Art

Art

Culture enriches lives, and participation in creative and cultural activities can have a significant impact on young people, by developing their appreciation, their skills and helping them to learn.

This has been shown repeatedly in international studies, and has also been backed up by recent evaluations of major programmes such as Creative Partnerships and Museums’ Strategic Commissioning. What these evaluations have shown is that culture and the arts can help young people achieve all of the Every Child Matters outcomes.

Cultural activities also gives young people the chance to develop important life skills such as creativity.

As well as being valuable and enjoyable in its own right, participation in cultural activities also gives young people the chance to develop important life skills such as creativity, confidence, self-discipline, effective communication and the ability to work in teams. These skills are particularly important in a world of rapid technological and social change where the cultural and creative industries are increasingly important to our economic future.

That is why a commitment was made in the Children’s Plan to work towards a position where all children and young people — no matter where they live or what their background — have the chance to participate in at least five hours of high-quality culture per week, in and out of school. The Find Your Talent programme looks at different ways of offering young people a range of cultural experiences.

The aim is to give young people the chance to develop as:

  • informed spectators (through attending top quality theatre and dance performances, world class exhibitions, galleries, museums and heritage sites)
  • participants and creators (through learning a musical instrument, playing and singing in ensembles, taking part in theatre and dance performances, producing artwork, making films and media art, or curating an exhibition).

Arts and cultural activities are also an important stimulus to develop young people’s creativity. Learning Outside the Classroom activities which give children and young people the opportunity to work on real-life challenges; handle risk; develop their capacity to think imaginatively and creatively; define and explore complex problems; use and adapt multiple resources both within their community and beyond in order to experiment and devise solutions to these problems — all of these experiences nurture the mix of thinking, imagining, facing the unknown and making things happen which are the ingredients of creativity.

School Art and Design courses provide students with a wide range of creative, exciting and stimulating opportunities to explore their artistic interests and design skills in ways that are personally relevant.

All schools aim to develop students’ ability to engage in practical ways with the processes of Art and Design. And at examination level all courses build on students’ innate creative skills through learning and doing in order to develop imaginative ways of working. They aim to enhance students’ knowledge and understanding of media, materials and technologies in historical and contemporary contexts, societies and cultures.

The educational visits that can enhance the learning experiences outside the classroom obviously include art galleries and studios, but there are now many opportunities to have hands-on experiences in a variety of skills, including sculpture, wood carving, furniture making, weaving, jewelry making, and pottery.

The BBC offer a fabulous section of their website called Your Paintings. It boasts a superb schools section which grew out of a Your Painitings Masterpieces in Schools event that took place across the country. The event gave thousands of UK school children the opportunity to experience great art close-up when a masterpiece visited their schools for the day. To support the project the BBC have curated a host of online resources including: slideshows of paintings with ideas for use in the classroom; profiles of careers in the art world; and a guide to artistic styles and movements. These cover many areas of the curriculum including History, Music, Geography, English and Drama as well as Art.

Main organisations:

Arts Council

Engage

National Society for Education in Art and Design

National Foundation for Educational Research

Inclusion: NASEN, and the Royal Academy of Arts runs regular sensory workshops for SEN students.

Thought of visiting?

The National Gallery

National Portrait Gallery

Royal Academy of Arts

Tate Modern

The Tate, St Ives

Victoria and Albert Museum

Birmingham Art Gallery

Cardiff Art Gallery at the National Museum Cardiff

The Eden Project, Cornwall

Keith Harding’s World of Mechanical Music, Gloucester

Sir Richard Arkwright’s Cromford Mill, Derbyshire

Snibston Discovery Park, Coalville, Leicestershire

Centre for Alternative Technology, Machynlleth

The National Stone Centre, Wirksworth

Articles about Art, Education and Trips on SchoolTripsAdvisor

Find out about the National Portrait Gallery's exhibition: Real Tudors: Kings & Queens Rediscovered

Read Turner Prize-winning artist Grayson Perry's thoughts on Art Education, published recently in the TES.

Venues for this Curriculum

Great fun for all the family, find out how much fun painting ceramics can be. Ideal children's parties - no stress and we clear up the mess. Hand and Foot imprints in clay. Perfect for unique personalised gifts for Christmas, Birthdays and Christenings. Visit us and be creative.

Experience RE out of the classroom

Chelmsford Cathedral is a beautiful house of prayer and a unique educational resource. The light, joyous and colourful atmosphere together with the varied, contemporary works-of-art, enable it to be explored in many ways.

What do we offer schools?

Offering a wide variety of bespoke programmes for Early Years/KS1 through to KS4. Groups can be taken on Tuesdays. Whether dipping for creatures that live in our river or kneeling to look at flowers in the meadows - there is an abundance of wonderful new experiences to behold.

EYFS: 

Veiled underneath the drape of woody shades, the miniature forest offers an enthralling combination of history humor and entertainment.

A visit to our stunning and innovative visitor centre built on a former landfill site will be an exciting and educational trip for all ages. With superb views from our roof top over Mucking Flats and the Thames Estuary, our education programmes will inspire your students. 

