Arts – Music, Art and Design Technology

Music

Music at Ashmount plays a vital role in developing children’s happiness and a sense of well-being, in addition to developing the musical knowledge and skills required to become an accomplished musician.

All children from Nursery to Year 6 receive a weekly music lesson taught by specialists. During these music lessons, children cover all aspects of the National Curriculum, including opportunities to create their own song arrangements; compose their own music; learn to improvise and sing songs from a range of styles and periods. As part of these lessons children are also introduced to reading music and learn to play music using tuned percussion as well as whole class tuition on violin and ukulele.

All children are encouraged to develop their performance skills within a caring and nurturing environment following our belief the growth mind-set. Opportunities to perform occur weekly for children and these happen during our music singing assemblies; during class music lessons and during shows and concerts. Every child participates in at least three musicals during their time at Ashmount.

Ashmount also offers a wide range of extra-curricular music activities which are intended to help develop children’s enjoyment of music; develop their confidence; offer performance opportunities; develop ensemble playing skills and develop their instrumental and singing skills. Currently, we have a school choir (Years 2-6); a school orchestra (Years 3-6); recorder groups (Years 4,5,6); and a rock band for children in Year 6. In addition, we offer instrumental lessons after school with specialist peripatetic teachers, currently in drums, violin, guitar, saxophone, clarinet and piano. We also work closely with Arts venues and projects, such as the Guildhall, Barbican, London Symphony Orchestra and Music for Open Ears, so that the children experience working with professional musicians and hear live performances of music.

Art and Design

We encourage children’s artistic development from Nursery through to Year 6.

Our art curriculum aims 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.

Over time, children will develop their skills in:

• Drawing and painting
• 3D Art – this includes sculpture
• Digital Art

At Ashmount we follow the KAPOW Primary scheme of work that has been written by experts in their field. In EYFS, teachers plan activities linked to the expressive Arts and Design and Physical Development areas of learning, to ensure prerequisite skills from art within the national curriculum are taught before children begin KS1. In KS1 and KS2 learning objectives have been created from the National Curriculum end of Key Stage subject content. The following five strands are revisited in every unit:

• Making skills
• Formal elements (line, shape, tone, texture, pattern, colour)
• Knowledge of artists
• Evaluating

In our Art and design skills and Formal elements of art units, children have the opportunity to learn and practise skills discretely. The knowledge and skills from these units are then applied throughout the other units in the scheme. Key skills are revisited again and again with increasing complexity. This allows pupils to revise and build on their previous learning.

Our chosen Art and Design curriculum develops pupil’s knowledge and understanding of key artists and art movements through the ‘Every picture tells a story’ units and links to artists through practical work. The units fully scaffold and support essential and age-appropriate sequenced learning and we are able to adapt these as appropriate during our themed weeks. We encourage creative and independent outcomes which allow children to make their own creative choices and decisions, so that their art outcomes, whilst still being knowledge-rich, are unique to the child and personal.

Each child has a sketchbook that is used as a portfolio of children’s art work and is used to track children’s progress. These sketchbooks remain with the child and go up with them until they are full. Children receive regular verbal feedback which helps children to improve specific skills.

Design and Technology

Design and technology is largely a practical subject that allows children to use their imagination and creativity. Children acquire a wide range of skills during design and technology and learn how to become resourceful, innovative, enterprising and capable citizens.

Our design and technology curriculum aims to ensure that all pupils:

• Develop the creative, technical and practice 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.

By the time children reach the end of Year 6, they will have had many opportunities to design, make and evaluate their work whilst also developing the technical knowledge they need.

The following skills are revisited and developed in every unit:

• Design
• Making
• Evaluation
• Technical Knowledge

We also teach cooking and nutrition to ensure that children know how to cook and can apply the principles of nutrition and healthy eating.

Through our Design and Technology scheme, pupils respond to design briefs and scenarios that require consideration of the needs of others, developing their skills in six key areas:

• Mechanisms
• Structures
• Textiles
• Cooking and Nutrition
• Electrical Systems (KS2)
• Digital World (KS2)

Curriculum Enhancement

Visits to art galleries including: The National Portrait Gallery, Tate Modern and The House of Illustration, amongst others are important to further inspire and motivate the children. All children visit an art gallery at least twice during their time at Ashmount.

We have after school art club and craft and design club which run at different times during the year.

Each year we have an Arts Week and a STEAM week which always produces some fantastic art and design and design and technology work, which we display in our small hall and host an exhibition which parents and carers are invited to.