Curriculum
Intent
The Art and Design Technology curriculum at Rainford is a stimulating, rigorous and practical subject area encompassing the specialist areas of Art and Design, Food, Graphics, Product Design and Textiles.
Throughout Key Stage 3, our curriculum presents a range of opportunities for students to develop their creative, practical and technical skills as they design, create and make prototypes and outcomes.
We encourage students to take risks in their creative design approaches and aim to develop resourceful and enterprising young learners who can develop into the next generation of innovative artists, designers and practitioners.
Implementation
The Art and Design Technology curriculum aims to enrich the quality of our student’s experiences, providing rewarding activities that inspire, inform, stimulate, challenge and entertain. Activities help develop the capacity to formulate and communicate ideas and feelings; they enhance perceptual skills through responding, developing and evaluating, and control through practiced physical skills.
Involvement in Art and Design Technology helps to foster a positive attitude among students by developing a wide range of qualities such as cooperation, enthusiasm, passion, inspiration, resilience and ambition. We also emphasise that this is an inclusive environment, which helps students acquire an important sense of belonging as well as building the self-confidence they need to do well and make their first steps towards higher education and employment.
The Art and Design Technology curriculum at KS3 introduces key formal elements and practical skills to students through a series of projects. These projects encourage students to work both solely and as part of a group. They are introduced to basic key skills and then these are built on throughout the three year key stage. Each project is designed to enhance and build on initial skills taught going into greater depth whilst encouraging creative thinking, risk-taking and confidence.
Impact
Our aim to create a culture of exploring and learning that is accessible to all students and allows them to embrace and enjoy the subject matter across all disciplines as they develop skills, knowledge and understanding.
As our students mature and move on from Rainford having completed an ADT qualification, they will be equipped with a wide range of skills which will put them in a strong position to apply for a related higher level course or move confidently into the employment market.
Students will have the personal development, life-skills and careers guidance to make them employable and allow them to make a significant contribution to British and Global society.
Possible careers and opportunities
Whether you love photography, graphic design, painting or any other art-related speciality, career options are limited only by your imagination. Art education propels people towards creative and unexpected destinations – many of which have not even been discovered yet. To explore the exciting career paths that are possible for students of Art, Photography, Sculpture and 3D Design use the link below: www.studentartguide.com/articles/art-careers-list.
Facilities
The Art facilities consists of 3 teaching rooms, a photography studio and a gallery space and is well equipped for general art activities as well as containing specialist facilities for Ceramics, Textiles, Photography and Printing. The department also has a suite of computers, a printing press and 2 kilns.
The Technology Facilities consists of 8 teaching rooms with 2 dedicated to each subject specialism.
- S101/102 Graphics: Full suite of PCs, in-class printing facilities, range of graphics tools and equipment.
- S103/S105 Textiles: Full range of sewing machines, heat press, range of textiles tools and equipment.
- S105/106 Product Design: Fully equipped modern workshops, freestanding machines, traditional work benches, range of specialist tools and equipment, suite of sewing machines.
- S110/111 Food: Full range of cooking facilities, food preparation area, specialist tools and equipment, study area, refrigeration facilities, dishwasher and laundry facilities, class set of laptops.
- The department also has a further suite of computers in the open area, 2 state of the art laser cutters, a large format vinyl cutting machines, digital printing/scanning facilities and a materials preparation/storage room.
Support
The Art and Design Department is well equipped to offer additional support to students with a range of learning needs through varied teaching approaches and with differentiated resources. The Art and Design Department encourage students to attend additional GCSE support workshops after school, alongside their timetabled lessons.
Extra-Curricular
KS3 Rotation Timetable
- Year 7 Curriculum:
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Students visit each area of Art, Design and Technology on a carousel system
- Product Design – During this unit students will develop their knowledge of workshop skills as they work with a range of materials. They will gain an understanding of designing, creating, tool selection and materials before going on to create a contemporary desk organiser. Students will then ensure they work to tolerance as they mix the traditional and modern manufacturing techniques to batch produce an individual item to a specified size. This develops the team work ethic required in manufacturing lessons.
- Food – Students will follow a food preparation course where they will be introduced to a range of practical techniques to enable them to make a number of outcomes. Students will develop skills and knowledge in: understanding food safety and hygiene, practical application of knife skills, heat transfer methods, basic nutrition/eat well guide.
- Graphics – During this unit students will develop their use of graphic software alongside more traditional drawing and presentation skills. They will be taught how to use line, tone, colour and shape to create alternative geometric pattern designs to decorate a product before developing these digitally. Students will then explore a range of mechanical movements and learn how these can be used in different scenarios before going on to develop and manufacture a working mechanical toy.
- Textiles – Students will develop their use of practical machine sewing skills alongside traditional drawing and presentation skills. They will be taught how to create patterns and basic textile construction techniques and develop creative solutions to decorate their designs with a range of textile materials.
- Art: Pop Art- Students will be exploring the work of Roy Lichtenstein and the Pop Art movement. Skills being explored and developed will be drawing, painting, designing and colour theory.
- Art: Mini Beasts– Students will be exploring the world of Mini Beasts. Skills being explored and developed will be drawing, mark making, designing and colour theory.
Student Skill Slides for year 7 Projects: Art and Design Technology Year 7 Skills
Assessment
Your child’s progress will be assessed against the Art, Design &T Technology Progress Ladders. Your child will be assessed formally in our whole-school Assessment Fortnights twice a year. In addition, how well students Develop Ideas, Explore and Refine work, Record observations, and Present personal and meaningful responses.
