Art & Design

Curriculum Statement for Art & Design

At Lancaster Lane Primary and Preschool, our vision is for every child to leave having discovered an aspect of the visual arts that feels meaningful and exciting to them—whether that’s drawing, making, designing, or discussing art. We know that children thrive when they feel safe, valued and understood. Our art curriculum is rooted in the national curriculum but has carefully been adapted to reflect the specific needs of our school and pupils. We follow the Access Art approach to ensure every child experiences a broad and stimulating range of creative opportunities. Through diverse artistic disciplines, materials, techniques, and ways of thinking, children develop both their skills and their confidence. Our curriculum is carefully planned to provide a rich, balanced programme with clear progression from year to year.

Children encounter a wide variety of artistic experiences during their time with us. We feel it is important to engage all pupils by introducing them to a diverse range of artists who explore a wide range of materials, techniques, and themes. By helping pupils understand the many purposes of art, we can ensure that every learner finds a meaningful way to engage and succeed.
This might include:

• developing observational drawing skills,

• creating imaginative, large‑scale artwork,

• unearthing the principles of print, colour and collage,

• exploring how the context or location of art can change its meaning,

• working in three dimensions

This variety and depth help make learning memorable, engaging, and impactful.

 

EYFS

Our Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) focus on ‘Exploring and Using Materials and Being Imaginative’ from Development Matters, this is delivered through a mixture of adult-led and child-initiated learning. Recognising that artistic and cultural awareness begin in the early years. From the very start, we nurture children’s creativity, imagination, and self‑expression. Regular opportunities to explore the arts allow children to experiment with a wide range of materials and media, helping them develop essential communication skills and a growing understanding of the world around them. Encouraging the children to explore and take creative risks. The Access Art curriculum promotes open ended creative learning, placing emphasis on the creative journey and nurturing children to become confident and independent creators by incorporating opportunities and experiences which enable pupils to: build dexterity skills: Explore materials and mark making in a playful way: Using their bodies and imaginations to inspire them in the making progress: Explore how they can reflect and share their views about what they have seen or made. The quality, diversity, and frequency of these experiences—along with opportunities to revisit and build upon them—are fundamental to each child’s artistic progression.

Key Stage One

Drawing and Sketchbooks: In Year 1 the children are given their first sketchbook to develop drawing as a purposeful, physical, and expressive activity. Children come to understand that drawing engages the whole body—the hands, the head, and the heart—and that their thoughts, feelings, and movements all play a part in the marks they create. Children explore the work of Molly Hasland a performative and sculptural artist from Denmark. Who uses her whole body to make disappearing circles. Through exploration of a wide range of drawing materials, children learn how different tools can be used creatively and how the way they hold and move those tools influences the marks they make. They begin to understand drawing as a process of discovery, experimentation, and communication.

Developing Observational Skills and Mark Making: As children progress, they explore observational drawing, developing early hand‑eye coordination through slow looking, focused attention, and careful mark making. Alongside this, they engage in experimental mark‑making activities that encourage playfulness, curiosity, and a willingness to explore media in new and imaginative ways.

Building Creative Thinking Children are supported to think about composition and how the placement of elements can influence their artwork. The children will discover how British artists like Andy Goldworthy and Alice Fox gather and use content for their artwork. They are encouraged to take creative risks, trust their instincts, and respond to the world around them with increasing confidence and intention.

This lays the foundation for children to see themselves as artists—capable, curious, and confident in expressing their ideas visually.

Print, Colour and Collage: In this pathway, children explore printmaking, colour, and collage as interconnected forms of creative expression. The journey begins with children discovering the world around them as a source of inspiration. They learn the foundational concept of “print” by using their own bodies—hands, feet, and whole‑body movements—to make marks, and by taking rubbings from textures found in their environment.

As they progress, children experiment with creating their own printing plates, first by pressing into plasticine and later by using printing foam. Through repeated printing, they explore how multiples can build images and patterns. Line, shape, colour, and texture become tools for investigating pattern, sequencing, and symmetry.

