vocabulary

• Oracy opportunities are built throughout the curriculum to develop pupils’ ability to articulate artistic thinking.

• Structured talk tasks such as hexagon pathways, adapted Freya models, and strength of meaning activities are used to deepen understanding and vocabulary acquisition.

• Pupils are exposed to high-quality artistic language through teacher modelling, discussion of artists’ work and evaluation of their own outcomes.

Inclusion and Scaffolding

• Scaffolding toolkits enable teachers to adapt learning effectively, including reducing text load, chunking resources, modelling processes and using EdTech where appropriate.

• Adaptive teaching ensures all pupils can succeed, while maintaining high expectations.

• SEND and disadvantaged pupils are supported through carefully planned scaffolds that enable independence rather than reliance.

Sketchbooks and Cross-Curricular Links

• Pupils use Art Sketch Books to record learning, explore ideas, practise techniques and reflect on outcomes.

• Double-page spreads show the development of ideas, use of knowledge organisers and application of vocabulary.

• Strong links are made to literature, with specific books and illustrators used as stimuli, supporting connections between Art, Reading and Writing.

Our Impact (The result of what we do)

The impact of our Art and Design curriculum is seen in pupils who are confident, knowledgeable and articulate artists, who take pride in their work and understand the purpose and value of art.

By the end of each phase, pupils will:

• Demonstrate secure knowledge of artistic techniques, materials and processes.

• Apply skills with increasing control, precision and creativity across a range of disciplines.

• Use subject-specific vocabulary accurately when discussing their own work and the work of others.

• Evaluate, refine and improve their work, showing resilience and thoughtful reflection.

• Make meaningful connections between art, culture, history and wider curriculum learning.

• Make good or better progress from their starting points, including pupils with SEND and those who are disadvantaged.

In Early Years, children will:

• Explore and experiment with materials, tools and techniques with confidence.

• Develop fine motor control and early artistic skills through play and structured activities.

• Use talk to describe what they are doing and creating.

• Meet the Early Learning Goals for Expressive Arts and Design where appropriate.

Across school, outcomes in sketchbooks, pupil voice, lesson observations and assessment show a coherent, well-sequenced curriculum with high expectations for all learners. Pupils leave Barwick in Elmet CE Primary School with the creativity, confidence and artistic understanding needed for the next stage of their education and for life beyond school.

Our Long Term Plan for Art