Art at St Catherine’s Catholic Primary School

At St Catherine’s Catholic Primary School, we are passionate about fostering creativity and inspiring our children to think, work, and communicate like artists. Our art curriculum follows the CUSP Art Curriculum, a carefully sequenced and knowledge-rich framework. At St Catherine's, we have tailored the curriculum to meet our specific needs by focusing on selected units, ensuring depth and progression across key artistic disciplines.

Intent

Our art curriculum aims to:

• Provide children with opportunities to explore and develop skills across a range of artistic disciplines, including drawing, painting, printmaking, textiles, 3D work, and collage.
• Enable pupils to think and work creatively, using key artistic techniques and processes.
• Develop children’s confidence to express themselves artistically while learning about significant artists and movements.
• Build a strong foundation in the formal elements of art: shape, line, colour, value, form, texture, and space.

Implementation

• Tailored Curriculum: At St Catherine’s, we follow selected units of the CUSP Art Curriculum as outlined in our planning. Each year group completes three key blocks of art across the year, ensuring progression in drawing, painting, and other disciplines.
• Skill Progression: Children build on their prior knowledge, with each block designed to revisit and extend learning in increasing complexity.
• Sketchbooks: From Year 1 onwards, children use sketchbooks to document their learning and showcase their artistic journey. These sketchbooks are passed on to subsequent year groups to demonstrate progression.
• Practical Lessons: Each block is delivered in three lessons (or over 5–6 hours), allowing sufficient time for experimentation, development of skills, and reflection.
• EYFS Foundation: Children in Reception follow the Kapow Art scheme, focusing on exploratory and sensory activities to develop early artistic skills, recorded through topic books rather than sketchbooks.

Supporting SEND Learners in Art

At St Catherine’s, we are committed to ensuring that all children can access and enjoy art lessons. To support SEND learners:

• Activities are adapted to meet individual needs, such as using alternative materials or simplifying tasks.
• Visual aids, demonstrations, and step-by-step guides are provided to clarify processes.
• Children are encouraged to express themselves in ways that suit their abilities, fostering inclusion and creativity.

Impact

• Skilled Artists: By the time they leave St Catherine’s, pupils have developed a strong foundation in artistic knowledge, skills, and techniques across multiple disciplines.
• Confident Creators: Children demonstrate confidence in experimenting with materials, expressing their ideas, and evaluating their work.
• Informed Thinkers: Pupils understand the role of art in culture and history and can discuss their own work and the work of others using appropriate vocabulary.