Our new Guerrilla Curriculum 2020 groups subjects into enquiry projects, which are taught once throughout the year.  Art, Music and Drama are taught together in the autumn term in Years 3 and 4, whilst in Years 5 and 6 they are taught in the summer term.  The Arts project area is -Creativity and Imagination, which links to our school motto: 

Creative. Curious. Caring. We make every moment count

Within this project pupils will have the opportunity to develop:

• Communication through speaking and listening.
• Courage to stand out and be different (risk-taking).
• Individuality and independence.
• Appreciation of themselves and others.
• Awareness of the global community.
• Inspiration.

The big questions the children will explore are:

• How is there freedom in the arts?
• What is the purpose of the arts?
• What do the arts tell us about our diverse society?
• Is it better to stand out or fit in?

To see the long term plan for art please follow the link below for our Guerrilla Curriculum Long-Term Plan.

Curriculum Intent

Our school motto

Creative. Caring. Curious

At Wirksworth Junior School we value Art as an important part of our pupils' entitlement to a broad and balanced curriculum. Art provides pupils with the opportunities to be creative and to express their individual interests, thoughts and ideas. Art, craft and design embody some of the highest forms of human creativity. We intend our pupils to be curious about the world around them. They should be able to think critically and as they progress, develop a more rigorous understanding of art works. In addition we want our pupils to care about art and how it reflects and shapes our history and also how it contributes to the culture, creativity and wealth of our nation. The artists we have chosen to study have been carefully selected to take into account cultural capital.

Curriculum Implementation

To enable an in-depth approach to our art curriculum to be taught, we will 'block' the majority of our art teaching into one term. Art is part of the 'Creativity and Imagination' strand of our curriculum. The art teaching incorporates the National Curriculum. To ensure we have skills progression we have created a skills progression ladder. Pupils will be taught to:

• create sketch books to record observations and use them to review and revisit ideas.
• improve their mastery of art and design techniques, including drawing, painting and sculpture with a range of materials (for example pencil, charcoal, paint, clay).
• Learn about great artists, architects and designers in history.

In addition, we are very proud to be a part of the famous Wirksworth festival each year.  

https://www.wirksworthfestival.co.uk

The knowledge we want pupils to learn has been carefully selected to ensure they have a broad, deep understanding of artists who have influenced others and used techniques which pupils can apply to their own learning. this is mapped out across the school. We have also created knowledge organisers so pupils can transfer this knowledge to long term memory.

Curriculum Impact

Class teachers use on-going assessment opportunities to assess pupils. They use this to inform their planning, lesson content and next steps. Teachers create folders of exemplar work for moderation purposes.

Websites that can help with the Art curriculum