At Waltham Leas, children belong at the heart of our art curriculum, where creativity, imagination and self-expression are encouraged and celebrated every day. We provide a welcoming and inclusive environment that allows pupils to explore a wide range of materials, techniques and artistic styles, helping every child feel confident, valued and proud to share their own ideas and creative voice. 

Our art curriculum empowers pupils by building their creative thinking, widening their artistic vocabulary and developing the skills they need to express themselves with confidence and purpose. We encourage curiosity and resilience, supporting children to take creative risks, reflect on their work and discover how art can be used to communicate feelings, ideas and stories. 

As children move through the curriculum, they continue to grow each year - refining their practical skills, learning about a diverse range of artists and cultures as well as developing the ability to evaluate and improve their own work. Through this journey, we aim to foster a lifelong appreciation of art and the important role it plays in shaping both personal identity and the wider world.  

Each unit of work taught should contain the 4 main principles: 

1) Generate ideas: Skills of Designing & Developing Ideas 

2) Making: Skills of Making Art, Craft and Design 

3) Evaluate: Skills of Judgement and Evaluation 

4) Knowledge and Understanding: Acquiring and applying knowledge to inform progress 

The intent of our Art Curriculum at Waltham Leas Primary:

Our high-quality, creative Art and Design education at Waltham Leas aims to provide our pupils with the fundamental means for personal expression, through building upon artistic skills, concepts and knowledge. We inspire our children through the study of great artists, craft makers and designers, so they understand the historical and contemporary impact of their own art forms using a vast range of media. During our Art sessions as well as having a main medium that is focussed upon, a range of mediums are included within each Art session through our warm ups. Sketchbooks are utilised during our Art sessions to record the build of skills acquired, potential ideas that pupils may have as well as recordings of the piece, which are annotated with key words and evaluations.