At Hillside Primary School, our art curriculum is designed to place the needs and aspirations of our pupils at the heart of their learning. Our bespoke curriculum is ambitious and inclusive, empowering every child to be an artist and fostering a deep understanding of the creative process to help them "Be the BEST they can be". Our art curriculum intent is underpinned by four key attitudes for learning, ensuring our pupils develop the character and resilience needed to thrive in the modern world:

• Believe

• Engage

• Succeed

• Try

Believe: Building confidence and belonging

• Cultural representation (Big Ideas): We foster an environment where children believe in their unique potential by exploring artists from a range of genres, times, and cultural traditions.

• Vocabulary for success: We believe vocabulary is the gateway to high achievement. Pupils are taught to use precise artistic language to describe their work and the work of others, mastering terms related to formal elements such as 'Static', 'Dynamic', 'Motif', and 'Texture'.

• Inclusive achievement: Through scaffolding and adaptations, we ensure all pupils believe they can access the creative artistic processes of 2D and 3D art.

Engage: Curiosity and connection

• The artistic process: We spark curiosity through six consecutive lesson types that represent our 'Big Ideas' for Art: exploring the artist, discussing their work, mastering techniques, and designing original pieces.

• Active exploration: Pupils engage as active researchers in their sketchbooks, moving from exploring simple techniques to evaluating how artists use Line, Shape, Form, Space, Colour, and Pattern to create mood and motion .

• Local and global identity: By studying a diverse range of artists, children see themselves within the curriculum and connect their own creative expressions to the wider world.

Succeed: Precision and mastery

• Progressive skills: Success is rooted in a precise progression of skills. Pupils move from basic exploration to mastering the core areas of Drawing, Painting, Sculpture, Collage, and Printing.

• Disciplinary mastery: Mastery is shown when pupils can approach artistically-valid questions, such as justifying how an artist makes flat images appear 3D through shading or how colour is varied to evoke a viewer's reaction.

• Evaluation and reflection: Pupils succeed when they can reflect on their journey, providing feedback to themselves and others to make intentional improvements to their final pieces.

Try: Resilience and hard thinking

• Creative challenge: Pupils embrace 'hard thinking' by tackling challenging artistic mediums and techniques, moving from initial designs to the creation of high-quality final pieces.

• Critical thinking: We cultivate a culture where children are not afraid to 'try' different techniques, debating what they like or dislike about specific styles and understanding that there are many ways to interpret a theme.

• Developing ideas: Children develop resilience by using sketchbooks to trial ideas, refine their skills, and learn from the experimental nature of the artistic process. Through this vocabulary-rich, sequential curriculum, Hillside pupils do not just 'make' art; they think like artists, building the character and cultural capital needed to thrive in the modern world.