Exploring Colour and Paint: Children are introduced to artists such as Marela Zacarías an American sculpture and painter. Charlie French an abstract artist known for his vibrant and imaginative paintings, which reflect his joyful approach to art and life. Vincent van Gogh a Dutch post-impressionist painter and Paul Cézanne who uses colour and gesture to create bold, abstract work. The children explore primary and secondary colours through expressive mark making, learning how colour, movement, and texture interact. They then look closely at sections of paintings by two old masters, developing an understanding of how brushwork contributes to the overall composition.

Building on this foundation, pupils move on to drawing from a colourful still life before creating their own expressive, gestural paintings using acrylics. Throughout the pathway, sketchbooks are used as a space to record ideas, experiment with media, and reflect on developing skills.

Children to develop curiosity, confidence, and creativity as they explore colour, pattern, and print while building technical skill and artistic understanding.

Working in 3D (Sculpture): In this pathway, children are introduced to the possibilities of sculpture and invited to explore three‑dimensional art through play, imagination, and experimentation. They encounter the work of a range of sculptors including Christo & Jeanne-Claude, Faith Bebbington, Caitlind r.c. Brown & Wayne Garrett and begin to develop their ability to talk about sculptural artworks—including their own—with increasing confidence and curiosity.

Children are given time and space to investigate the properties of different materials and to explore what happens when they bend, twist, join, stack, or combine them. Through this hands‑on approach, they learn how new forms can be constructed from a variety of components and textures.

Transformation and Invention: A key theme in this pathway is transformation. Children are encouraged to view familiar objects in imaginative new ways—for example, exploring how a simple stick can be transformed into a variety of sculptural forms inspired by the British sculpture Chris Kenny. The pathway begins with a creative warm‑up activity that encourages lateral thinking and playful invention. From here, depending on the project, children may create:

Throughout these projects, sketchbooks are used to brainstorm ideas, record observations, plan constructions, and reflect on the outcomes of their work.

Through these experiences, children develop confidence in manipulating materials, an understanding of how 3D forms are constructed, and the imaginative ability to transform everyday objects into expressive sculptural artworks.

Key Stage Two

Drawing and Sketchbooks

In Year 3, pupils explore gestural drawing using charcoal, inspired by artists such as Heather Hansen, Laura McKendry, and Edgar Degas. Children are freed from the constraints of representational drawing based solely on observation and instead explore the physical and expressive qualities of the medium. Studying Heather Hansen’s kinetic drawings allows pupils to see drawing as a whole-body, physical process, where movement, rhythm, and energy inform mark-making. This approach encourages confidence, imagination, and a narrative response to drawing.

In Year 4, pupils develop storytelling through drawing by creating sequenced imagery. They explore how artists and illustrators use drawings to communicate ideas and narratives, through the study of Laura Carlin and Shaun Tan. Sketchbooks are used to gather ideas, analyse artistic approaches, and experiment with visual storytelling. Children choose between two pathways: creating an accordion book inspired by literature, or producing a comic-strip-style response to poetry influenced by graphic novels. Both routes encourage thoughtful planning, clarity of sequence, and purposeful drawing.

In Year 5, pupils build their drawing skills through typography and mapping. They explore how letterforms, symbols, and drawing can communicate meaning, emotion, and identity. Inspired by artists and designers such as Louise Fili, Paula Scher, Grayson Perry, and Chris Kenny, children investigate how typography and imagery combine to tell personal and environmental stories. Sketchbooks support the design process as pupils create their own fonts, experiment with layout, and develop ideas that often progress into visual and three-dimensional map-making.

In Year 6, pupils extend their understanding of drawing by exploring the relationship between 2D drawing and 3D making. They study artists who use drawing as a starting point for creating objects and installations and reflect on artistic intention and outcome. Pupils use sketchbooks to collect ideas, test approaches, and record influences. Children develop greater technical control using line, mark-making, tone, colour, shape, and composition. They employ techniques such as negative space and the grid method to improve observational drawing and explore typography and lettering that is fit for purpose. Pupils then transform drawings into three-dimensional forms, reflecting on both process and outcome.

