Intent
Art, craft and design embody some of the highest forms of human creativity. At Keeble Gateway Academy, we believe that a high-quality art and design education should engage, inspire and challenge all pupils, enabling them to experiment, invent and create their own works of art.
We value the Arts as an essential part of a broad and balanced curriculum and provide opportunities for every child to explore a wide range of artists, cultures, media and techniques. Through high-quality teaching, pupils develop creativity, confidence and critical thinking skills while learning how art reflects and shapes our history, culture and communities.
Our curriculum encourages children to express themselves, take creative risks and develop their own artistic style. By celebrating diversity, individuality and personal achievement, we aim to nurture imaginative, resilient and creative learners who enjoy art and understand its importance in the wider world.
"Every child is an artist..."
World Art Day 2026
At Keeble Gateway Academy, we celebrate World Art Day every year to inspire creativity and encourage children to explore a wide range of artists and artistic techniques. This year, our theme was 'Colour', with every year group studying a different artist and creating their own vibrant artwork inspired by their style.
The school was transformed into the Keeble Art Gallery of Colour, showcasing the children's fantastic work for families to enjoy. From painting and collage to mixed media creations, the exhibition was a wonderful celebration of imagination, self-expression and artistic talent across the whole school.
Implementation
Art is taught through carefully planned, progressive units that build on prior learning. This includes:
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Skill-based lessons
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Exploring the work of key artists
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Opportunities to experiment with different media
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Use of sketchbooks to practice, refine, and reflect
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Teaching subject-specific vocabulary
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Cross-curricular links
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A balance of teacher modelling and independent exploration
Lessons typically follow a sequence:
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Explore artist/style
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Practice skills
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Create a final piece
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Evaluate work
Impact
Children leave Keeble Gateway Academy having experienced developing skills in all the major areas of Art and Design as stated in the National Curriculum. Our curriculum balances in these different areas.
Children’s art is celebrated in the classroom and through projects in the community.
Children enjoy art, and feel like the subject allows everyone to succeed.
Children can talk about famous artists and designers, understanding some of the impact these artists have had.
At Keeble, we ensure children develop a knowledge of...
Practical art – methods, techniques, media, materials, technical language, formal elements of art and principles
Theoretical art – art movement, genres, themes, artists and art, including context and significance
Disciplinary art – how experts have expressed quality and value throughout history
....This allows us to support the children in producing ambitious end goals.
Fluency – pupils are proficient in drawing, painting, sculpture and other techniques
Experimentation – pupils try out ideas, methods and convention to find original solutions
Authenticity – pupils visually perform their thinking of an issue, topic or theme
Pupil voice
- "I loved drawing sunflowers in the style of Van Gogh! I used a similar colour palette to him, but I used oil pastels instead of paint because you can blend tones of colour really well with these!" D, Year 3
- "I liked cutting up shapes for my collage. I made a collage of my face. I cut out triangles, squares, diamonds and circles. I used Picasso's portrait collage to help me. He used bright primary and secondary colours like red, green, blue and yellow." M, Year 1
- "I like the swirls of blue and yellow in Van Gogh's starry night painting!" E, Reception