Creative Arts

Art

Art at Starks Field is a highly valued subject. We believe creativity is important to children’s development and will support them with all areas of their learning. Children in every year group have weekly art lessons where they have lots of opportunities to look at a variety of different artists linked with their topic for each term or lessons are blocked over a week or two.  Children learn to discuss and analyse pieces of work, ensuring that they listen to and value each other’s opinions. The children are given the opportunity to explore different mediums to re-create pieces as well as use the artist’s work as inspiration for their own final pieces. They are given the opportunity to learn new skills such as printing and clay modelling as well as using mediums such as charcoal, oil pastels and acrylics.

We have taken part in various events, including the Mayors’ Award for Visual Arts and the Tate Gallery's Year 3 project. Children are also given the opportunity to join our school art club, visit museums and express their views confidently using visual language. Our children can take great pride in their work and at different times of year we invite our families in to enjoy an Art Gallery tour of the children's creations.

We believe that when children leave Starks Field they will have a broad and varied knowledge of art, having been exposed to a wide range of artists and movements.

Music

At Starks Field Primary School we follow the Model Music Curriculum to make sure every music lesson is of the highest quality. Children in every year group have weekly music lessons taught through the music scheme Charanga (charanga.com/site/), where the pupils have lots of opportunities to immerse themselves in different genres of music as well as learn about great composers and musicians. They also learn to understand music, listen, respond, sing, play, compose, improvise and perform.

Children’s lessons are sequential in the following key areas which, when taken together, all contribute towards the steadily increasing development of musicianship:  singing, listening composing, performing and instrumental performance.

Children explore musical instruments and musical technology, develop their singing and compose their own original pieces of music. They learn key musical vocabulary in order to evaluate compositions, as well as learning how to use appropriate musical notation to write music. 

Enfield Music Service arranges for specialist music teachers to come to the school to teach children how to play and progress further. In Year 3 all children are taught the recorder and how to read sheet music by specialist teachers; children are then given the opportunity to continue learning the instrument. At the end of the term, extra concerts are held to inspire others and celebrate their achievements.

The Model Music Curriculum explores how musical techniques and skills can be nurtured and developed in all pupils through all key stages. It recognises that such skills may be expressed instrumentally, vocally or through music technology. The starting point is the ambition that every young person should be able to experience music and to make progress. This includes singing, as well as having the opportunity to learn an instrument through at Key Stage 2.

We also have links with the organisation RockSteady, which offers fun and inclusive in-school rock and pop band lessons.

Design and Technology

At Starks Field, we value design and technology as an opportunity for creativity and a chance to learn new skills. Children have many opportunities to design and make products which have relevance and use in real life. As part of their learning, pupils research, plan and design their products before constructing them using a range of materials. In every year group, children then have the chance to learn the practical skills necessary to ensure their designs are fit for purpose. These skills include measuring, cutting, shaping, sewing and weaving, as well as joining and finishing in woodwork. They also learn further life skills through various cooking activities. After the project children evaluate and test their products to help them consider improvements for the future. 

Spanish

Children at Starks Field are given the opportunity to learn Spanish. We employ a Spanish-speaking teacher who works in Key Stage 2 to extend children with grammar and written Spanish. We have links to a school in Spain where children correspond via letter. Every year we host a very popular Spanish Day, where children have the opportunity to study different Spanish-speaking countries, dress up and enjoy food from around the world.