Art

At Bannerman Road Community Academy our vision for Art and design is that all pupils whatever their background, needs and ability are given an opportunity to respond to the world around them through a range of media. They experience high quality Art and Design teaching and are encouraged to explore their creativity through our engaging, broad, rich and inclusive curriculum. We achieve this by subscribing to the Access Art Curriculum.  

Access Art allows Bannerman Road a dynamic, diverse creative space which is designed around the idea that art is far more than a series of technical skills. We adapt the curriculum to ensure the holistic approach nurtures creative thinking skills and helps ensure our pupils learn through art, as well as about art. The curriculum encourages exploratory journeys, working towards varied and individual outcomes. Bannerman Road believe that we teach art because it is one way we can enable our children to reach their creative potential. 

Our children are given the opportunity to be creatively inspired with the familiar around them as well as being curious about the unknown and our lessons lend themselves to explore their own thoughts and ideas based on what they have been exposed to.  Children are encouraged to communicate their learning in a variety of ways including expressing their reflections in verbally as well as through sketch books and celebratory galleries. Our curriculum is carefully sequenced to ensure that children progress and continue to build on techniques that have learnt. This allows them to develop their resilience by practicing and beginning to master the art techniques. Children are encouraged to value each person’s art as the individual’s expression of creativity and to embrace and celebrate the differences that will be seen in each piece.

At our school we ensure there is a progression of skills and knowledge that is built on each year. In Key stage 1 children are taught:  

• that drawing is a physical activity which uses the whole body connecting the head, hand and heart.  
• that artists can be inspired by the world around them.  
• the relationship between drawing and making 2D into 3D 
• to explore the world around them through monoprinting. 
• to explore expressive use of paint including colour, colour mixing and intention behind mark making.  

In KS2 children are taught: 

• about the genre of still life and are introduced to contemporary still life artists.  
• to work in mixed media creating senses of space.  
• how artists embrace aspects of their experience of life using their background, culture and race.  
• to explore set designs for animation and theatre.  
• to guide their own exploration, making choices about how they want to use colour in their artwork. 

It is Bannerman Road’s aim that by the time every child leaves primary school they can feel as if they have found an area of the visual arts that is relevant and engaging to them and that they see themselves as artists.