The Arts (Art, Design & Music)

Here at Lostock Gralam C of E Primary School we ensure our Art, Design and Music teaching and learning reflects our school vision ‘Children are at the heart of everything that we do and Christ is the light that guides us’ John 8:12.

Our children live out our Christian Values (Hope, Respect, Friendship, Love, Courage, Forgiveness) in their lessons. We encourage our children to have a love of music and art. We teach them to appreciate their God given talent as musicians and artists, and so increase their self-confidence, creativity and sense of achievement.

Music

We use Charanga to support our teaching of music, this is an online music scheme. The children all learn to play the glockenspiel and children Robins and Goldfinches have weekly ukulele lessons with our peripatetic music teacher, Dan. Children in Skylarks and Toucans learn to play either the cello or the violin.

All children are given many opportunities to perform throughout the year. Each class presents a class worship which showcases an element of music. We also celebrate all Christian festivals throughout the year by participating in special, child led services in our church. This includes Harvest, Christmas plays, Carol Services, Christingle, Easter, Remembrance and many more.

Here at Lostock Gralam CE Primary School we offer a musical theatre club and have 2 choirs performing frequently through the year. We enjoy giving thanks and praising the Lord through music, both secular and sacred. 

The national curriculum for music aims to ensure that all children:

• perform, listen to, review and evaluate music across a range of historical periods, genres, styles and traditions, including the works of the great composers and musicians
• learn to sing and to use their voices, to create and compose music on their own and with others, have the opportunity to learn a musical instrument, use technology appropriately and have the opportunity to progress to the next level of musical excellence
• understand and explore how music is created, produced and communicated, including through the interrelated dimensions: pitch, duration, dynamics, tempo, timbre, texture, structure and appropriate musical notations.

In addition to whole class music lessons, Children have the opportunity to learn how to play guitar, keyboard or ukulele with Shaun and Dan from year two onwards. Check our Twitter feed for videos and photographs of our most recent performances.

Art and Design

At Lostock Gralam CE Primary School, we really value the creative curriculum. Through topic work in the classroom, children have the opportunity to develop their Art skills in key areas such as drawing, clay, textiles, sculpture, painting, print making and collage. These areas are developed continuously throughout the school from the foundation stage through to year 6.

We encourage children to be inspired by the work of great artists, Christian artists and to engage with a wide range of resources and media. Lostock artists aim to be investigative and creative. We develop critical thinking, linking art to other areas of the curriculum and considering the contribution it makes on culture and the world around us. 

‘I trust in God, so why should I be afraid?’ Psalm 56:4 

Lostock artists are not afraid to express themselves and look to God when they need the courage to value their own and other’s uniqueness. 

We complete several whole school art focus days throughout the year with a particular focus on Christian art. This work is displayed in classroom and in our shared areas around school.

The national curriculum for art and design aims to ensure that all pupils:

• produce creative work, exploring their ideas and recording their experiences
• become proficient in drawing, painting, sculpture and other art, craft and design techniques
• evaluate and analyse creative works using the language of art, craft and design
• know about great artists, craft makers and designers, and understand the historical and cultural development of their art forms. 

Design and Technology

At Lostock, we allow children time to 'tinker' which means they spend the early sessions of their D&T lessons playing and discovering, practising using equipment and trying out different designs. The children are then given time to feedback to their peers and discuss the pros and cons of their designs and justify which materials they may use and why. As the design process continues, children get to make a prototype before deciding and making a final design. This work is recorded in a class 'journey' book which 'travels' with them through their time at school so progression can be clearly seen.?

?Cooking and nutrition also forms part of D&T and in KS1, children learn about where food comes from and discuss healthy diets. In KS2, children have the opportunity to extend this knowledge and to prepare and cook savoury dishes such as a Greek Salad in Year 4 and Healthy Soup in Year 5.?

?All our Design and Technology projects draw on disciplines such as maths, science, engineering, computing and art and form an important part of our creative curriculum. All D&T projects are linked with the topic the class are learning about:?

Year 1 – Creating a moving space vehicle?

Year 2 – Creating a bird hide or hedgehog house for our school grounds?

Year 3 – Creating a waterproof shelter for book character?

Year 4 – Creating a torch using electrical systems?

Year 5 – Creating a toy using mechanical sytems (cams)?

Year 6 – Creating a Mayan temple using electrial systems

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