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ST
NSEAD The Gatehouse, Corsham Court
Corsham, Wiltshire SN13 0BZ
T: 01249 714825 F: 01249 716138
www.nsead.org ISSN 1479-0459
Number 1, 2003 £5.00
ART
THE NEW MAGAZINE FOR PRIMARY AND PRE-SCHOOL
TEACHERS OF ART, CRAFT AND DESIGN
START here!
Talking Textiles
Children’s Art Day 2003
How drawing can help
children learn
Early years education philosophy
Pull-out Subject Leaders’
Handbook
New ideas for the classroom
Access over 300 units of work
for art, craft and design
Anthony Cragg poster
NEWS•REVIEWS•GOOD PRACTICE•LESSON PLANNING•FREE POSTERS•RESOURCES•LISTINGS

ABOUT NSEAD
START is published by the National Society
for Education in Art & Design (NSEAD)
with the support of the Arts Council of England
The NSEAD is the leading UK authority concerned
with art, craft and design education and promotes
and represents art and design in all phases of
education throughout the UK.
A professional association with active membership
among art and design teachers and lecturers in
the UK, the NSEAD is also a leading provider of
in-service education, on-line and other publications
for art and design education – visit www.nsead.org
for more information.
UNITS OF WORK
Early subscribers to START receive a year’s free on-line
access to over 300 units of art, craft and design work
on the NSEAD’s website.
How to access art lessons and art
projects on-line
The National Society for Education in Art &
Design ‘Units of Work’ database has about
300 units of work that can be accessed
free of charge by subscribers to START
magazine – there should be something
there to surprise and inspire you. The units
have been written by some of the UK’s
leading art educators and include art
projects, art lessons and descriptions of
classroom and art room teaching
strategies, for children, pupils and
students from 3-18 years old. However
most of the units are easily adapted for
use by a wider age range.
The Society is always keen to receive new
ideas to add to the existing units – if you
have a lesson you are particularly pleased
with, please write it up in a similar format
and e-mail it, together with one or two
examples of your children’s work to
johnsteers@nsead.org
To access the Units of Work you should
go to www.nsead.org and then click on
‘Site Map’ followed by ‘Units of Work’.
To go directly to the Units of Work go to:
www.nsead.org/units/index.asp
You will be asked to log-in and should do
so using the username jade309 and the
password arted. If the search dialogue box
does not appear after logging in, click
‘Refresh’.
You can simply browse through the units
or search them by using keywords such
as artists’ names, themes or techniques.
Alternatively, you can search for age range,
particular media and processes, and the
elements such as shape, form, colour,
tone, and texture.
To subscribe to START to receive your personal
copy call 01249 714825 or photocopy and
complete the subscription form at the back of
the magazine.
THE NEW MAGAZINE FOR PRIMARY AND PRE-SCHOOL TEACHERS OF ART, CRAFT & DESIGN

START
Number 1, 2003
01
START
CONTENTS
Children’s Art Day
Page 3
Ideas for Early Years
Page 8
From the editor
Hello and welcome to START – the magazine intended to help you at work.
We hope you like our first edition. We’ve tried to include a range of topics and ideas
for use in the classroom from early years upwards but we look forward to hearing
from you with your news, views and ideas for future issues of the magazine.
We all know it’s the case but it was said again at the Headmasters’ Conference
earlier this month: ‘Art matters and we need to do more about it’. We hope START
has a role to play in the future development of really creative art, craft and design
education. Let us know what you think.
Amanda Burnside
From the President of NSEAD
Welcome to START! I hope you will enjoy the first edition of this new resource
specifically designed with you in mind.
I am delighted that we are able to publish this magazine with the support of the
Arts Council of England. In a time of rapid change, when many of the traditional forms
of support have been removed or severely cut back I am confident that START will
quickly become an essential resource to help you in your classroom. It fills a gap in
the support that we know, through discussion with our members, is needed for
teachers of primary and preschool art, craft and design.
The National Society for Education in Art and Design has a particular commitment
to establish and maintain quality support for you in your work with your children.
With best wishes for successful art and design lessons.
Alastair Laing
President NSEAD
Cover image: Nineteenth century Punu mask from Gabon, West Africa
Courtesy of M. Eglington collection. Ideas for Early Years, page 8.
