At St Joseph’s, our Art, Design and Technology curriculum aims to inspire creativity, curiosity and confidence, enabling every child to see themselves as an artist, designer and maker. Through a broad and carefully sequenced curriculum, informed by the Grammarsaurus scheme of work and the National Curriculum, pupils develop the knowledge, skills and vocabulary needed to explore ideas, experiment with materials and create purposeful, individual outcomes.

In Art, children develop their understanding of drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, textiles, collage and other creative techniques. They encounter a diverse range of significant artists, craftspeople and designers and learn to observe, discuss and evaluate creative work. Children are encouraged to develop their own artistic voice, recognising that the creative process involves experimentation, reflection, perseverance and refinement.

In Design and Technology, pupils learn to identify needs and opportunities before designing, making and evaluating purposeful products. They develop practical skills and technical knowledge through progressively challenging experiences involving structures, mechanisms, textiles, electrical systems and food and nutrition. Children learn that successful design requires creativity alongside careful planning, problem-solving and evaluation.

Our curriculum is ambitious and inclusive. Learning is carefully adapted so that all pupils, including those with SEND, can participate meaningfully and experience success. Through Art and Design Technology, we aim to develop resilient, imaginative and resourceful learners who are willing to take creative risks, solve problems and take pride in what they produce.

Art, Design and Technology are taught through a progressive and coherently sequenced curriculum, drawing upon the Grammarsaurus scheme of work. Knowledge and skills build systematically from the Early Years through to Year 6, allowing children to revisit important concepts and techniques with increasing complexity, independence and sophistication.

In Art, pupils are explicitly taught the practical knowledge and techniques required to work confidently with different media and materials. Children explore the work of artists, designers and craftspeople and use this knowledge as inspiration rather than simply reproducing existing work. Opportunities are provided to investigate materials, practise techniques, develop ideas and make creative choices. Sketchbooks provide an important record of this journey, enabling pupils to experiment, practise, annotate, reflect and refine their ideas over time.

In Design and Technology, teaching follows a purposeful design–make–evaluate process. Children investigate existing products and consider their intended users before generating and communicating their own ideas. They learn how to select and use appropriate tools, materials, components and techniques safely and accurately. Technical knowledge is taught explicitly and applied to increasingly complex design challenges. Evaluation is integral to the process, with children considering what works well, identifying improvements and adapting their designs accordingly.

Subject-specific vocabulary is explicitly taught, modelled and revisited so that pupils can confidently discuss materials, techniques, processes and creative decisions. Teachers use modelling, questioning, retrieval and opportunities for deliberate practice to strengthen children's understanding. Lessons provide appropriate scaffolding while maintaining ambitious outcomes for all learners.

Where meaningful, learning is enriched through connections with other curriculum areas, the local community and the wider world. Children are given opportunities to celebrate and display their work, helping them recognise the value of creativity, craftsmanship and design within their own lives and the world around them.

By the end of their time at St Joseph’s, pupils will have developed a secure and increasingly sophisticated range of artistic, creative, practical and technical skills. They will be able to draw upon prior learning, select appropriate materials and techniques and apply their knowledge independently when responding to new creative and design challenges.

In Art, children will be able to observe closely, explore ideas, experiment confidently and make considered creative choices. They will understand that artistic outcomes develop through a process of investigation, practice, reflection and refinement. Pupils will be able to discuss and evaluate their own work and the work of others using appropriate artistic vocabulary and will have developed knowledge of a diverse range of artists, designers and creative traditions.

In Design and Technology, pupils will be able to investigate problems, generate ideas and create purposeful products for identified users. They will confidently apply the design–make–evaluate process and use their technical knowledge to select materials, tools and processes appropriately. They will recognise that designs can be tested, evaluated and improved and will demonstrate resilience when an initial idea does not work as intended.

Children will leave St Joseph’s as confident, curious and reflective creators. They will understand that creativity involves courage, perseverance, problem-solving and a willingness to learn through experimentation. Most importantly, pupils will recognise that their ideas have value and will have developed the confidence and skills to express those ideas creatively and purposefully.