At Brierley Hill Primary School, we recognise that art and design is fundamental to developing creativity, problem-solving skills, and self-expression from the early years onwards. Our CUSP (Curriculum with Unity Schools Partnership) Art and Design Curriculum is structured to ensure that pupils:
🎨 Master artistic techniques – Progressively developing expertise in drawing, painting, printmaking, textiles, 3D work, and collage.
🖼 Understand and evaluate art – Exploring historical and contemporary artists, styles, and movements.
🖌 Express creativity with purpose – Encouraging critical thinking, personal expression, and storytelling through art.
🔄 Retrieval and mastery – Revisiting skills to deepen knowledge, refine techniques, and foster independence.
Through this approach, we equip pupils with the skills, knowledge, and creative confidence to succeed in art at secondary school and beyond, with strong foundations built from EYFS
In EYFS, Art and Design is embedded within "Creating with Materials" in the Expressive Arts and Design area of learning. Children develop:
🎨 Exploration of materials – Understanding and experimenting with paint, clay, textiles, and natural materials.
✍️ Early mark-making and drawing – Developing control over tools, learning how to make different lines and shapes.
🖌 Colour mixing and application – Exploring primary and secondary colours and how they combine.
🎭 Expression through art and role-play – Encouraging storytelling, imaginative creations, and personal representation in artwork.
Through continuous provision and structured teaching, children:
This early exposure to artistic skills ensures children develop confidence and creativity before transitioning into Key Stage 1
The CUSP Art and Design Curriculum is structured into blocks, covering:
✅ Drawing – Developing precision, proportion, and observational skills.
✅ Painting – Exploring colour theory, brushwork, and texture.
✅ Printmaking – Understanding relief, stencilling, and monoprinting techniques.
✅ Textiles and Collage – Experimenting with fabric, layering, and mixed media.
✅ 3D Work – Sculpting, construction, and spatial awareness.
✅ Creative Response – Applying artistic techniques to express ideas and themes
Each lesson follows a clear and deliberate structure, ensuring pupils develop technical skills, creativity, and artistic understanding:
🔹 Pupils revisit and retrieve previously taught techniques.
🔹 Discussion of prior learning and links to past artistic styles.
🗣 Explicit teaching of technical vocabulary, ensuring pupils can talk about their work confidently.
📖 Understanding of key artistic concepts (e.g., line, tone, texture, form).
🎨 Teachers model artistic techniques using exemplification materials.
🖌 Pupils explore new artistic skills through guided instruction.
🖍 Pupils create their own work, refining and improving techniques.
🔍 Encouragement of experimentation and risk-taking within their artistic process.
📝 Structured discussions encourage pupils to evaluate their work.
🗣 Pupils learn to give and receive constructive feedback, using artistic language meaningfully
📏 Progressing from simple mark-making to complex observational drawing.
🖊 Exploring different media (pencil, charcoal, ink, pastels).
🔍 Developing proportion, perspective, and shading techniques.
🎨 Mastering colour mixing, blending, and layering.
🖌 Using different painting techniques: wet-on-wet, sgraffito, impasto.
👀 Studying artists such as Monet, Van Gogh, and Georgia O’Keeffe.
🖨 Exploring printmaking techniques, including lino, collograph, and relief printing.
📚 Linking printmaking to cultural traditions (e.g., Kente cloth).
🖼 Studying William Morris, Hokusai, and contemporary printmakers.
🧵 Learning weaving, batik, and embroidery techniques.
🛍 Designing and making functional textile items.
♻ Exploring sustainability in textiles – Upcycling and repurposing materials.
🖼 Using clay, wire, papier-mâché, and recycled materials.
🏛 Studying Giacometti, Henry Moore, and Dale Chihuly.
🛠 Exploring balance, proportion, and movement in sculpture.
🖍 Encouraging personal expression through artistic styles and themes.
🌍 Making connections between historical and contemporary art.
🔎 Applying skills from multiple disciplines to create mixed-media works
📊 Sketchbook Observations – Tracking progress in technique and creativity.
📖 Vocabulary and Oracy – Ensuring pupils can discuss their work confidently.
🖼 Final Pieces and Portfolios – Showcasing skill progression across the year.
🎤 Peer and Self-Assessment – Encouraging reflective practice in all year groups
For more details, including:
📌 Art Curriculum Overviews
📌 Sketchbook Exemplification Materials
📌 Recommended Artists and Gallery Visits
Please contact our Curriculum Lead, Tom Amphlett, at info@brierleyhill.dudley.sch.uk