At New York, we aim to stimulate imagination and creativity by providing an opportunity for children to be immersed in visual, tactile and sensory experiences. Pupils from Nursery to Year 6 have the opportunity to experiment with a wide range of media and materials. All pupils produce artwork in sketch books.

Each new topic begins with an artist focus. This means that children can take inspiration from this artist’s style throughout the sequence of learning and this builds to a final piece at the end of the unit. Throughout the year, children learn and refine skills in a variety of artistic styles such as drawing and sketching, painting, model making and sculpture.

Children are able to express their own artistic style and identity through innovating and adapting to fit the chosen genre. They are provided with opportunities to choose their own materials and link their work back to their own values and family traits.

At the beginning of the topic, children communicate and discuss their thoughts and ideas, giving opinions and sharing observations about the artwork. At the end, children are able to give feedback to improve their work or others. This creates a collaborative approach to learning and ensures pupils always have opportunities to view examples of inspirational work.

Pupils throughout school are able to make links to local artists and world-renowned figures in the Art and Design world. Usually, the curriculum intent is linked closely to the History and Geography taught in each year group. This engages and excites children and supports links throughout each topic. Pupils are often able to take part in local projects such as a photography course with AMBER Film and designing their own tiles linked to HotPotz Tiles. This provides a sense of pride and identity for all pupils involved.

Pupils celebrate their learning throughout year with their families. At Christmas, we invite families to take part in a Christmas Crafts session. Pupils from Foundation Stage to Year 6 spend a morning or afternoon creating cards and decorations. During the Summer term, our Summer festival allows children to embrace their creative side with a free-flow event outdoors. Pupils create flower crowns, braids, chalk art and many more. We also provide opportunities throughout the year for pupils who enjoy Art and Design. Weekly, there are after school clubs such as Proggy and Story Crafts. On Fridays during our PLZ club, there are opportunities for children to participate in activities such as calligraphy, crafts from around the world and junk modelling.