ART AND DESIGN PRIMARY SCHOOLS

Overview
The overall quality of provision in art and design is good in over half of schools but varies widely. A key factor in this is subject leadership, which, when clearly defined and supported, is often associated with pupils’ well developed subject skills. Very good work is also linked to flexible use of curriculum time and creative use of space.
Work with an inspiring adult (teacher, artist, teaching assistant or parent) and visits to museums and galleries continue to underpin excellent work, although they are rarely planned as an entitlement for all pupils.
Weaker or inconsistent provision is found where teachers have had few opportunities to develop their subject knowledge and skills; for example, being dependent on published schemes of work without sufficient adaptation to the needs of their own pupils. The constraints of very limited subject specific initial teacher training coupled with little access to continuing professional development, result in a lack of confidence to teach the subject innovatively. Although familiarity with the subject may be adequate to teach a satisfactory art lesson, teachers are often unable to recognise and use assessment opportunities intuitively to move individual pupils on. These represent considerable challenges for subject leaders.
The subject generally suffers from the low priority given to resources, including curriculum time, sometimes hidden by an impressive display of work created by a small minority of pupils able to continue work beyond lesson time. There remain large numbers of pupils with barely satisfactory experience for the majority of their statutory entitlement. Although pupils continue to show very positive attitudes to the subject, strategies to improve learning in other subjects through art are rare.
Strengths of primary art and design
Schools that have developed effective practice in art demonstrate some or all of the following characteristics.
a. Subject leadership is inspirational and determined, maximising the potential of the role through direct teaching of different classes, enrichment activities, and well planned, timed and targeted training for other staff.
b. Curriculum planning is long term, identifying subject specific learning objectives and progression in core subject skills, particularly drawing. The planning ensures that pupils explore visual and tactile concepts on a variety of scales, in two and three dimensions; they investigate the creative potential of a wide range of art media, methods and mixing of media; and there is connectivity between art made by the child and art made by other artists.
c. Subject teaching is distinctive, with visual explanation and clear recognition that first hand experiences and resources are intrinsically rewarding.
d. Learning is individualised, with pupils taking personal responsibility for working safely, independently and cooperatively, sustaining their personal response to ambitious ideas and scale, and recording perceptive observations in analysing images and artefacts. The emphasis on visual communication contributes to the inclusive nature of the subject.
Areas for development in primary art and design
Developing creativity from the Foundation Stage upwards
In some Foundation Stage settings, the expectations of pupils’ creativity are too low and there is insufficient challenge, often due to a lack of training for adults in teaching for creativity. This is exacerbated in Key Stages 1 and 2 where little regard is given to prior learning.
Yet in many Foundation Stage settings pupils enjoy a good start to their visual arts education through creative development. Examples of very young children making creative decisions discerningly, sustaining their work with confidence on a large scale, experimenting with materials and learning new skills patiently through careful observation and listening are reminders of the high standards children are able to reach during their early years. Such positive experiences are often the result of inspired training for adults working in early years settings. Often, an existing depth of understanding about child development has been skilfully related to learning about the management of open-ended approaches to the use of materials and methods. In these circumstances children’s ideas are valued and developed through careful observation and sensitive intervention.
Improving the quality and use of assessment
The assessment of pupils’ progress is unsatisfactory in more than one school in five. Even where art is well taught, teachers have little confidence in how pupils’ work relates to National Curriculum levels and how to apply them. As a consequence, pupils seldom have a long term view of their progress in the subject. In particular:
a. assessments rarely seek to identify strengths and weaknesses in different aspects of a pupil’s creativity across a broad range of two- and three-dimensional media
b. although teachers in some schools use portfolios of individual pupils’ work to make an overall assessment, these assessments often omit any teacher analysis of experiential learning or sketchbook evidence of progress
c. the potential of portfolios and sketchbooks to promote a shared understanding of standards and progress among staff is rarely realised.
There are some signs of improvement, particularly in the assessment of drawing. For example, drawing tasks set at regular intervals are helping teachers to analyse pupils’ progress in making observations and their confidence in using line and tone. In a few schools, pupils’ drawings from across the curriculum are included in the assessment of their progress.
More broadly, some teachers are making good use of plenary sessions for informal assessment, involving pupils in evaluative discussion of each other’s work. At best these discussions show sensitivity, accuracy and appropriate use of technical vocabulary. Often, pupils’ personal insights surprise their teachers: primary age pupils are clearly able to communicate through and about the subject. Frequently, however, opportunities for them to do so are missed.
Taking responsibility to lead
Even in schools where subject leadership is generally good, the monitoring of teaching, learning and standards in art and design is often an area of weakness. Good subject teaching by the subject leader is too often seen in itself as effective leadership and management, with too much left to the discretion or initiative of other teachers and support staff, with undue variability as a consequence.
The role of the headteacher in relation to curriculum and staff development is a critical factor in empowering subject leadership. In particular, where the role of subject leader includes structured time to monitor and evaluate teaching and learning during lessons, there is a clearer understanding of progression and curriculum development needs specific to the subject. School improvement planning, associated resourcing and training opportunities are sharpened by the wide insight of subject leaders who have good information from monitoring at their disposal. The most effective practice often involves a rolling programme which focuses on a specific area of experience or visual/tactile concept to improve as a whole school. Practical ‘hands-on’ training sessions led by the subject leader or other specialist, followed up by informed curriculum planning, supported implementation and critical use of display, characterise the approach used in many schools where provision is good or better.
Enriching the art curriculum
The art curriculum in many primary schools is based on experience of the Department for Education and Skills and Qualifications and Curriculum Authority units of work, which have been effective in broadening the range of artists and approaches used in many schools. Where subject leadership is active, schemes have often been adapted effectively to meet the needs of individual school contexts. In some local education authorities, schemes have been evaluated and further developed, with schools sharing their ideas within an agreed planning framework. The resulting schemes promote continuity while seeking to avoid the repetition that can occur when individual schemes are used in isolation. However, many unsupported teachers continue to use published schemes as a solution rather than a stimulus and as a consequence teaching is formulaic and learning predictable. Aspects of the programmes of study remain underdeveloped so that, as reported in previous years, two-dimensional work predominates. Craft skills, when taught, are often not developed progressively.
Past Ofsted reports have commented on the lack of time available in some schools and the narrowing effect that this can have on the curriculum. Yet in other schools inventive use of time and resources enables ‘art days’ or the ‘arts week’ to flourish. Such events can have many benefits, demonstrating the value of staff working to their strengths and learning new skills alongside each other, often stimulated by a visiting artist using approaches previously unfamiliar to the school. Good subject leaders are often skilled at using opportunities creatively. Satisfaction with the short term success of such projects, however, too often distracts primary schools from the need to embed the experience in the context of the whole curriculum.