What is the core ADT curriculum?Our core art, design and technology (ADT) curriculum is a programme of projects/courses that all students in year 1-9 experience as part of their regular timetable. After year 9, students are able to choose whether to study the subject further by taking a qualification.
Years 1-4 | Discovery StageDuring the early key stages of primary school, pupils receive a 50-minute lesson every week with a specialist arts teacher and our curriculum is structured around termly themes/enquiries, which develop children's head (art/design knowledge/theory), hand (craft) and heart (empathy). We plan to give pupils an experience of 2D, 3D and digital media* so that they experience a range of ways of working and materials.
As pupils enter year 3 and 4, we start to introduce more foundational skills linked to the study of the subject, such as understanding the traditional genres, differences between art, craft and design and knowledge of the formal elements and principles of design. This is structured into projects, but form part of our baseline assessment of core skills developed. This understanding helps pupils when they enter year 5 to have a basic grasp of some of the terms they will come across in middle school. * Within the school week, pupils also have a scheduled 'Project Time', with their general class teacher, which is based on project-based learning (PBL) and focused on more applied and experiential learning. This gives them considerably more time to experience working creatively with materials than purely within art and design lessons. Years 5-6 | Explorer StageWhen students enter middle school in Year 5, they have a 100-minute timetabled lesson once a week based around fine art and design-based projects. At this stage, our focus is to allow students to explore their own ideas in more depth using a more structured artistic/design thinking process and in response to challenging and stimulating briefs/enquiries linked to big ideas in the subject, along with a deeper understanding of how to analyse and question the world around them through art and design.
Year 7-9 | Specialisms StageIn years 7-9, we offer students a carousel of projects that includes project in the following areas of study:
Since this is the final stage of their core curriculum in art and design, we would like students to consider how the subject can lead to a whole range of future roles in the creative industries. We therefore, base our projects around real-world learning commissions linked to briefs linked to a relevant role/industry i.e architect, game designer, illustrator, etc... Where possible, we build in partnerships with outside organisations and professionals to foster a closer link to the world of employment. |