At Solent Infant school, we believe that art is a vital and integral part of children’s education. We want children to be engaged, inspired and challenged! Art equips the children at Solent with the knowledge and skills to experiment, explore, take risks and invent, whilst creating their own works of art, craft and design. We learn about, and make links with, a wide range of art in our society and reflect on how it has shaped history.

At the end of our pupils’ journey through the Solent Schools, they will have been taught to develop and improve the mastery of art and design techniques, these include drawing, painting and sculpture with a range of materials. Children will have learnt about a range of artists, architects and designers in history that have influenced art and design today. The children’s sketch books record their learning journey showing observations they have made, artist research they have undertaken, techniques they have learnt as well as evaluation and annotation of a range of artwork. We want the children to foster a life-long relationship with the subject and have fun!

At Solent Infant School we teach a skills-based art curriculum, this allows children to express their creative imagination and explore their own identity. We provide them with exciting opportunities to experiment and develop the key processes of art and design: drawing, painting, printing, textiles and sculpture. Children are taught Art and Design as part of their termly topic work. This can involve studying existing pieces of art, as well as exploring new skills and media within the context of their topic work. The evidence of their work is collected within the Art and Design sketchbooks, which follow the children throughout the school. The children are exposed to a wide variety of experiences, skills and knowledge which can influence their own creative style and give them the confidence to express themselves through Art and Design. Teachers use this information to inform future planning, ensuring children are supported and challenged appropriately.