Simply to Dye For
Page 4
Drawing Power
Page 18
Page 2
START news
Children’s Art Day
Page 4
Simply to Dye For
The beautiful Adire Cloth print and
how it can be used in the classroom
Page 6
Taking it to the Limits
Derek Stears reviews creative material
at Key Stage 2
Page 8
Ideas for Early Years
Kristen Ali Eglinton has ideas for
motivating at pre-school level
Page 9
The Primary Art and Design Subject
Leaders’ Handbook
Our pull-out and keep handbook starts here
Page 13
Simple Perspective
Teaching points from Giles Hughes
Page 14
Do You DARE?
ICT in schools should be about more than
data processing and digital encyclopaedias.
Rebecca Sinker introduces DARE a new
primary CD rom
Page 16
Through the Eyes of a Child
A new early years education philosophy
developed in Italy is trialled in Cardiff with
Nigel Meager
Page 18
Power Drawing
The Campaign for Drawing helps children
to learn says Eileen Adams
Page 20
All about Books
New primary publications
Insert
Anthony Cragg poster
Copyright ©2003 NSEAD All rights reserved. With the exception
of fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or
criticism or review, no part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored or transmitted in any form or by any means without the
prior permission in writing from the copyright holder. Subscribers
to START may make photocopies for teaching purposes free of
charge provided such copies are not resold. Authors’ views in this
publication are not necessarily those of the NSEAD.
Editor: Amanda Burnside amandaburnside@nsead.org
Design: SteersMcGillan Ltd T: 01225 465546
www.steersmcgillan.co.uk
Advertising Sales: johnsteers@nsead.org
Publisher:
National Society for Education in Art & Design
The Gatehouse, Corsham Court, Corsham, Wiltshire SN13 0BZ
T: 01249 714825 F: 01249 716138 www.nsead.org
THE NEW MAGAZINE FOR PRIMARY AND PRE-SCHOOL TEACHERS OF ART, CRAFT & DESIGN

START NEWS
We want your news…
Please send news items of interest to primary and
pre-school teachers of art, craft and design to:
Start Magazine, NSEAD, Corsham Court,
Corsham, Wiltshire SN13 0BZ
or e-mail them to amandaburnside@nsead.org
Big Draw 2003
Schools are being encouraged to hold
drawing events either on their own or in
partnership with their local art gallery,
museum or other relevant organisations
as part of the THE BIG DRAW. This is an
annual event in October held in museums,
galleries, science centres, schools and
many other places open to the public,
where drawing is used to encourage
access to collections, to make the
experience of learning more enjoyable
and more intense. Check out the website
www.drawingpower.org.uk
A new resource
clicketyclick.org – an ICT and
Art resource for subjects across the
Primary curriculum.
Mount Pleasant Media Workshop has
years of experience in Visual Arts Projects
for schools. Now they say they’re
delivering them to teachers and parents
through their new resource website.
clicketyclick.org is a collection of projects
across the primary curriculum using digital
and traditional photography.
Projects are explained with hints and tips
and past results. There are projects to suit
all levels of ability and equipment.
For teachers there are lesson plans with
some of the projects and a gallery to
display schools’ results. The website will
be added to over time, say MPMW, as they
complete more projects with schools.
If you would like to know about MPMW’s
projects in schools or about the website
speak to Caroline on 023 80 231 977 or
email on caroline@mpmw.co.uk
Calling all Artists!
As part of the Campaign for Drawing
(see pages 20-21), the Association of
Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) is
appealing for young people’s art to
display at its London headquarters.
ATL is a professional association and trade
union representing over 160,000 teachers,
lecturers and education support staff in
England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
ATL members work in both the maintained
and independent sectors – from early years
through to further education – and include
all those directly involved in the delivery of
education to pupils and students
The headquarters building has recently
been refurbished and the Association says
it would love to display young students’
artwork. Should you be able to help, please
contact Julie Coverdale on 020 7782 1556.
For further information on ATL, visit the
website on www.askatl.org.uk
Diversity and Citizenship
A series of regional seminars exploring
diversity aimed at teachers and citizenship
co-ordinators will take place in May as
part of Museums and Galleries Month.
