Intent
At Westfield Primary School, our Art curriculum is designed to inspire pupils to become imaginative, confident, and creative artists, developing a strong understanding of artistic techniques and processes.
We encourage children to take creative risks by exploring ideas through sketching, modelling, and experimenting with different materials. Pupils are supported to reflect on and refine their own work, as well as to evaluate the work of others, building confidence and resilience. Through a hands-on and engaging approach, children become reflective learners who value feedback and see improvement as an essential part of the creative journey.
Our aim is to foster an appreciation of the role of art and design in the world around us, nurturing resourceful and enterprising individuals equipped with the skills and creativity needed to contribute to future artistic and design innovations.
Implementation
At Westfield, we use the Kapow scheme of work to guide our Art lessons from Years 1 to 6, ensuring clear progression of skills and knowledge throughout the school. Art is taught for one hour each week on a half-termly rotation with Design and Technology across all key stages. Our long-term plan outlines the key artistic concepts, techniques, and skills appropriate for each year group.
We employ a range of teaching approaches, including teacher modelling, collaborative work, and engaging visual stimuli, to support and challenge all learners. Children are encouraged to apply their artistic knowledge creatively, producing work that links to other areas of the curriculum through meaningful cross-curricular connections. Summative assessment is used regularly to monitor pupils’ progress and to ensure that skills and understanding are built upon systematically over time.
Impact
Pupils develop a strong understanding of key artistic concepts, including how art reflects, influences, and responds to society, the environment, and everyday life. Assessment outcomes and final pieces clearly demonstrate individual progress. For example, Year 4 pupils produced impressive Anglo-Saxon–inspired artwork using recycled materials, showing creativity, careful planning, and thoughtful use of media. One pupil commented, “I loved creating and designing my artwork and using a variety of materials.”
Children’s enthusiasm is evident in their work, which showcases attention to detail, imaginative ideas, and a strong sense of pride in their finished pieces. This positive and supportive learning environment nurtures creativity while developing essential skills
such as critical thinking, problem-solving, and practical artistic techniques, preparing pupils to succeed in an ever-changing world.
Our Art & Design Subject leader is Mrs Freemantle who oversees the curriculum and ensures staff training.
This is Mrs Freemantle’s first experience of leading Art & DT, but she is really enjoying having this opportunity.
Over the past year we have worked closely with HfL to ensure that our Design & Technology curriculum meets the needs of our children and because of these meetings we are now using Kapow to guide our learning.