Intent Statement:

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At Paulton Infant School we believe all of our pupils are artists, with their own unique creative talents and ideas built on their knowledge of the world around them. We endeavour to inspire their artwork, by providing a rich and vibrant curriculum that both engages and challenges our pupils. We strive to provide children with the knowledge and skills to experiment and create their own works of art, craft and design based on their own unique expressions. Individuality is celebrated and encouraged through a shared appreciation for each other’s creations and collaboration both across the school and the wider community.

Effective teaching and learning develops children’s understanding of the world, provides opportunities to experience a sense of awe and wonder and an appreciation of art in all its forms. We are ambitious in our expectations of all pupils, ensuring strong cross curricular links. Our curriculum allows children to ‘travel’ to different countries and experience different cultures, exploring the lives of different inspirational artists. Art allows our children to travel back in time and compare past and present, supporting them to understand themselves and find their place in the world. We provide a wide range of opportunities for our pupils to create their own artwork using drawing materials, paint, clay, textiles, collage and 3D materials. Children are taught to think critically and evaluate their work and the work of others, providing effective feedback and advice built on their knowledge and skills. Children are taught how art and design both reflect and shape our history, and contribute to our world’s diverse culture and creativity. In addition to our classroom based art lessons, we use every opportunity to use the outside environment by using natural objects to create art, sketching and large scale art.

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It is central to our practice that all our children feel success, supporting their developing self-confidence, independence and creativity. We strongly believe that exploration in both Art supports the development of pupils’ well-being, appreciation of the world and builds their empathy towards others. Art is used across the school as a mindfulness tool, supporting our school’s commitment to building self-esteem and positive mental health.

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We are proud that our Art curriculum celebrates our close links with our local community and throughout the year we enjoy opportunities to work collaboratively with local artists and community groups to create art pieces that are displayed both in the village and art galleries in Bath. Our curriculum further celebrates these local links, providing opportunities for our pupils to learn more about the history of Bath and Paulton.

We encourage our pupils to feel proud of their art work and give them the opportunity to display their work both in classrooms and around the school. Each class has the opportunity to exhibit art work in other areas around the school and our vibrant displays are regularly changed to ensure interest and excitement is sustained, and to provide coverage of the curriculum.