The seminars address the new Citizenship
curriculum for schools and how museum
and gallery resources can help schools
engage with diversity and other Citizenship
objectives.
The twilight seminars, organised by
engage which promotes access to the
visual arts, will take place in Norwich May
19, Walsall May 20, Sunderland May 20,
Bristol May 20 and Bournemouth May 21.
For further information e-mail
info@engage.org or call 020 7244 0110
The Artfull programme
Results from the Artfull initiative in which
some schools received a grant for gallery
projects are beginning to come in and will
be available for viewing on the engage
website, www.engage.org
Artfull is the £80,000 grants programme
managed by engage for the DfES and is
part of the Museums and Galleries
Education Programme Phase 2. Sixteen
schools/gallery projects across England
are being supported by the fund.
As well as linking into specific aspects of
the national curriculum, the initiative aims
to raise pupils’ standards and to
demonstrate the real benefits for them of
working in the visual arts and crafts.
For further information call 020 7244 0110
Find a gallery
engage also co-ordinates ‘Gallery Finder’,
the online database providing gallery details
for teachers. See www.engage.org
Product testers required
START is looking for a panel of teachers
interested in testing and reviewing new art,
craft and design products and materials.
If you would like to participate, please
contact the editor.
amandaburnside@nsead.org
Power Drawing Weekend
The NSEAD Power Drawing Weekend for
teachers will be held at the School of Art
and Design Bath Spa University College on
September 5–7, 2003. Put it in your diary
NOW! Full details in the next issue.
THE NEW MAGAZINE FOR PRIMARY AND PRE-SCHOOL TEACHERS OF ART, CRAFT & DESIGN

Further information:
Artworks website www.art-works.org.uk is full of practical ideas for
teachers and children including ways to celebrate Children’s Art Day.
Or you can e-mail info@artday.org.uk
03
START
CHILDREN’S ART DAY
JULY 3, 2003
‘Children’s Art Day is an ideal way to
promote and raise the profile of arts
education…’ 2002 participant
Last year over 160 events involving
thousands of pupils took place throughout
the country for Children’s Art Day.
Children’s Art Day is part of the Artworks
programme which includes the Young
Artists of the Year Awards as well as
research in the field of art education.
Children’s Art Day provides the impetus
for schools to put the spotlight on the
transforming power of art for children and
young people. It is a day for children and
young people to encounter, explore and
engage with art, both as ‘viewers’ and
‘makers’, by:
• seeing art in galleries, museums,
science and discovery centres and
in their local environment
• meeting artists and finding out about
their work
• making art displays for the wider
community to see
• making art in school and at home.
This year Children’s Art Day will be held
on 3 July (for events working with schools)
and over the weekend of July 5–6 (for
family events). There has already been
a sharp rise in registrations from schools
this year. The deadline for registering
events is May 23. All participants receive
stickers and other materials for their
participants as well as inclusion in the
events listings on the Artworks website.
In addition to the events taking place at
organisations throughout the country,
Children’s Art Day includes a Shadows
programme through which young people
can experience a day in the life of a major
figure in the art world. There will be
participation from artists, broadcasters,
museum and gallery directors, government
ministers, art dealers and art critics.
Children last year shadowed the Chairman
of Sotheby’s and Sir Nicholas Serota,
Tate Director.
Raising the profile of arts education
The day will be promoted in The Guardian
and will be celebrated in a series of films
to be shown on Channel 4 in the weeks
preceding the event.
‘The ideas for types of events you could
have were excellent, I knew I wanted to
do something but I didn’t have an idea.
After being inspired by your list we did an
amazing free art club on the high street.’
2002 participant.
THE NEW MAGAZINE FOR PRIMARY AND PRE-SCHOOL TEACHERS OF ART, CRAFT & DESIGN

04
Textiles
Acknowledgments: Published by Shorewood Fine
Art Reproductions USA available through Shorewood
Educational, Sparham, Norwich Tel: 01362 688395
©Courtesy of The High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA
THE NEW MAGAZINE FOR PRIMARY AND PRE-SCHOOL TEACHERS OF ART, CRAFT & DESIGN

May be linked to the following KS1 & 2
units for the QCA Scheme of Work:
Investigating Materials, Investigating Pattern,
Talking Textiles, Journeys.