Throughout Key Stage 2, pupils are encouraged to talk about their work and that of others, sharing intentions, responding to feedback, and developing an appreciation of the work of artists and peers. Sketchbooks, discussion, and reflection play a vital role in supporting evaluation, self-assessment, and progression. Pupils also learn how to photograph and present their work effectively, considering lighting, composition, and focus, further strengthening their ability to communicate ideas visually.

Surface and colour

Throughout Key Stage 2, pupils develop their understanding of surface and colour through carefully sequenced experiences that encourage experimentation, observation, reflection, and personal response. They explore how artists use colour, texture, layering, and surface to communicate meaning, emotion, and narrative, while building confidence in their own creative decision-making.

In Year 3, pupils explore artworks through looking, talking, and drawing before responding creatively through collage and surface exploration. Using techniques such as “Show Me What You See”, children are supported to look closely and record observations in their sketchbooks using pencils and pens. Inspired by artists including Henri Matisse and Claire Willberg, pupils cut shapes directly into paper and experiment with collage, carefully considering colour, shape, and composition. They develop an understanding of positive and negative shapes and extend their work using stencil-generated line, colour, and pattern. Photography is introduced as a way to record and reflect on outcomes. Pupils regularly share their work, discussing what they like, what they would change, and offering thoughtful feedback to others through paired, small-group, and whole-class discussions. Links are made to cross-curricular themes, including Ancient Egypt, to enrich meaning and context.

In Year 4, pupils explore surface and colour through the genre of still life. They study both traditional and contemporary artists, developing the confidence to express ideas about meanings, symbolism, and the choices artists make when presenting objects. Artists include Paul Cézanne, Peter Claesz, Melchior d’Hondecoeter, Jan Davidsz de Heem, Jacob Vosmaer, Hilary Pecis, Nicole Dyer, Baas Meeuws, and Hiroshi Sato. Sketchbooks are used to make visual notes, draw from observation, and reflect on techniques. Pupils experiment with line, colour, shape, texture, form, and composition to build increasingly complex and considered artworks. Children are given opportunities to present and explain their finished pieces, articulating how their sketchbook work contributed to the development of skills, ideas, and outcomes.

In Year 5, pupils explore surface, colour, and mark-making through the process of monotype printing. They develop an understanding of monotypes and examine how artists, such as Kevork Mourad, use this technique expressively. Pupils study the drawings of other artists, identifying specific marks and textures, and create personal collections of marks in their sketchbooks to draw upon later. Poetry is used as a stimulus, encouraging pupils to consider how words evoke colour, line, shape, and mood. These ideas are then explored visually through print, paint, and collage. Sketchbooks support experimentation and reflection throughout the process. Pupils share outcomes and artistic thinking with their peers, respond to feedback, and begin to photograph their work with greater consideration of composition, lighting, and focus.

In Year 6, pupils deepen their understanding of surface and colour through exploring identity. They study a range of artists, including Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Yinka Shonibare, Thandiwe Muriu, and Mike Barrett, examining how layered surfaces, colour, texture, and materials communicate personal and cultural identity. Pupils are encouraged to work with curiosity and independence, adapting techniques and processes to suit their ideas. Sketchbooks are used extensively to generate ideas, test approaches, record influences, and reflect on artistic decisions. Pupils may work digitally or with physical materials to create layered portraits that explore line, shape, colour, texture, and meaning. Reflection, discussion, and peer feedback are embedded throughout, allowing pupils to articulate their creative journeys, consider different perspectives, and appreciate both the similarities and differences in others’ work and experiences.

Across all year groups, surface and colour are explored as expressive tools rather than fixed outcomes. The emphasis is placed on experimentation, reflection, personal voice, and the thoughtful use of materials, ensuring pupils develop both technical understanding and a confident, individual approach to making art.

Working in three dimension

Through three-dimensional making, pupils explore form, structure, texture, space, and meaning using a wide range of materials and processes. Across Key Stage 2, children are encouraged to experiment, take creative risks, and develop confidence in working both independently and collaboratively. Sketchbooks play a vital role in supporting planning, exploration, reflection, and the development of personal ideas.

