Torpoint Nursery and Infant School

Art

At Torpoint Nursery and Infant School, we paint, draw, sculpt, sketch, illustrate and create!

Art provides a means of exploring a variety of materials, tools and techniques, experimenting with colour, design, texture, line and form to produce pieces of art, influenced by the works of famous artists.

At Torpoint Nursery and Infant School, children are highly motivated and have a positive attitude towards art and experimentation with different forms of media. We instill confidence in our children so that they can express themselves through art in individual ways as well as collaboratively. Children are able to identify their own artistic talents; this mirrors our strong PSHRE Programme of Study, where children’s personal development in art, such as their creative thinking, self-confidence, self-esteem and ability to express themselves, is at the heart of the subject.

Our art curriculum ensures that all children develop the fundamental knowledge, skills and understanding to excel in all aspects of art. Objectives from the EYFS Development Matters guidance and Key Stage One National Curriculum inform our ambitious and progressive Programme of Study.

Teaching and learning

Teachers ensure that all children will meet learning objectives in the Programme of Study through a discrete or specific approach to teaching and learning, as well as cross-curricular learning as part of our ACHIEVE curriculum. Our learning themes provoke questioning, inspiring children to learn about a range of art work.

In every classroom, you will see children:

producing creative work, exploring their ideas and recording their experiences.
becoming proficient in drawing, painting, sculpture and other art, craft and design techniques.
evaluating and analysing creative works using the language of art, craft and design.
learning about great artists, craft makers and designers, and understanding the historical and cultural development of their art forms.
developing their fine motor skills required for all areas of learning across the curriculum.

Art within EYFS is covered within the specific strands of learning: ‘Creating with Materials’ and ‘Being Imaginative and Expressive’.

In Key Stage One, teachers ensure that the skills children have acquired in EYFS are built upon and utilised to enable children to gain further skills and new knowledge.

Children will be taught to:

use a range of materials creatiely to design and make products.
use drawing, painting and sculpture to deelop and share their ideas, experiences and imagination.
develop a wide range of art and design techniques in using colour, pattern, texture, line, shape, form and space.
learn about the work of a range of artists, craft makers and designers, describing the differences and similarities between different practices and disciplines, and making links to their own work.

Assessment

Progress is tracked through the school’s comprehensive assessment documents which have specific end points that the children are assessed against, in the form of ‘I can’ statements. These’ I can’ statements link directly to what has been taught in the Programme of Study.

Children need to demonstrate that they have achieved the statements within their independent work, over time and in a range of contexts. In Key Stage One, children use art books to express their creativity and in EYFS, Learning Journeys are used as an assessment tool.

After School Clubs

Children are able to attend an Art After School Club, which runs for 5 weeks every half-term. This club, further develops children's love of art, where children have the opportunity to learn new skills to create individual and group artwork.

Celebrating achievements

Children's art work is celebrated throughout the school; this helps the children to foster a sense of achievement and pride in their own work.

Our art curriculum improves the competencies and wellbeing of all children not only through the artistic skills taught but also through the essential values and disciplines that art promotes such as expression, concentration, resilience, self-discipline and evaluation. It ensures that all children have a positive approach to producing and appreciating art. Children will believe in their own ability to produce artwork that they can be proud of in a wide range of media.

Our curriculum allows children to develop a lifelong love of art to help them express their emotions, identify their feelings and transfer the skills they learn to the wider curriculum. They will have fine motor skills and a good pencil grip that supports their handwriting and use of tools in the life as a child and later into their adult life.

As children leave our school they will have studied the work and techniques of different famous artists (these will change each year dependent on theme and will include classic artists through to modern artists). They will have responded to and will be able to talk about the work of these artists, their methods of work and will have used the same resources and methods to create their own artwork. Children will leave our school with a cultural awareness and having developed their own style art in a range of materials and forms.

National Curriculum Art and Design

Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Guidance

	Art Programme of Study	[pdf 461KB]
	Art Policy 2025-2026	[pdf 134KB]