We are passionate about art at Latchmere School and we have a dedicated and well-resourced art room and a kiln. We aim to develop a love of art through the main strands of the National Curriculum which are producing creative work, proficiency in techniques, evaluating and analysing creative works and knowing about great artists, designers and craft makers. The seven elements of art are thoughtfully incorporated across units. 

The children are encouraged to experiment and express their ideas using a range of materials, tools and techniques. They learn to express their thoughts and feelings and record what they see with increasing accuracy and attention to detail. They study works from a diverse range of artists such as Kusama, Cezanne, Lowry, Van Gogh, O’Keeffe, Hokusai, and Bridget Riley which represent a variety of cultures and eras both traditional and contemporary. Many art lessons make meaningful links to other subjects such as Year 5’s study of William Morris links to their study of The Victorians and Year 3’s learning about flowering plants in the summer term matches well with the study of Georgia O’Keeffe’s botanical drawings. 

The children record their learning in sketch books. This enables the children to reflect on their learning and the progress they make. Our art units lead with a key artist and a key piece of artwork which is revisited every lesson. This helps the children to develop their knowledge or artists and artworks and begin to understand why artists are renowned. In KS2, the art unit begins with an artist response page. This enables the children to develop a thorough understanding of the artist, whether they represented a particular art movement and how social context may have been an influencing factor to their artwork. Some examples are shown below. 

Alongside this, we have a number of dedicated slots for our phase assemblies where we deliver knowledge rich content such explaining the concept of an art movement such as pop art, realism and surrealism; 10 pieces of artwork you should know and name and understanding how to express opinion or recognise skill. 

Latchmere School also offers an after-school Art Club for aspiring young artists which is led by one of the school’s enthusiastic, dedicated teachers who has previously worked as a professional designer.