ART

Intent

At The John Wesley CEM Primary School, we value and are dedicated to the teaching of Art and Design. We see this as a fundamental part of school life. We are committed to providing an ‘Arts Rich Curriculum’ for our children. We believe that by developing this, we can contribute to the quality of our children’s lives, both within and beyond school. We see Art and Design as a means to support learning in a range of ways. The skills that are developed in these subjects can be transferred across the curriculum and thus aid learning.

Implementation

As a school and in accordance with the National Curriculum’s expectations, we aim to ensure that all pupils:

• Produce creative work, exploring their ideas and recording their experiences
• Become proficient in drawing painting, sculpture and other art, craft and design techniques
• Evaluate and analyse creative works using the language of art, craft and design
• Know about great artists, craft makers and designers, and understand the historical and cultural development of their art forms

Class teachers are usually responsible for teaching Art and Design, although there will be times when professional artists/helpers will be involved in the teaching of the topic. We take every opportunity to develop links with outside agencies and experts, including the local high school, in order to enrich our Art and Design provision.

Impact

Our children enjoy the self-expression that they experience in both Art and Design.
They are always keen to learn new skills and work hard to perfect those shown to them. The children’s art is very often cross-curricular, and helps them to express feelings and emotions in art, as well as show their knowledge and understanding in history, geography and science.

Through their Art and Design, the children are able to reach out into the community, with our pupil’s artwork proudly displayed in the local library.

DESIGN TECHNOLOGY

Intent

At The John Wesley CEM Primary School, we value and are dedicated to the teaching of Design Technology. We see this as a fundamental part of school life. We are committed to providing a ‘Design Technology Rich Curriculum’ for our children. We believe that by developing this, we can contribute to the quality of our children’s lives, both within and beyond school. We see Design Technology as a means to support learning in a range of ways. The skills that are developed in these subjects can be transferred across the curriculum and thus aid learning.

Implementation

As a school and in accordance with the National Curriculum’s expectations, we aim to ensure that all pupils:

• Develop the creative, technical and practical expertise needed to perform everyday tasks confidently and to participate successfully in an increasingly technological world
• Build and apply a repertoire of knowledge, understanding and skills in order to design and make high-quality prototypes and products for a wide range of users
• Critique, evaluate and test their ideas and products and the work of others
• Understand and apply the principles of nutrition and learn how to cook

Class teachers are usually responsible for teaching Design Technology, although there will be times when professionals will be involved in the teaching of the topic. We take every opportunity to develop links with outside agencies and experts, in order to enrich our Design Technology provision.

Impact

Our children enjoy the self-expression and skills development that they experience in Design Technology. They will learn to use the technical knowledge learnt to design, make and evaluate their designs.

They are always keen to learn new skills and work hard to perfect those shown to them. The children’s Design Technology is very often cross-curricular, and helps them with their knowledge and understanding in history, geography and science.

They will apply these skills to a range of relevant contexts for example, the home, school, leisure, culture, enterprise, industry and the wider environment.

MUSIC

Intent

At The John Wesley CEM Primary School (JWS), it is our intent that we make music an enjoyable learning experience. We encourage children to participate in a variety of musical experiences. Our pupils will learn that music is a universal language that embodies one of the highest forms of creativity. They will be inspired and engaged by music education. Music lessons will engage and inspire pupils to develop a love of music and develop their talent as musicians, and in turn increase their self-confidence, creativity and sense of achievement. As pupils progress, they should develop a critical engagement with music, allowing them to compose, and to listen with discrimination.

Implementation

The national curriculum for music aims to ensure that all pupils:

• Perform, listen to, review and evaluate music across a range of historical periods, genres, styles and traditions, including the works of the great composers and musicians
• Learn to sing and to use their voices, to create and compose music on their own and with others, have the opportunity to learn a musical instrument, use technology appropriately and have the opportunity to progress to the next level of musical excellence
• Understand and explore how music is created, produced and communicated, including through the inter-related dimensions: pitch, duration, dynamics, tempo, timbre, texture, structure and appropriate musical notations

Our teaching focuses on developing the children’s ability to understand rhythm and follow a beat. Through singing songs, children learn about the structure and organisation of music. We teach them to listen and to appreciate different forms of music. Children develop descriptive language skills in music lessons when learning about how music can represent different feelings, emotions and narratives. In KS2 we teach the children the recorder and the ukulele. We also teach technical vocabulary such as volume, pitch, beat and rhythm and encourage children to discuss music using these terms.

The Charanga scheme of work is used from Year 1 - 6 to ensure a wide exposure to different genres of music, with lots of practical opportunities to explore and develop as musicians and singers. Opportunities are taken to perform in class, in Celebration Worship and also to parents and the wider community. Additional opportunities are offered in music, such as the key stage choirs which perform in school, piano lessons and at events in the local community.

Impact

Through the child’s journey at JWS, their musical skills and understanding are built on year on year, from singing simple songs from memory and performing simple rhythm patterns in KS1, to more advanced techniques skills, and understanding in lower KS2, further developing in upper KS2 where the children are able to play an instrument confidently, and have the ability to read and follow a simple musical score. Throughout all of this the child’s enjoyment of music is a key element, running alongside the ‘taught’ musical skills and objectives.