Intent
At William Hulme’s Grammar, we strive for our students to access a broad and balanced curriculum which allows them to experience success by developing their creative skills. We aim to promote excellence in application of skills and developing self-identity. We engage our students through a curriculum relevant to them and the modern world whilst also enriching their experience with historical art through the ages.
The art curriculum is diverse and cultural learning encourages awareness, empathy and appreciation of difference and the views of others through a range of topics and artists. Our curriculum is well planned and sequenced in order to upskill students as they develop through the year groups. The projects are wide ranging and open to creativity and independent working, whilst also following the National Curriculum.
Pupils can work both independently and collaboratively demonstrating determination and resilience. Importantly, pupils are confident to express their own ideas and creativity with a sense of individual identity. Literacy is prominent within the arts, pupils discuss ideas about their own artwork, peers, and the work of artists. Annotation is embedded throughout the key stages. Cross-curricular planning is rooted within our department for students to express their ideas, such as through STEAM projects (Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics) which we see as access points for guiding student inquiry, dialogue, critical thinking and resilience.
Students deepen their IT skills through the use of editing and creating digital homework tasks. This in turn, increases connections across the subjects to deepen understanding. Teachers are given autonomy within a Departmental Curriculum Map and core skills built year on year.
Implementation
The Art Department at William Hulme’s Grammar aims to teach a curriculum rooted in art history and cultural diversity. The skills explored by students are wide ranging and use an exciting variety of media to ensure success and creativity. The curriculum is based on a refinement of techniques, further development of importance and impact of art through history to present day and contextualising all of student’s work in a professional setting. Students are encouraged to be reflective on their own and their peers’ work, assessing success and offering a supportive critique. Students are assessed against the projects objectives they are working towards each term.
The Art Department facilitates exposure to all the relevant skills and knowledge in order to excel student’s skills up to GCSE and beyond into employment.
Our teaching team possesses a vast range of skills and ensures every project is engaging and creative. Students are expected to develop their creative skills during their independent tasks whilst linking artist research and enquiry. Drawing and annotation sits centrally to our curriculum planning. The teaching of the curriculum is designed to promote and develop cultural capital through a knowledge rich in skills to support their future studies.
Our aim is that students develop skills both inside and outside the classroom. We ensure work is also available via Office Teams and outstanding work is also celebrated through the school’s website and via social media.
Impact
The impact of our curriculum is that students will be competent in using the formal elements: line, shape, form, tone, gradient, texture, pattern, colour and composition. They will have learnt a variety of painting, printing, sculpting, drawing and mixed media techniques and be in the process of developing their personal style. Students will have an overview and be able to make reference to art history including art movements and how you can visually distinguish them and have knowledge on how the current social culture and major events. Students will be able to conduct an analysis of artwork and articulate an understanding of how the formal elements have been used. They will be able to self-evaluate their own or their peers’ end pieces against its strengths and weaknesses, then offer ways to improve. Students will be able to reflect on and refine their art based on this and develop skills for further studies and for the world of employment.