In Year 3, pupils explore how artists draw inspiration from other artists and from different art forms, including literature and film. They develop an understanding that sketchbooks can be used as investigative tools to explore ideas, responses, and materials. Using their own sketchbooks, children make visual notes inspired by a chosen book or film, recording ideas and experimenting with materials. Pupils go on to create sculptures through modelling and construction, inspired by characters, focusing on how form and material choices can express feelings or ideas about the original source. Reflection and discussion are embedded throughout, allowing pupils to share how their making communicates meaning, and to appreciate similarities and differences within their classmates’ work. Artists studied include Rosie Hurley, Inbal Leitner, alongside literary influences such as Roald Dahl and Quentin Blake.

In Year 4, pupils explore three-dimensional work as a way of learning about themselves. Emphasis is placed on developing a safe, supportive environment where pupils feel confident to take creative risks, experiment with unfamiliar materials, and embrace uncertainty. Children explore observational drawing as a starting point before constructing sculptures using a variety of materials. The focus is on process as well as outcome, encouraging pupils to recognise their personality, ideas, and emotional responses within their work. Pupils share and reflect on their sculptures with peers, identifying successes and areas they would like to explore further. They also develop their ability to document work through photography, considering presentation, focus, and lighting. Artists such as Marcus Coates support exploration of individuality and expression.

In Year 5, pupils explore how artists use three-dimensional skills to design and construct sets for theatre, animation, and installation, often inspired by literature, film, poetry, or music. Children respond to a creative stimulus and design and build a model set or sculptural environment that conveys mood, atmosphere, or narrative. Sketchbooks are used extensively to brainstorm ideas, test materials, record thinking, and reflect on the creative process. Pupils articulate their intentions, methods, and outcomes when sharing work with their peers, and they learn to listen to and respond thoughtfully to feedback. Documentation through photography or film supports reflection on presentation, lighting, focus, and composition. Artists explored include Rae Smith, Fausto Melotti, Tiny Inventions, Rosie Hurley, and Gabby Savage-Dickson.

In Year 6, pupils deepen their understanding of three-dimensional art through the study of installation artists who use colour, light, space, and form to create immersive environments. Inspired by artists such as Olafur Eliasson, Yinka Ilori, Morag Myerscough, and Liz West, pupils consider how viewers experience artwork physically and emotionally. Children respond to creative challenges by researching, developing ideas, and making purposeful creative responses. This may take the form of a three-dimensional model or a two-dimensional artwork that communicates a clear vision. Sketchbooks support focused exploration, particularly in the use of colour, allowing pupils to record ideas, test possibilities, and reflect critically. Presentation, discussion, and peer feedback play a key role, with pupils articulating their intentions, listening to others’ perspectives, and responding constructively.

Across all year groups, three-dimensional making is approached as an exploratory, reflective, and expressive process. Pupils are supported to develop technical skills alongside confidence, resilience, and personal voice, ensuring that sculpture and construction remain inclusive, meaningful, and creatively ambitious.

Inclusion within Art

At Lancaster Lane, we believe Art and Design is a vital and inclusive means of creative expression, enabling all pupils to communicate their ideas, observations, and experiences in ways that may extend beyond language. Through both individual and collaborative experiences, art supports the development of confidence, self-esteem, and a strong sense of personal identity, ensuring that every child feels valued and able to succeed.

Our art curriculum is inclusive by design and offers clear progression through a wide range of creative processes, including drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, and collage. All learners are given opportunities to explore the work of artists, craft makers, designers, and architects, supporting cultural awareness and offering varied entry points for engagement and inspiration.

We adopt a responsive and reflective approach to teaching art, using carefully planned scaffolding alongside opportunities for co-construction. Children are encouraged to make choices, experiment, and direct their own creative outcomes, with adults facilitating learning rather than prescribing it. This empowers pupils to take ownership of their work and makes learning more meaningful and accessible. Pre- and post-unit tasks support inclusive assessment by identifying prior knowledge and next steps, ensuring teaching responds effectively to individual needs.

