Art & Design

Art & Design Curriculum Overview

At Salmons Brook School, Art, Craft and Design is a vital part of our therapeutic, creative, and academic provision. For our students—all of whom have EHCPs and SEMH needs—Art provides a space to explore identity, process emotion, and express themselves visually in ways that build confidence, resilience, and independence. We value the power of art not only as a curriculum subject but also as a personal and cultural tool for reflection, expression and empowerment. 

Intent 

Our Art, Craft and Design curriculum aims to: 

  • Inspire creativity, imagination, and curiosity through a wide exposure to media, techniques, artists, and design practices. 

  • Equip students with practical skills in drawing, painting, sculpture, photography, printing, and mixed media, building technical competence and control. 

  • Foster students’ ability to evaluate and reflect on their own and others’ work, using subject-specific vocabulary and critical thinking. 

  • Encourage students to make personal, meaningful responses to global, historical, and cultural artistic traditions. 

  • Support emotional literacy and personal development through opportunities for visual storytelling and exploration of themes such as identity, protest, landscape, and community. 

Implementation 

The curriculum follows a carefully sequenced 5-year journey that progresses from foundational skills and formal elements to personal style and portfolio development. Key features include: 

  • KS3 Foundations: 
    Students engage with themed enquiries exploring core concepts such as The Natural World, Identity, World Masks, The Built Environment, and Protest Art. Each unit builds technical skills, creative decision-making, and vocabulary while encouraging reflective practice. 

  • KS4 Pathways: 
    Students pursue formal accreditation through either Edexcel GCSE Art and Design or Arts Award at Bronze, Silver, or Gold level, depending on their needs, interests, and developmental readiness. 

  • GCSE students build a portfolio through sustained investigations of themes such as pattern, texture, form, and mixed media, and complete an externally set assignment. 

  • Arts Award candidates curate personal projects, document their creative journeys, and evaluate artistic outcomes, developing leadership and self-direction. 

  • KS5 Extension: 
    For students who opt to continue Art into Key Stage 5, the Arts Award continues as a Level 2 (Silver) or Level 3 (Gold) qualification. At this stage, students engage in increasingly self-directed projects, develop arts leadership skills, create public outcomes (e.g., exhibitions or performances), and build high-quality portfolios that support creative careers or further education in the arts. 

  • Therapeutic Value: 
    Art lessons are structured to promote wellbeing, mindfulness, and creative autonomy. We recognise the therapeutic potential of artistic expression, especially for students with trauma, anxiety or difficulty with verbal expression. 

  • Portfolio and Process Driven: 
    From Year 7 onward, students build sketchbooks and creative briefs documenting their ideas, influences, and evaluations. Work is refined through feedback and supported by artist research and experimentation. 

  • Enrichment and Cross-Curricular Links: 
    Art at Salmons Brook intersects with history, culture, English, and PSHE. Projects often link to themes such as identity, social justice, and cultural heritage, contributing to students' spiritual, moral, social, and cultural (SMSC) development. 

  • CREATE Values in Practice: 
    Our curriculum embodies Salmons Brook’s values—Community, Relationships, Enrichment, Aspirations, Trust and Education—through collaboration, celebration of student voice, and exploration of global perspectives in art. 

Impact 

Through our Art, Craft and Design curriculum, students: 

  • Grow in confidence, self-expression, and resilience through creating personal and meaningful artwork. 

  • Develop a breadth of technical and creative skills across a wide range of media and processes. 

  • Achieve accreditation, including GCSE Art and Design or Arts Award at Bronze, Silver, or Gold, supporting progression into further education and creative pathways. 

  • Learn to think critically, evaluate work using specialist vocabulary, and appreciate the role of art in culture and society. 

  • Use art as a therapeutic and expressive outlet, with improved emotional regulation, self-esteem, and sense of achievement. 

Impact is measured through ongoing formative assessment, completed portfolios, student voice, exhibition opportunities, and qualification outcomes. Above all, we celebrate each student’s journey in discovering their unique artistic voice. 

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