Further information:
www.artforschools.com
05
START
SIMPLY
TO DYE FOR
Tim Mainstone introduces a
tie-dye technique from the
African Yoruba peoples in the
first of a series of multicultural
classroom resources.
A resist tie-dye technique is used to
produce the complicated patterns of the
Adire cloth. Adire means ‘to take, to tie,
to dye’ and is similar to the common
batik process that uses wax as the resist
medium except that, traditionally,
cassava starch is used instead.
The design is painted on a white cotton
cloth with cassava starch, using a chicken
feather as the brush. The cloth is then
dried and the starch scraped off.
In another method the cloth is folded,
knotted or stitched so that those parts
protected from the dye remained white.
The numerous patterns and designs on
Adire cloth have symbolic meanings and
make reference to animals and plants from
the local environment. The pattern used
for this piece is ‘Ibadandun,’ which means
‘Ibadan is a happy place.’ The cities of
Ibadan and Abeokuta were the traditional
centres of textile design and were famous
for their indigo blue and white Adire cloth.
Where it comes from
Centuries ago great empires, kingdoms
and small family-centred chiefdoms
flourished throughout Africa. Ghana, Mali,
Songhai and Kanem-Borno were great
trading empires located in north-central
Africa in a region known as the Sudan.
These powerful and wealthy kingdoms
were well known to European and Arab
traders who crossed the Sahara Desert
with their caravans of products destined
for Marrakech in north-west Africa and
the ancient cities of Timbuktu and Gao.
At different times in history, one or another
of these empires controlled the trans-
Saharan trade routes as well as the routes
to the kingdoms of the Congo, Benin and
the Yoruba in sub-Saharan Africa.
By 800 AD the Yoruba speaking
inhabitants of what is now Nigeria had
created a number of highly urbanised
city-states or kingdoms. They left an
impressive array of objects that help to
document the rich and complex history
of the Yoruba speaking peoples from
800 AD to the present.
Objects made before the twentieth century
carry no dates and the identities of the
individual artisans are rarely known. The
purpose and style of the artefact, whether
it was a mask for initiation into a secret
society or a staff or tray used during
rituals, rarely changed from generation to
generation. Members of religious and
secret societies (institutions responsible
for maintaining control and social order)
commissioned these objects. Their
presence reminded the people of the
importance of their customs, traditions
and past history. In the nineteenth century
European and American traders, explorers,
and missionaries carried many artefacts
such as masks, jewellery, drums, weaponry
and textiles out of Africa. They thought of
these objects as ‘curiosities’ and often
displayed them in their homes. Eventually
many of these objects were collected by
museums and formed the basis of African
or primitive art collections.
How to use the Adire cloth
in the classroom
1. Have a discussion about the Adire cloth.
How do you think the cloth was made?
Who do you think made it? How old is it?
What patterns, shapes and symbols have
been used? Were different shades of blue
used in the dyeing process? What was
used to create the different patterns?
Which parts of the cloth were covered in
starch? How can you tell? Do you think the
shapes and patterns have hidden meanings,
if so what do they refer to? Do you like the
Adire Cloth?
What do you like/dislike about it? Would
you like to wear clothes made from
Adire cloth? If you had to wear an article
of clothing made from Adire cloth, what
would it be?
2. Apply a rectangle of thick blue paint
(chromar – Berol) to a sheet of A4 paper.
Using a variety of different implements
(plastic cutlery, lollipop sticks, old biros,
combs) scratch shapes into the paint and
create your own Adire pattern. Ask the
children to think about the designs and
symbols they use for their sheet. These
could refer to, or give clues about, the
environment in which they live. The
completed designs could be placed
together on a board, or wall, to create a
huge class Adire design.
3. Split the class into small groups and ask
them to design a treasure map based on
Adire symbols.
4. You are a famous detective and have
been asked to unravel the mystery of the
famous Adire Cloth. Can you decipher
the meaning of the cloth and tell its story...
a story which has eluded the greatest
minds throughout history?
5. Design a piece of clothing using the
traditional Adire method of either tie-dye
or starch paste (use flour and water).
