The Access Art Curriculum is broad, rich, contemporary & diverse

 It’s our intent that by the time every child leaves Offham primary school they can feel as if they have found an area of the visual arts that is relevant and engaging to them – that might be through drawing, making, designing, or talking about art. 

To achieve this it’s important that we create as many different kinds of opportunities as possible so that each child can find the thing which strikes a chord with them. That means covering lots of different disciplines, techniques, materials and approaches. It can be complicated knowing what to fit in and what to leave out, and how to order elements, but we’re confident that by following the Access Art Curriculum we provide a balanced yet rich offering, with a progression of knowledge and skills woven throughout.

 In practice, that might mean one day a child is practicing observational drawing skills, another day they are working from their imagination making larger-scale images, and another day they are discussing as a class how the context in which art is presented can change its meaning. The richness and relevance of experience makes learning memorable and impactful.

The intended impact of Art at Offham

The purpose of our Art curriculum is to create opportunities for pupils to explore many different aspects of making, helping pupils and teachers understand the ways art connects us with our past, helps us embrace the present, and empowers us to shape our future. By exploring why art is relevant to all our lives, we aim to make certain that pupils feel entitled to develop their creativity, and understand their place in the world as creative, confident beings.

 Our curriculum balances declarative knowledge with experiential knowledge, building self-knowledge and nurturing traits in learners which will hold them in good stead whichever direction their learning takes them.