Art and Design.

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.

At Key Stage 1 and 2 the children work towards achieving each of the objectives from the National Curriculum.  These objectives maybe taught discretely or integrated through their chosen topic for that term.

Key Stage 1 objectives:

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 objectives:

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 iof materials (for example, pencil, charcoal, paint, clay)
• about great artists, architects and designers in history.

Music in the Curriculum

Weekly music lessons are firmly embedded within our timetables.  All classes are taught weekly using the Charanga music scheme. Children have the opportunity to learn to play tuned and untuned instruments musically through their music lessons and extra peripatetic lessons. Our children have the opportunity to learn a range of instruments, such as piano, violin, flute, saxophone and guitar. Children choose whether to learn to play individually or as part of a group.

Our Nursery children also have weekly music lessons provided by Moo Music.

Key Stage 1 Objectives:

Key Stage 2 Objectives:

Children at St. Joseph’s learn to listen with concentration and understanding to a range of high-quality music. This is not only through their Music lessons but also during registration/quiet times and others lessons such as ‘Big Writing’ where Mozart is played to aid the children’s concentration.

We encourage children to experiment, create and combine sounds often using others subjects as their inspiration.

The Early Years children love taking their music outside!

Performing Arts

All children are encouraged to participate in the Key Stage productions to showcase their talents. The juniors always put on a spectacular show in the summer term, and in recent years they have performed reproductions of 'Matilda', ‘A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream’ and ‘Alice in Wonderland’. The effort and enthusiasm put in by both children and staff is always remarkable. The audience are always left with the ‘wow’ factor, after crying with laughter to believing in the characters every word.

The infants' Christmas nativity is also one never to miss. The children always rise to the occasion and act so well, learning lines and songs to sing together, ensuring they develop their confidence to perform on stage.