Create patterns in the starch using feathers
and dye the piece with an indigo blue dye.
6. Discuss the type of clothes that we
wear for special occasions. Ask the class
to bring in, and compare different types of
clothing. What similarities and differences
are there in the design/function/comfort of
the clothing? How important are logos?
Are who made the clothes more important
than how comfortable they are? Look at
and compare clothing worn in different
countries (or at different times in history).
How does climate influence what we wear?
THE NEW MAGAZINE FOR PRIMARY AND PRE-SCHOOL TEACHERS OF ART, CRAFT & DESIGN

06
Feature
Age range
7–11 Years
Subject
Optional Assessment Materials for
Art at Key Stage 2
TAKING IT
TO THE LIMITS
The dauntingly titled but lavishly illustrated ‘Optional
Assessment Materials for Art at Key Stage 2’ published
in Wales by the Welsh Qualifications, Curriculum and
Assessment Authority in 2001, has given rise to some
fascinating spin-offs by non-specialist primary teachers
teaching art writes Derek Stears.
Of the six units, the fourth, ‘Explore a
Boundary’ has produced some
exceptionally creative material.
Pupils from Year 3 in an inner city south
Wales primary school talked with each
other and their teacher about which parts
of their playground were the most
interesting. They explored openings
together such as archways, gateways and
fences. They controlled their pencil marks
to make simple line drawings. They used
their sketchbooks to record their favourite
four sites including special details. The
project required careful and patient looking
and recording from direct observation.
Next, they chose the drawing they liked
best and enlarged it. They photocopied it
on to an acetate sheet that was put under
the enlarger, image no.1. This enabled the
pupils to see even more clearly the pattern
in their particular study. This involved
repetition, symmetry, balance, form and
space, light and shade, composition and
positive and negative areas.
The class then moved on to exploring a
playground feature using mixed-media.
Pupils explored how other artists and
designers had handled boundaries and
entrances. They looked at reproductions
and magazines and chose a picture and
discussed it with their friends. They used
these to help them arrive at their own
outcomes. In the example no. 5 opposite,
the pupil has used oil pastel reduced to
just red, yellow and black with black pencil.
Primary schools set in rural surroundings
will have no problem accessing
landscapes. Pupils can focus on getting a
reasonably good record of the appearance
of a place through carefully documented
observation. They should make use of the
discoveries made through processes such
as handling dry graphic media such as
pencils, crayons and pastels, and noting
and recording the time of day, the length
of the shadows and quality of colour.
A semi-rural Year 3 class in South Wales
responded to trees in the playground by
attending to the volume of the trunks and
started to handle the tonal variations with
black conté crayon by pressing, rubbing
and smudging.
This became a fascinating starting point for
imaginative drawings and paintings on
high-rise flats or skyscrapers that
introduced them to new scales and vistas.
Drawing from observation is about being
there – on the spot, working from first
hand. A year five class in south Wales set
out, armed with sketching materials, paper
and pencils (6B to 2H), to visit their local
environmental feature.
The pupils were given a range of limbering
up looking exercises that helped them to
focus and concentrate. When they returned
to school they worked up their notes and
sketches into full studies of extraordinary
quality and charm.
Study no. 7 was made as a coloured
drawing. Pupils have come to terms with
the spatial problems of a massive bridge
structure set across an expanse of grass,
road signs, roads and traffic. The curve of
the arch is set against the tough rectangular
stone-blocks, and the wind of the road to
the right picks up the rhythm of a path or
road in the centre.
Study no. 8 was made as a development
from the original responses. Pupils explored
different interpretations of landscapes
and environmental features by a variety of
artists. Paul Klee seems to have made the
biggest impact. Pupils transformed their
rugged graphic styles into delicate watercolour
washes to try to evince a poetic
quality about being in a particular place.
They have abstracted by selecting and hinting.
Derek Stears is examinations officer, Welsh Joint
Education Committee
Images:
1. Boundary drawn on paper. Photocopied on to
acetate Year 3 (Level 2). 2. Built environment high rise
study Year 3. 3. Outward bound group arrived on site
and registering the scale of the place (Year 5). 4. Back
at school working in oil pastel and water colour Year 5
(Level 4). 5. Study of the school playground. Wall, pipes,
bricks and slabs. Year 3 (Level 2). 6. Built environment
feature Year 3 (Level 3) 7&8. Back at school working
in oil pastel and water colour Year 5 (Level 4).
