Art
Art Curriculum Overview
Subject: Art
Key Stage(s): KS3/KS4 - AQA GCSE Art, Craft and Design
Head of Department: Lydia Day
Date last reviewed: January 2026
1. Curriculum Intent
The Art curriculum at Pool Academy ensures all students develop confidence, creativity and practical skills. Students learn that art is not just about the finished piece, but about exploring ideas, practising skills and expressing themselves. By the time they leave the subject, students can use a range of materials and techniques confidently, talk about artwork using the right language, and create their own thoughtful and imaginative pieces.
2. Curriculum Implementation
Art lessons are carefully planned so that skills build step by step. Students begin by learning the basics, such as drawing accurately, understanding colour, shape and texture, and using materials safely and effectively. These skills are revisited and extended through increasingly complex techniques, materials and ideas as they progress while learning about different artists and cultures.
Lessons give students time to explore ideas, practise skills, create their own work and reflect on how they can improve. Teachers demonstrate techniques clearly and support students so that everyone can succeed. Sketchbooks are used to experiment, record ideas and show progress over time.
3. Curriculum Impact
Students become more confident and independent in their creativity. They learn to explain their ideas, reflect on their work and take pride in their progress. Art also helps students develop resilience, problem-solving skills and self-expression. By the end of their learning, students are well prepared for further study and have skills that support learning across the wider curriculum.
4. Enrichment and Wider Opportunities
- Trips to Tate Art Gallery and Leach Pottery Studios in St Ives.
- Links to Cornwall College, Truro College, Falmouth University and St. Ives School of Painting
- Artist in Residence who maintains the clay dept and runs ceramic club
5. Quality Assurance and Review
Assessment is ongoing and formative, with regular feedback that focuses on both skill development and creative decision-making. Sketchbooks are used as working documents to evidence experimentation, progress and reflection over time. Curriculum content is adapted where necessary to support inclusion, with scaffolding and challenge built into lessons to meet the needs of all learners.
This overview reflects Pool Academy’s commitment to a coherent, ambitious and inclusive curriculum aligned with the Ofsted Education Inspection Framework.
Expressive Arts
