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Even the youngest pupils talk with confidence of the three Bible stories which exemplify the vision of achieving, believing and caring.

Siams, Jan 2020

EYFS Expressive Arts & Design

The development of children’s artistic and cultural awareness supports their imagination and creativity. It is important that children have regular opportunities to engage with the arts, enabling them to explore and play with a wide range of media and materials. The quality and variety of what children see, hear and participate in is crucial for developing their understanding, self-expression, vocabulary and ability to communicate
through the arts. The frequency, repetition and depth of their experiences are fundamental to their progress in interpreting and appreciating what they hear, respond to and observe.
 

Intent  

Our children will have a wide variety of experiences within the Arts, where all their senses have been engaged and stimulated, and many other skills (such as language and team work) developed.  Expressive Arts allows the children to revisit interested areas through many different media to gain multiple perspectives and a higher level of understanding.  Due to our curriculum promoting and valuing creativity, originality, expressiveness and individuality, pupils are confident in sharing their own preferences and making choices about different ways they can express themselves. 

Implementation  

Our topics, specialist lessons and learning environment give our children new, and varied experiences within the arts. They will have had ample opportunities to observe and experiment with different materials, tools, techniques, music and movements. For our children, emphasis is put on the process they go through rather than on the finished product. In creating, designing and making children have investigated and used a variety of materials and techniques and explored colour, line, shape, space, form, texture and pattern in two and three dimensions. They have developed their visual, spatial and tactile awareness and used marks, picture drawings, paintings and constructions to create products. Through music pupils’ express feelings and emotions. They will have participated in playing instruments, using everyday objects to make music, singing, moving rhythmically and expressively to music, listened to music and created their own.  Children are supported to develop their confidence and pride in their creative achievements.  Direct adult-led activities such as dance, role-play, stories, art, computing and music lessons, ignite children’s creativity which they further explore through their continuous provision and child-led activities. We use practical activity, enquiry and purposeful play, with consolidation through practice, talk and reflection.  We enhance our continuous provision with ideas and resources provided on Access Art. https://www.accessart.org.uk/eyfs-how-can-we-explore-colour/  

Impact  

Our teaching and continuous provision allow pupils to explore and share their thoughts, ideas and feelings through a variety of art, design and technology, music, movement, dance, imaginative and role-play activities. Our pupils leave the early years foundation stage ready for the new knowledge and skills the National Curriculum has to offer in these areas. In addition to this subject leaders across the school are aware of how children join Down Ampney and how the foundation stage introduces key concepts ready for subject specific learning in Year 1.