The National Curriculum in Art and Design 2014
Summary of Changes and Implications
Dan China

Aims
The new national curriculum retains the fundamental conceptual framework of all the previous versions of the national curriculum. These are given as four ‘Aims’ and embody the key principles of all good art education. In brief these are that children should: develop original creative ideas; realise these ideas in some tangible form, developing skills as they do so; understand, recognise and appreciate the qualities of creative works, improving their own work in the process; and know about the world of the visual arts placing their work in this wider context. Because the aims of the new curriculum are at heart the same as the old version it is likely that current good practice will be compliant with the new curriculum in all respects. The new curriculum for art, therefore, does not require schools to change their art curriculum if they believe it serves its purpose and matches the childrens’ needs.

Assessment
The four aims are particularly significant because, although ‘national curriculum levels’ are being abandoned, there is an increasing demand for schools to track progress and develop an assessment framework across the curriculum. If schools are now to develop their own assessment framework which defines and tracks progress, the four aims will provide the most appropriate basis for these assessments. The aims could be gathered under the following three headings: Generating Ideas: Making Skills; Knowledge and Evaluation. The sections of the new curriculum defining subject content do not provide an effective basis for assessment as they simply state in the broadest of terms what children might do, not what they will learn by doing it. In the absence of levels it will be necessary for schools to define expectations more precisely and track childrens’ progress towards achieving school defined objectives.

Subject Content
The defined subject content is minimal in the new national curriculum.

In KS1 it simply states, in essence, that children should develop creative and imaginative ideas, use a range of materials and techniques and learn about the world of art, craft and design. This reflects the subject’s aims. Although content is defined in the very simplest terms it does tend to reflect the nature of learning in art, in this age range. That is learning which is characterised by open ended exploration of a range of materials’ Where learning about art craft and designis defined it suggests that it should be an introduction to the idea of what artists, craftspeople and designers do and what roles they have in the world.

In KS2 the content again reflects the subject aims in the simplest terms. However, once again the content reflects the natural characteristics of children in KS2. That is learning in which ‘technical skills’, ‘getting it right’ and ‘mastery’ come to the fore. Children are to be taught to create sketchbooks for recording observations and review ideas. At this point it is worth emphasising that a ‘sketchbook’ is not simply a book for sketching. It is more of a process through which ideas are collected, developed, researched, and reviewed. It has elements of a portfolio, scrapbook, journal and notebook as well as a book in which observational drawings are made.

In KS2 children are to be taught about ‘great artists, architects and designers in history’. The omission of crafts people from this list should not be taken to indicate that the crafts should not feature in KS2, because, in the preamble to this section it clearly states that children should have an increasing awareness of ‘different kinds of art, craft and design’.

Care should be taken not to interpret the use of the words ‘great’ and ‘in history’ as a sign that artists studied should only come from the category of dead, white, male, European artists. There are great artists in every time and culture and schools will use their own judgement (and interests) to identify those that they wish to introduce to their children. Similarly a broad and generous understanding of the term ‘history’ will ensure that children have access to contemporary (20th and 21st century) artists who are making an impact upon the history of our times.

Entitlement and Curriculum
There is little in the new curriculum that defines what a minimum entitlement for art might be, other than that, all pupils should have an opportunity to pursue the aims of the subject,through the way that they engage with the programme content. Becausethe curriculum is so sketchily defined one key change is to recognise that schools really do have the freedom to define for themselves what they choose to teach and what resources and time they devote to it.

The new curriculum does provide an opportunity for those schools that wish to revise the art curriculum, to do so. Although it provides little, or no, guidance as to what form such a revised curriculum might take, this can be seen as a strength. It does, for instance, draw a line under a curriculum modelled on the QCA exemplar units of work first published in 1999. This curriculum model, for many schools, has become an orthodoxy. It is predicated upon a succession of single, termly units, each leading inexorably, and usually in a predetermined way, to an outcome. While this is a perfectly proper and appropriate curriculum model it is not the only one. Schools wishing to revise their art curriculum may feel free to explore units of a different length and purpose. Units, for instance, which simply, and single mindedly, develop drawing skills over an extended period of time. Some short units might provide an opportunity for children to learn about and enjoy the work of an artist, without the current obligation to ‘…work in the style of…’ and produce their own versions. Other short units might focus on a single skill or technique without a need to pursue a finished outcome. These units could then provide the prior learning for a culminating extended unit of work that allows children genuine choice in the way that they respond to a task or challenge.

No doubt many schools will wish to explore a curriculum model which allows for a freer interplay between subjects, as well as one which has more variety in the journey through the key stage. Schools will need to reflect carefully on the implications of delivering art solely through ‘topics’, and ensure the art components do meet all the subject aims.

Conclusions
The new art curriculum provides for both, those schools that are secure in their practice and do not wish to change at the present time, and those schools that wish to revise and refresh their curriculum.

The aims of the subject are followed through into the subject content and this provides a clear conceptual framework which can inform both planning and assessment.

The minimal subject content and guidance can be seen as a strength, loosening the hold of older models of practice and prompting new thinking. However, guidance, exemplars, CPD and examples of programmes of study will emerge over time to support schools with less time, experience or expertise to reinvent their art curriculum. (for instance

While curriculum development in art may not be onerous, or even pressing, for many schools, it is likely that the requirement to develop an assessment framework to track progress will present challenges. It may be unhelpful to use the same assessment framework for both core and non-core subjects. The expectations, support and detail of core subjects is not matched in foundation subjects.

The 2014 National Curriculum for Art and Design

Purpose of study

Art, craft and design embody some of the highest forms of human creativity. A high-quality art and design education should engage, inspire and challenge pupils, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to experiment, invent and create their own works of art, craft and design. As pupils progress, they should be able to think critically and develop a more rigorous understanding of art and design. They should also know how art and design both reflect and shape our history, and contribute to the culture, creativity and wealth of our nation.

Aims

The national curriculum for art and design aims to ensure that all pupils:

  • produce creative work, exploring their ideas and recording their experiences
  • become proficient in drawing, painting, sculpture and other art, craft and design techniques
  • evaluate and analyse creative works using the language of art, craft and design
  • know about great artists, craft makers and designers, and understand the historical and cultural development of their art forms.

Attainment targets

By the end of each key stage, pupils are expected to know, apply and understand the matters, skills and processes specified in the relevant programme of study.

Subject content

Key stage 1

Pupils should be taught:

  • to use a range of materials creatively to design and make products
  • to use drawing, painting and sculpture to develop and share their ideas, experiences and imagination
  • to develop a wide range of art and design techniques in using colour, pattern, texture, line, shape, form and space
  • 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.

Key stage 2

Pupils should be taught to develop their techniques, including their control and their use of materials, with creativity, experimentation and an increasing awareness of different kinds of art, craft and design.

Pupils should be taught:

  • to create sketch books to record their observations and use them to review and revisit ideas
  • to improve their mastery of art and design techniques, including drawing, painting and sculpture with a range of materials [for example, pencil, charcoal, paint, clay]
  • about great artists, architects and designers in history.

Further interpretation and guidance about this curriculum can be found at the links below.

NSEAD (art subject association)

Dan China

Paul Carney