Art

Why is Art Important?

Art education connects students with their own culture as well as with the wider world; it stimulates creativity and imagination. It helps develop motor skills, language skills, social skills, decision-making, risk-taking, and inventiveness. Art provides challenges for learners at all levels.

What is the aim of the Art curriculum at Oaklands?

The Art curriculum at Oaklands provides visual, tactile and sensory experiences and a special way of understanding and responding to the world. It enables children to communicate what they see, feel and think through the use of colour, texture, form, pattern and different materials and processes. Children become involved in shaping their environments through art and design activities. They learn to make informed judgements and aesthetic and practical decisions. They explore ideas and meanings through the work of artists and designers. Through learning about the roles and functions of art, they can explore the impact it has on contemporary life and that of different times and cultures. The appreciation and enjoyment of the visual arts enriches all our lives.

How is the curriculum in Art structured?

The Art curriculum in years 7, 8 and 9 explores visual elements as a grounding towards GCSE Art work from years 10 to 11. The students explore many processes in Art such as photography, painting, printmaking, collage, drawing, sculpture and clay work.  

The curriculum is structured so that it ensures skill progression in all of these areas coupled with a variety of stimuli to enable students to be creative in their response at each stage.

Topics covered in Year 7

  • Visual Elements: Line shape tone form colour texture
  • Drawing- variety of drawing techniques
  • Colour - use of hues and tone with the use of paint, pastel and other mediums
  • Analytical writing in Art - a variety of frameworks to engage in exploring
  • Texture - use of texture and surface pattern in Art

Topics covered in Year 8

  • Pop Art - looking at figurative art and structure/ Art and text.
  • Immigration - looking at portraying meaning in Art
  • Social Art - identifying Art with a message and meaning
  • Environmental Art - students explore looking at modern day society and global warming and depict imagery in Art

Topics covered in Year 9

Art and Design : Natural Forms

Subtopics

  • Street and Urban Art
  • Surrealism
  • Pointillism
  • Cubism
  • Processes in painting techniques , drawing, printmaking and collage are explored.

Topics covered in Year 10

  • Art and Design : Natural Forms

Pupils learn from taking creative risks that help them to form and develop their ideas and to create purposeful, imaginative work with some originality. They demonstrate confident understanding and use of materials, processes and the formal elements, combining these thoughtfully to realise their intentions. They analyse and comment on their own and others’ work, appreciating how codes and conventions are used to express ideas in different genres, styles and traditions. They explain how and why their understanding of the work of others affects their own ideas, values and practice.

  • Photography - five mile radius of the Oaklands School - photographic techniques

Topics covered in Year 11

  • Art and Design : Identity Art and Design Coursework - completion-Topic Identity / Exam unit topic set by Exam Board.
  • Final ideas

Students be able to select and explore visual information to develop their work and be able to compare and analyse ideas, methods and approaches used in their own and others’ work, relating these to the context in which the work was made be able to select and explore visual information to develop their work be able to compare and analyse ideas, methods and approaches used in their own and others’ work, relating these to the context in which the work was made.

  • Photography - five mile radius of the Oaklands School - photographic techniques.

KS4 Qualification title

  • GCSE Art and Design

KS5 Qualification title

  • A Level Art and Design

Practical tips/activities for parents to support learning at home

Revision study for Art GCSE can be obtained from google classroom. These documents contain support with reflective writing frameworks. Visits to art galleries help support students' cultural awareness in Art. After School club is highly recommended for Study Support workshops which are run by the Art department until 5 o'clock. Practising the use of drawing from objects, people and the environment is highly recommended. 

Art Curriculum Maps

Art Assessment Framework KS3