Vocabulary acquisition is carefully supported through pre-teaching, targeted group work, and the use of visual vocabulary mats. New terminology is revisited and embedded across lessons and year groups, supporting learners who require repetition, visual reinforcement, or alternative ways to access language. Practical activities are enhanced with a range of visual stimuli including videos, photographs, books, and real examples of artwork to ensure concepts are accessible to all learners.

To remove barriers and promote independence, we use specialist and adaptive equipment where appropriate. This includes sensory resources, adapted tools, visual supports, assistive technology, and modified materials to meet a wide range of physical, sensory, and cognitive needs. These strategies ensure that every child can fully participate, express themselves creatively, and achieve success.

Observation is central to our inclusive practice. By closely monitoring engagement, responses, and outcomes, we are able to provide meaningful feedback, anticipate potential barriers, and adapt learning experiences in real time. Formative assessment informs next steps, which may involve adjusting resources, environments, or approaches to better support individual learners. While we encourage pupils to reflect on their own learning, we remain equally reflective as practitioners, continually evaluating and shaping the creative environments we provide to ensure they are inclusive, responsive, and enabling for all.

Assessment

Art is an inherently experiential subject, broad and dynamic in nature, and as such assessment in art must reflect this richness and diversity. We recognise that success in art looks different for every child. For one pupil, achievement may be demonstrated through developing a specific technical skill such as drawing or painting; for another, it may be the sense of wellbeing, confidence, or self-expression gained through the creative process. Some children may take pride in their ability to explore and use materials with increasing independence, while others may show success through thoughtful discussion, reflection, or the ability to articulate ideas about their own work or that of others.

Assessment in art at Lancaster Lane is therefore holistic and ongoing, valuing both the process and the outcome. We gather evidence of learning through a range of methods, including sketchbooks, visual outcomes, conversations, and careful observation. These approaches allow pupils to demonstrate understanding, progress, and creativity in ways that suit their individual strengths and needs.

Sketchbooks are used as working documents, capturing experimentation, ideas, reflection, and progression over time rather than serving solely as finished pieces. Teacher observations and pupil discussions provide valuable insight into decision-making, engagement, and conceptual understanding, while visual outcomes show how skills, techniques, and ideas develop across a unit and throughout the school.

By assessing art in this experiential and inclusive way, we ensure that all pupils feel recognised and valued in their creative journeys. This approach supports meaningful progression, celebrates individuality, and aligns assessment with the true nature of art as a subject that prioritises exploration, expression, and personal development alongside technical skill.

Enrichment Opportunities within School

Enrichment opportunities play an important role in strengthening pupils’ understanding of art and design by providing meaningful, real-world experiences and cross-curricular links. These opportunities enhance engagement, deepen cultural awareness, and allow pupils to see how art connects to history, geography, literature, and everyday life.

In Year 3, pupils enrich their learning through links to their study of Ancient Egypt, including a visit to Liverpool Museum. This experience allows children to engage directly with historical artefacts, patterns, and imagery, supporting their understanding of how art reflects culture, belief, and identity. In-school enrichment opportunities, such as family-focused drawing and colouring sessions, further support creativity and enjoyment of art beyond the classroom, strengthening connections between home and school.

In Year 5, enrichment is embedded through strong cross-curricular links. The Typography and Maps art unit connects closely with the geography topic on mountains, allowing pupils to explore how visual communication, lettering, and mapping can convey meaning and information. In addition, English texts are used as inspiration for creating set designs, encouraging pupils to interpret narrative, mood, and setting through three-dimensional and visual outcomes. These linked experiences help pupils see art as a meaningful and purposeful discipline that enhances understanding across the wider curriculum.

Through enrichment opportunities such as visits, themed projects, and family engagement, and cross-curricular learning, pupils are encouraged to develop curiosity, creativity, and a deeper appreciation of art and design in both historical and contemporary contexts.

Last reviewed: June 2026

Subject leader: Miss McKitterick

The subject lead can be contacted via the school office. Tel 01772 433641