Resources
To help support your child’s learning we have detailed Knowledge Organisers. on each topic we teach. To help develop your child’s vocabulary and foster a love for reading, we also set 2 reading homeworks per project which are published on Show My Homework. Further useful resources include:
- Year 8 Curriculum:
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Students visit each area in Art, Design and Technology on a carousel system.
- Product Design – During this unit students will build on their practical woodwork skills as they construct the framework for a contemporary mood light. They practice their drawing skills as they present design options for the decorative panels for their lamp and develop their use of CAD software as they generate the design files for laser cutting these.
- Food – Students will follow a food preparation course where they will be introduced to a range of practical techniques to enable them to make a number of personal products and build on skills and knowledge from Y7. Students will develop skills and knowledge in: food preparation, following a recipe, identifying the main macro/micro nutrients and the Eat Well Guide.
- Graphics/Electronics – During this unit students will further develop their use of CAD software alongside more traditional drawing and presentation skills in the production of a mini light box. They will develop their understanding of basic input, process and output systems and a range of electronic components, and learn how these can be used in simple circuits before going on to populate a prototype circuit board for the mini light box. Finally, students will explore and test alternative routes for housing the mini light circuit without the use of glue before designing and developing a range of surface graphics options for the container developed.
- Textiles –During the course students will further develop their use of practical machine sewing skills alongside traditional drawing and presentation skills. They will be taught how to create patterns and basic textile construction techniques and develop creative solutions to decorate their designs with a range of textile materials.
- Art: Mexican Day of the Dead – Students will be introduced to the Day of the Dead festival and will be exploring the cultural elements involved. Skills being explored and developed will be drawing, painting, designing and colour theory.
- Art: Seed Pods- Students will be exploring and developing 3D skills using clay methods and techniques to study, observe and construct a clay sculpture based on seed pod forms they have designed. Skills being explored will be drawing, designing, and exploring ideas, mixed media techniques, constructions methods and how to work safely with clay.
Student Skill Slides for year 8 Projects: Art and Design Technology Year 8 Skills
Assessment
Your child’s progress will be assessed against the Art, Design & Technology Progress Ladders. Your child will be assessed formally in our whole-school Assessment Fortnights twice a year. In addition, how well students Develop Ideas, Explore and Refine work, Record observations, and Present personal and meaningful responses.
Resources
To help support your child’s learning we have detailed Knowledge Organisers on each topic we teach. To help develop your child’s vocabulary and foster a love for reading, we also set 2 reading homeworks per project which are published on Show My Homework. Further useful resources include:
- Year 9 Curriculum:
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Students visit each area in Art, Design and Technology on a carousel system
- Product Design: Students will further develop their skills and knowledge in the use of practical woodwork skills and CAD software gained in Y7 and 8. They will be taught a range of higher level manufacturing techniques and skills involving different tools, equipment and machinery to produce a high quality Keepsake Box. Students will further develop skills and knowledge in: drawing and presentation, woodworking techniques, use of CAD/CAM to embellish products, wood types, plastics, components, QA/QC, evaluation.
- Food – Students will be introduced to a wide range of practical techniques to enable them to make a number of personal products and build on skills and knowledge from Year 7 and 8. Students will further develop skills and knowledge in: food preparation, macro/micro nutrients, nutritional differences at each life stage, functions of a range of ingredients, nutritional requirements for vegetarians.
- Graphics – Students will experiment with a range of graphic materials, techniques and processes as they explore ideas for a decorative clock and associated packaging inspired by a chosen Design Movement. They will be taught how to further manipulate and develop imagery using graphic software as they refine their designs into high quality final outcomes. Students will learn how to combine colour, imagery and type to create appropriate graphic designs and all work will be documented in the accompanying design folio.Students will develop skills and knowledge in: sourcing and using appropriate inspiration, design movements, colour theory, drawing and presentation, use of graphic software.
- Textiles – students will be introduced to and develop their use of traditional dying techniques. They will be taught how to create patterns based on geometric design principles and explore colour and pattern combinations as they design and make a Geometric Patchwork Cushion. Students will further develop skills and knowledge in: designing, making, drawing and presentation, pattern making, advanced techniques sewing machine techniques (e.g. appliqué), dying techniques and printing techniques.
- Art: Distorted Portraits- Students will explore portrait techniques and using inspiration from Francis bacon, will distort features of the face. Skills the students will be using will be drawing, photography, Photoshop, oil pastel techniques, colour theory, collage and mixed media techniques.
- Art: British Cultural Identity– Students will be exploring their own cultural identity through a series of drawing activities and the introduction of British artist Michael Craig Martin. Students will be developing an outcome which incorporates personal elements about their own identity. Skills being explored will be drawing, painting, mixed media, designing compositions and colour theory.
Student Skill Slides for year 9 Projects: Art and Design Technology Year 9 Skills
Assessment
Your child’s progress will be assessed against the Art, Design & Technology Progress Ladders. Your child will be assessed formally in our whole-school Assessment Fortnights three times a year. In addition, how well students Develop Ideas, Explore and Refine work, Record observations, and Present personal and meaningful responses.
Resources
To help support your child’s learning we have detailed Knowledge Organisers on each topic we teach. To help develop your child’s vocabulary and foster a love for reading, we also set 2 reading homeworks per project which are published on Show My Homework. Further useful resources include: