Curriculum Overview for Key Stage 3 Art and Design

National Curriculum programme of study: Art and Design
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a7c4e02ed915d3d0e87b798/SECONDARY_national_curriculum_-_Art_and_design.pdf

Curriculum intent – the knowledge, understanding and skills that students will learn
At Blackfen School, all students study Art up to Year 9. They can then choose to do Art or Photography as a GCSE qualification in Key Stage 4. The Art department aims to create independent creative individuals, not just students who study Art because art, craft and design embody some of the highest forms of human creativity. The intent of the Art curriculum is to enthuse, engage, inspire and challenge students in the subject while building a scaffolding of Formal Element knowledge through observational drawing, experimental outcomes and insight into artists’ styles and techniques. The focus of our Art curriculum is to equip students with the skills and knowledge to enable them to become inventive and create their own work through experimentation using mixed media, whilst understanding the resistance of materials and its capabilities. As students progress, they should be able to think critically and develop a more rigorous understanding of art and design. They should also know how art and design both reflect and shape our history, and contribute to the culture, creativity and wealth of our nation. They will learn how to analyse and critique artists’ work, using key words and subject specific subject language when writing and relating to the artists and linking this to their own outcomes. The Art department aims to promote artistic independence and individuality, building students’ personal opinions that reflect their understanding, thoughts and feelings through the creation of various different pieces of art work. Through the key stage, students will be able to use transferable, cross curricular enquiry and analytical skills from a knowledge and a practical skill base. They will develop critical understanding of artists, architects and designers, expressing reasoned judgements that inform their own work. Students will also develop confidence as the curriculum develops and their skills are embedded, thereby enabling them to produce creative thinking, build resilience and develop curiosity through their understanding of the formal elements and application of these theories throughout their work. The key skills developed will be transferable for those wishing to continue to study Art or Photography as a GCSE qualification.

Curriculum implementation – teaching, learning and assessment strategies
Our Key Stage 3 Art Curriculum is taught by art specialists in weekly lessons and is constantly reviewed and adapted, so that teaching is effective and sets up students for future success. The curriculum is teacher led: success criteria are shared and consist of demonstrations and artist research to develop students’ understanding of skills and techniques which can be applied to their own learning. Students are encouraged to produced outcomes which reflect their personal learning journey. They build on formal elements (key terms) throughout the year and use this terminology  when discussing and writing about work, for example, when required to research and analyse artists’ work for homework. The art department moderates student work termly to ensure consistency of assessment. Students recap prior learning through on-going quizzes and discussion which test their understanding of terms and movements, as well as artists and techniques. They use key words and subject terminology to evaluate their outcomes and peer assess other students’ work. Summative assessment takes place after a student completes a final outcome, with further opportunity to improve from teacher assessment. The sequence of learning in Art is based on three lessons of experimentation and skill development supported by teacher formative assessment, followed by two lessons to create an outcome which forms a summative assessment. Week 6 is a ‘try now’ lesson based on assessment feedback from the teacher, whereby students are encouraged to review their work and independently identify areas which needs to be improved. This promotes reflection, acknowledgement of skills, ownership and choice making to improve on outcomes.

Curriculum impact – intended outcomes for students 
By the end of Year 9, Blackfen students are able to competently use mixed media and relate these to the chosen Artists. They can adopt an experimental approach and produce a variety of techniques to realise their outcomes. Students should be able to use key terminology and apply this vocabulary to their critical analysis and evaluations of their own and others’ work. Students will take ownership of their outcomes to be able to problem solve and improve on their skills. They will finish Key Stage 3 having built a solid foundation of the knowledge and skills of Art and design. 

Assessment overview for Key Stage 3 Art and Design
In Year 7, students start Key Stage 3 with a baseline assessment to establish their understanding of drawing ability, skills and knowledge. This enables teachers to plan teaching and learning appropriately and, in conjunction with whole school achievement data, to set challenging subject targets. Skills and progression are developed through visual analysis, using fact and opinions, key terminology and mastering use of mixed media. Varied assessment strategies are used due to the range of content in the curriculum. Throughout Key Stage 3, students learn the formal elements and are able to use these effectively to explore a range of media and skills and to experience new techniques to create artwork. Every term, Key Stage 3 students create an assessment piece combining all of the skills learned throughout the term. Their explorations enable them to continuously revisit the key elements of art (the formal elements, application of media, discovering of new artists) while developing enhanced skills using a range of media. In Year 7 students explore the formal elements of line, colour, shape and pattern, focusing on what each of these formal elements are and how to use the skills of each of the formal elements. In Year 8, they study the formal elements of tone, form and composition, as well as multicultural art, learning about the techniques of art used in different cultures. In Year 9, students explore 2D-, 3D- and digital art techniques, as well as focusing on artists and art movements. As in Year 7 and Year 8, their final outcome combines all of the skills learned in each term and revisits the key elements of art. 

In addition to on-going formative assessment based on classroom and home learning, summative assessment of students’ progress in Key Stage 3 Art and Design takes place in line with whole-school arrangements for assessment. Please see the Curriculum and Assessment policy on the Curriculum website page for further details about Key Stage 3 formal assessment.