Art
At White Cliffs Primary and Nursery School we are committed to encouraging pupils' curiosity and creativity. Our curriculum is designed to inspire a love for art, while fostering critical thinking skills and a comprehensive understanding of its role in the world.
Throughout our curriculum, children are provided with a diverse range of artistic experiences that allow them to explore various mediums, techniques, and styles. We believe in nurturing each child's unique artistic voice, fostering a sense of individuality and self-expression.
Our approach emphasises the importance of critical thinking in the creative process. Children are encouraged to analyse and interpret artworks, developing the ability to express their thoughts and opinions articulately. Through this process, they not only deepen their understanding of art but also enhance their communication skills.
A central focus of our curriculum is on the historical and cultural significance of art. Children explore how art and design both reflect and shape our history. We make links between art, RE, History and Geography, as they learn about ancient cultures and civilisations. For example, in Year 6 the children focus on Henry Moore and create drawings inspired by his use of perspective. While in Year 3 the children design and create an amulet inspired by artefacts from Ancient Egypt. By understanding the evolution of artistic movements and styles, students gain valuable insights into societal changes, perspectives, and values.
In our art lessons, children engage in hands-on projects that not only develop their technical skills but also encourage them to think beyond the sketchbook.
In Term 1 all year groups take part in an engaging, inspiring themed week, focusing on topics that are standalone and not linked to our normal sequence of Art lessons. This year we were lucky enough to work with six local artists who visited the school to work with our children. Throughout 'Art Week' the children visited local landmarks for inspiration and created art linked to them. At the end of the week we held an exhibition of the art work created by our wonderful children and artists.
Year 6 sketchbook examples
This term, the oldest children in the school have been studying the work of Henry Moore. They were challenged to replicate his powerful tube shelter perspective drawings, exploring how line, shading and scale can capture the atmosphere of the underground shelters during the Second World War.
Year 2 sketchbook examples
Meanwhile, further down the school, children have been exploring with paint, making wonderful tints and shades from the primary and secondary colours.
Art doesn't just belong in sketchbooks
In Year 4, the children combined art with writing by creating brilliant postcards as if they were on holiday in Greece. To go alongside their fantastic descriptions, they designed their own postcard pictures, capturing the sights of their imagined adventures.
Theme: 'Art from Our Imaginations'
Nursery and Reception - Magical creatures
Year 1 - Fantasy world building
Year 2 - Robots
Year 3 - Fantasy characters in stories
Year 4 - Alien worlds
Year 5 - Epic battles and journeys
Year 6 - Futuristic architecture
This year we held our very first ‘Art Week’ competition! Children were invited to use their imaginations to create abstract art, and we were thrilled to receive an incredible 75 entries from all age groups. Mr Gibb had the tricky job of selecting the finalists, as the standard was so high. The finalists’ artwork was then proudly showcased at our Art Exhibition, where parents, carers and children cast their votes – either by scanning a QR code or by ticking a ballot paper. It was a wonderful celebration of creativity across our school!
A big well done to Emmie, Kyila-Jai, Marley, Freddie, Harry, George, Freya, River-Rose and Madelynn for being our very first 'Art Week' competition finalists! You amazed us with your creativity and imagination. We are so proud of you.
This week, instead of our usual ‘Star of the Week,’ teachers chose an ‘Artist of the Week.’ It was a tough decision as so many children embraced their class theme and created fantastic artwork. It was wonderful to hear the different reasons behind each teacher’s choice.
Theme: 'Multicultural Arts'
Nursery - Polar region
Reception USA
Year 1 - Australia
Year 2 - Mixture of African countries
Year 3 - Egypt
Year 4 - Asia
Year 5 - Scandinavia
Year 6 - Polynesia
Our ‘Multicultural Arts Week’ was a huge success! Each year group focussed on different countries, learning about famous artists and the extraordinary pieces created by them. The children loved our Indian and African drumming sessions and had lots of fun learning to salsa!
At the end of the week every year group proudly presented their artwork inspired by different countries and cultures in our art show! It was a beautiful celebration of everything they worked hard to produce.
A big thank you to Priti Paintal at SHIVANOVA for organising the brilliant sessions for the school.
Theme: 'Beauty in and around White Cliffs Primary School.'
Reception - Dover transport museum
Artists - Bob Henderson and Olivia Franklin
The reception class ventured out to the Dover Transport museum with the challenge to find out - how many forms of transport can you spot in the museum? With the artists the children enjoyed lots of dance and movement! They moved through the space, exploring ways of travelling on land, through water and in the air. At our Art Show a video of the children’s movements were played on loop!
KS1 - Dover beach
Artists - Zo Defferary and Amelia Johnson
KS1 visited the beach to be inspired for their artwork. The children really enjoyed their outing and made some lovely memories. With the artist each child created a scale for the enormous fish! Throughout the week the children sketched what they observed, used fish stencils and painted pebbles!
Year 3 - St Andrew's Church
Artists - Emma Sikora and Jess Martindale
Year 3 walked down to St Andrew’s Church at the start of Art Week. The children were on their best behaviour and learnt loads from one of the church wardens, Jennifer Kelly.With their artists the children created their own shrine to explore places of worship over the centuries.
Year 4 - Dover castle
Artists - Nova Marshall and Emily Drysdale
Year 4 visited Dover Castle at the beginning of Art Week. They loved exploring the grounds of the castle and climbing all of the stairs to the top! With our artists we created 3D models of Dover Castle interiors - including the kitchen and the armoury!
Year 5 - St Margaret's Bay
Artists - Casey Brett and Eloise Gibb
Year 5 were super lucky to have the sun shining on their trip to St Margaret’s Bay. The children loved exploring at the location, taking photos and sketching the white cliffs. With the artists the children created zines, using their photos from their trip.
Year 6 - South Foreland Lighthouse
Artists - Bid Tophill and Freyja Crow
Year 6 visited the South Foreland Lighthouse on the very windy Tuesday of Art Week. At school they wrote poetry based on their trip and created drawings, using their understanding of perspective. On the Thursday the children were brilliant at creating their 3D lighthouses, using bamboo, willow and tissue paper!
