Art

Intention

At Ling Bob School, we believe that all pupils should have the opportunity to explore, develop and evaluate their artistic ideas, skills and knowledge to enable them to discover, explore and extend their natural talents so they can become artists and designers in their own right.  We want our children to acquire a wide understanding of artistic vocabulary in reference to various styles and techniques, and understand how to use and apply these styles and techniques to create their own unique pieces of art with growing confidence and resilience. We encourage our children - from Early Years through to Year 6 - to explore art through a plethora of medium including drawing, painting, textiles, printing, collage and the 3D form as well as exposing them to the work of famous (and local) artists, illustrators, architects and designers to widen their cultural experiences and to develop their appreciation of the diversity within the arts. We understand and acknowledge how art can play a vital role in giving children at our school a channel for self-expression which can in turn support their mental health and well-being. Furthermore, it gives those children who may struggle in core subjects a different platform and opportunity to shine. Art is very much an inclusive subject. It does not discriminate and as such, topics and lessons can always be appropriately adapted for those children with SEND.

In Practice

At Ling Bob, art and design is embedded across the curriculum in order to engage, inspire and challenge pupils to create their own pieces of art. Based on the aims of the National Curriculum, it is taught discretely across the whole school through a planned sequence of lessons based around a particular artist, skill or technique every half term, as well as being taught as part of a topic day with cross-curricular links to a year group’s history or geography theme or focus. In Early Years and Key Stage 1 children are exposed to a range of materials to creatively design and make products, use drawing, painting and sculpture to develop their ideas, develop techniques in using colour, pattern, texture, line, shape, form and space and learn about the work of a range of artists and designers. In Key Stage 2 children develop these skills and techniques further with increasing confidence, independence and resilience.

Sketch books are an integral part of the art and design process and are used from Year 1 upwards to capture children’s thoughts and imagination. They are encouraged to explore different types of medium and improve their technique in these as they build towards producing a finished design or piece of art. In Years 5 and 6 A3 sketchbooks have been introduced to allow children more freedom to research, explore and express themselves creatively. Once an artistic concept has been talked about, practised, developed and refined children are encouraged to share their work with their class—either by show and tell, or via a walking gallery around the classroom. This encourages our children to take pride and responsibility for their own work, whilst learning to appreciate and value the work of their peers. To bring learning to life, local artists are invited into school to run workshops with groups of children and in 2022 we held our very own school art exhibition which brought much excitement for our children and parents—who got to purchase their child's artwork—as well raising money for school.

Going forwards, we are planning to apply for an Arts mark Award to showcase our commitment to embedding creativity across the whole of our curriculum.

Outcome

When children leave Ling Bob J I & N School they will be able to talk confidently about a range of artist’s work using technical vocabulary and demonstrate a wide range of artistic styles, skills and techniques which they can develop further at High School. They will be familiar with using sketchbooks to practise, refine and showcase their artwork and have confidence in their creative abilities and talent.

Working with an Artist

Some children across KS2 had the chance to work with local artist Sylvia Pearson last Monday, alongside local charity Edshift.  The children were creating strange, giant, Avatar-esque, glow in the dark flowers using repurposed plastic, which will be exhibited at The Let The Light In: Gold Exhibition in December, which will form part of the celebrations for CultureDale.  The children had a fantastic afternoon and really enjoyed being part of this exciting project, and they will get the chance to attend the exhibition when it goes on display in December!

Edshift is a local charity that supports children from across Calderdale to prevent domestic abuse and sexual violence.