Art and Design

 Art & Design at Tavistock Primary and Nursery School

 

At Tavistock Primary School we want all children to develop a creative curiosity towards art through delivering an engaging, inspiring and high quality art education. We have created a curriculum that builds on a progression of skills and allows children to explore a range of mediums and artists to inspire their own works of art. Building on prior learning across key stages provides support for learners through drawing on previous knowledge and ensures their confidence is nurtured within this subject. It also means students can be challenged to reflect on their work and develop a creative eye which is evidenced within their sketchbooks.

Art is taught in alternating half terms and each year group focuses on different artists to promote engagement, inclusivity and curiosity. Throughout the curriculum, a range of skills are embedded which we believe are valuable in contributing towards key areas of children’s development as well as creating many cross-curricular links.  Children in Early Years are able to work more freely with materials to develop their own ideas through exploring a range of textures and tools and, as children move into Key Stage 1, they begin to develop their skills and understanding through embedding previous learning alongside exploring new techniques and artists. When children reach Key Stage 2 they will feel empowered to think both creatively and critically about their work in a curious and explorative manner.

The curriculum map below gives further detail about what is taught in each year group and also how we ensure inclusivity of all our children. 

 

Please have a look at some examples of art in practice at Tavistock Primary and Nursery School. 

Spring Garlands 2025
Children will be making spring garlands soon to display around Tavistock. As it is the 80th anniversary of VE day this year, we have decided that our garlands would be inspired by this theme.
 
Making these garlands allows children to work on their skills as an artist through painting, textiles, 3D work and many other techniques. This is such a valuable experience that we take part in each year and we look forward to seeing what the children create. 
 
Keep a look out for the garlands in local shops during February half term.
Christmas tree festival 2024
Each year Tavistock Primary and Nursery School take part in the Christmas Tree Festival at St Eustachius Church. This school year our theme 'Symbols of Christmas' and each year group will created an ornament inspired by this. In the past, our school has won the award many times and last year was no exception with us earning the 'Schools Winner 2023' award.
 
Sunflower Art
We recently took part in a charity project where we completed pieces of art based on sunflowers which were then used to decorate a hall during a fundraising event for the people of Ukraine. Sunflowers are the national flower of Ukraine. On the reverse of our artwork we wrote messages of hope. Our sunflower art and messages have now been transported to Ukraine and have been delivered to children as messages of hope.
Spring Garlands 2024
Children across the school have been working hard to complete pieces of art for the spring garlands which will be displayed in local shops. This year we chose the theme 'Things with Wings' and feel that our bright, colorful pieces will brighten up the shops in Tavistock. 
Sketch Books
We use our sketch books to record our ideas, to explore and pracitse particular skills and to complete some of our pieces of artwork.