EYFS: 

A fun and fabulous Paint Your Own Pottery and craft studio with buckets of charm and chocolate biscuits. Kids (and big kids) can go crafty crazy trying out pottery painting, Decopatch and Mosaics, and take home a gorgeous one-of-a-kind masterpiece.

Create your individual design. Unleash your creativity and start painting your own pottery - great idea for presents for the family as well.

Have a fun session with us doing our fantastic pottery painting or decopatch activities. Relax in our large, friendly and open studio with a tea/coffee and piece of cake and be creative! We also have a selection of great birthday party packages.

The perfect day out to fuel your creative juices. We are an amazing venue for a family fun filled afternoon out and perfect for all ages from aged 1 to 100. Our fabulous staff will be on hand to help you with hints, tips and inspiration for you to create your masterpiece, which will be glazed and fired.

Paint Your Own Pottery - Great fun for kids, relaxing for adults. Choose from over 400 items - the biggest choice of any studio in the Herefordshire, Worcestershire & Gloucestershire area. Indoor kids' play area, plenty of free parking right outside our door, refreshments available.

An ancient story of vanished oceans and fossilised sea creatures is the reason why the Oswestry Hills are so rich in wild plants, including orchids. 

Activity examples:

Butterfly surveys, tree investigations, bug hunting, pond dipping, habitat investigations, natural art, sensory explorers. John Muir Award (environmental award for KS2 upwards).

The main footpath along the Stiperstones ridge goes straight down the side of The Hollies nature reserve. Few people step off the track to explore this ancient, scattered grove of hollies, but those that do soon fall under its spell. The trees are extraordinary characters, some of them three or four centuries old.

Activity examples:

Steep wooded slopes rise from the banks of the River Teme, leading to open grassland with glorious views across Ludlow to the Clee Hills. Networked with footpaths and flights of stone steps, the Common is easy to explore, with numerous seats for walkers to rest and enjoy the views.

Activity examples:

Welcome to the School of Art Gallery and Museum at Aberystwyth University. In addition to up-to-date news on the collections and exhibition programme, this site provides an introduction to our Art and Crafts Collection, outlining its development and the individuals whose personal enthusiasms have shaped the Collection since 1872.

The Ceramic Collection is located in the Ceramic Gallery, Aberystwyth Arts Centre, where certain items from the collection are permanently on display. Some items are also on display at the School of Art. Items are also held in store in both locations.

Pembrokeshire's County Museum is located in a traditional Victorian country house near Haverfordwest, surrounded by 60 acres of park and woodland and is completed by an award-winning eco-centre.

Period rooms, railway displays, farming exhibition, costume, stable/rural crafts, art exhibitions, World War II homefront exhibition. Picnic and play areas, shop and tearoom.

Abbot Hall Art Gallery hosts a collection of historic, modern and contemporary art, as well as a dynamic series of temporary exhibitions, within the unique setting of a Grade 1 listed Georgian building.

Cannon Hall Museum houses a grand collection of artworks including paintings, English furniture, Arts and Crafts ceramics and modern glassware.

The Hall opened as a museum in 1957 and continues to display the exhibits to the public to this day.  Recent funding from the Heritage Lottery fund helped refurbish the displays and update them for the modern age.

The Foxton Canal Museum is located in the former boiler house for the plane's steam engine. The museum covers the history of the locks and the plane, the lives of the canal workers, and other aspects of the local canal. There is also a collection of Measham pottery.

Foxton Canal Museum is fun, children of all ages love it.

Banking for Victory: A country house at War - Upton is transformed into the Country House Bank

In 1939 the owners of Upton House – the Bearsteds – moved out and their family-owned bank moved in. Driven by the need to protect bank staff and assets from the London air raids, M. Samuel & Co., moved in lock, stock and barrel for the duration of the Second World War.

Enter a world where 235 million years of history is brought to life. From majestic mammoths to Saxon invaders, visitors to the Hull and East Riding museum of archaeology can look forward to an experience that is unique, educational and fun.

The legacy of a family's passion for Victorian art and design

Wightwick Manor - haven of a romantic industrialist.

In 1937 Geoffrey Mander MP did something remarkable - he persuaded the National Trust to accept a house that was just 50 years old.

Intimate manor house with Arts and Crafts-style garden

Lytes Cary Manor is an intimate medieval manor house with a beautiful Arts and Crafts garden where you can imagine living.

Originally the family home of Henry Lyte, where he translated the unique Niewe Herbal book on herbal remedies, Lytes Cary was then lovingly restored in the 20th century by Sir Walter Jenner.

The Iford valley has been occupied since Roman times and the manor house sits idyllically by the Frome river in the steep-sided valley. Iford Manor is mediaeval in origin, the classical facade being added in the eighteenth century when the hanging woodlands above the garden were planted.

The elegant Palladian home of the Dashwood family and historic village

West Wycombe Park is one of the most theatrical and Italianate of all English country houses and the Dashwood family home for over 300 years. Set in 45 acres of landscaped park, the house as we see it today is the creation of the 2nd Baronet in the 18th century.

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