Early Years Foundation Stage (Reception Year)

Expressive Art and Design: Creating with Materials

Early Learning Goal: Children at the expected level of development will safely use and explore a variety of materials, tools and techniques, experimenting with colour, design, texture, form, and function. Share their creations, explaining the process they have used. Make use of props and materials when role-playing characters in narratives and stories.

Cross-Curriculum: 

The EYFS by its very nature, fosters learning simultaneously across all disciplines; some direct learning opportunities will be planned in relation to 'creating with materials', with multiple other opportunities to engage with learning from other strands of the EYFS curriculum too.  These opportunities are built into wide classroom provision, taken from the children's interests and play.  The other aspects of the EYFS curriculum are: 

• Communication and Language
• Personal, Social and Emotional Development
• Physical Development 
• Literacy
• Mathematics 
• Understanding the World 

National curriculum purpose of study (Y1 & Y2):

Art, craft and design embody some of the highest forms of human creativity. A high-quality art and design education should engage, inspire and challenge pupils, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to experiment, invent and create their own works of art, craft and design. As pupils progress, they should be able to think critically and develop a more rigorous understanding of art and design. They should also know how art and design both reflect and shape our history, and contribute to the culture, creativity and wealth of our nation.

Subject content Key stage 1

Pupils should be taught:

•  to use a range of materials creatively to design and make products
• to use drawing, painting and sculpture to develop and share their ideas, experiences and imagination
•  to develop a wide range of art and design techniques in using colour, pattern, texture, line, shape, form and space
• about the work of a range of artists, craft makers and designers, describing the differences and similarities between different practices and disciplines, and making links to their own work.

If you would like to see the full Early Years Statutory Guidance for Curriculum click here.

If you would like to see the full National Curriculum document for History click here.