Art & Design
Art Curriculum at Oakmeadow
‘Life in all its fullness’ John 10:10
At Oakmeadow, we are passionate about nurturing creativity and fostering a love for art among our young learners. Our art activities resonate with the idea of “living life in all its fullness”, inspired by the biblical verse from John 10:10.
The purpose of education is to nurture and enable every child to thrive and to be the person they are fully capable of being. In our primary school, art isn’t just about aesthetics; it’s about nurturing wholehearted living through creativity.
Here’s how our art program aligns with this philosophy:
Celebrating Individual Experiences:
We continually encourage children to celebrate their own artistic experiences. Through painting, drawing, printmaking, textiles and sculpture, the children explore their unique perspectives and express their emotions, just like life itself in a diverse, creative manner.
Embracing Diversity and Culture:
Our children are exposed to art from different times and cultures, fostering an openness to diversity. By studying various artists, artistic styles and techniques, they learn to appreciate the richness of human expression.
Building Resilience and Creativity:
Art is a journey of exploration. Our learners take risks, experiment with materials, and build resilience. Whether it’s mastering brush strokes or sculpting clay, they develop perseverance and problem-solving skills—essential for a full and meaningful life.
Inclusion and Communication:
Art provides a platform for all children to communicate and express themselves. For learners who find communication challenging, art becomes a powerful tool. It aids emotional development and equips them to give, receive, and respond to feedback positively.
Inspiring Curiosity and Reflection:
We model curiosity, open-mindedness, and creative risk-taking. Our pupils explore varied techniques, materials, and themes. They learn that creativity is subjective, experiential, and essential for a well-rounded life.
Art - The Oakmeadow Way
At Oakmeadow, we want our children to express their individual thoughts and ideas through the process of making different forms of art. Art, craft and design engages, inspires and challenges pupils to be creative, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to experiment and create their own original pieces. We value Art and Design as an important part of the children’s entitlement to a broad and balanced curriculum. Art and Design provides the children with the opportunities to develop and extend skills and an opportunity to express their individual interests, thought and ideas. We endeavour for every child to build skills in drawing, painting, printing and 3D work. Underpinning this, children will develop an understanding and appreciation of art from a variety of cultures and periods through history. A high-quality art and design education should engage, inspire and challenge pupils, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to experiment, invent and create their own works of art, craft and design. As pupils progress, they should be able to think critically. 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.
At Oakmeadow, we will teach the children to be artists through:
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Building skills and becoming proficient in drawing, painting sculpture and other art, craft and design techniques
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Them producing creative work exploring their ideas, recording experiences
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Evaluating and analysing creative works using the language of art, craft and design
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Learning about great artists, craft makers and designers and understand the historical and cultural development of their art form.
British Values and Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Learning in Art:
Social: Children’s artwork is celebrated throughout the school. We encourage children to respect each other’s ideas and opinions when talking about pieces of art and design including the work of others in the class. We encourage children to work collaboratively and begin to understand that everyone is entitled to his or her own thoughts and ideas. In the final unit of the year, we aim to create a collaborative art piece that revisits key skills from previous units. Our children participate in local art initiatives; The big draw (Shrewsbury School), The Christmas card competition, World Book day competition, The Arts Project: King’s Coronation Project, End of year collaborative art work and other local art projects.
Moral: Children show mutual respect towards the work of others. Children are encouraged to show compassion and understanding when giving feedback towards their peers.
Spiritual: Children use imagination and creativity to explore ideas and feelings in works of Art and express themselves through their own art and design activities.
Cultural: Children have access to a variety of different artwork showing different beliefs and cultures. Our curriculum shares artwork from around the world and from varying different artists and work. This leads to greater understanding of different ways of life and respect for cultures different to their own. Children Explore a range of festivals and celebrations from our own and other cultures.
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Miss Rebecca Gill
Art Lead