Thanks to the teachers and children at
Victoria Primary Penarth, Graig Y Wion Pontypridd and
Kitchener Primary Cardiff
THE NEW MAGAZINE FOR PRIMARY AND PRE-SCHOOL TEACHERS OF ART, CRAFT & DESIGN

Useful references:
Peter Halley, Charles Sheeler
The 20th Century Art Book (Phaidon)
The Art Book (Phaidon)
Further information:
www.artnet.com
www.accac.org.uk
07
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1
2 3 4
5 6 7
8
THE NEW MAGAZINE FOR PRIMARY AND PRE-SCHOOL TEACHERS OF ART, CRAFT & DESIGN

08
Pre-school ideas
Age range
3–5 Years
IDEAS FOR
EARLY YEARS
Want Children to Create?
Don’t Forget to Motivate
says Kristen Ali Eglinton
Some believe children have an automatic
urge to create art the moment they see
bright paints or chunky crayons; others
believe young children come equipped
with an inexhaustible amount of inherent
inspiration. The truth is, while art materials
might look enticing, and while many
children do have a natural enthusiasm for
visual expression, these factors alone
cannot be depended on to magically propel
children into creating their next masterpiece.
In fact, identical to their older counterparts,
young children in the Foundation stage
need be to be stimulated, inspired, and,
indeed, motivated to create art.
This new insight undoubtedly prompts
some important questions. First, what is
motivation? Simply stated, motivation is
something that excites and arouses action.
In early childhood art, motivation is
continuous. Before an art experience it
serves to ignite interest, during an art
project it encourages children to keep up
the superb work, and after making art it
supports reflection, in fact, it can often lead
to the children’s next artistic endeavour.
Second, how can we appropriately motivate
young children to create? The main rule for
sound motivation is this: employ all of the
senses. During motivation, help children smell,
see, feel, hear, and sometimes even taste.
The more senses you can excite, the more
inspired the child will be.
Finally, a third question, what are a few of
the unlimited motivational possibilities we
can use to spark creation?
Encounter art history or experience
foreign cultures
Children are never too young to look at,
discuss, and react to some of the greatest
achievements of humankind. Before making
art, reflect upon simple abstract paintings
by great masters, on African masks, or
Indian textiles, the list is virtually endless.
Take a walk in nature
Nature has always been a major provider
of inspiration. Use a walk through nature
to encourage art making. Help children
observe, perceive, and respond to the
massive store of motivational material right
outside our door.
Memory and imagination
Tap into children’s memories of events,
trips, or holidays. How did they feel?
What did they see?
Perhaps even more stimulating, dig into
children’s imaginations; complex,
colourful, and unfailingly vast, children’s
own thoughts can lead to projects we
could never dream up ourselves.
Books and stories
Literature has presented artists with
stimulation for centuries. Use stories
and books to support expression, study
symbols, colours, and styles.
Collections
Small exhibits of natural, found, and
constructed objects set out on a table with
a magnifying glass and, perhaps, a
microscope foster a love of discovery and
a knack for keen observation. Use these
exhibits to stir the imagination and awaken
the urge to create.
Art games
Make a game out of learning colours,
shapes, artists, cultures. Use this new
knowledge to your next project
Food
Yes, it is there to eat, but what about all
those amazing colours? Textures? Smells?
Use exotic, mysterious, or, if a trip to the
shop is out of the question, colourful
everyday foods to spark a new art project.
Smell the aromas, feel flavour, taste colour!
Physical exercise
Watch each other run, leap, or crawl.
Have children note the movement of their
peers. Encourage children to respond to
change and sensation.
During any given day, motivational ideas
will constantly present themselves; as
educators our responsibility is to seek out
and take advantage of those moments to
fuel, promote, and drive creative expression.
Kristen Ali Eglinton is an arts education consultant
and freelance author. Her book Art in the Early Years
(RoutledgeFalmer) will be published July 2003
THE NEW MAGAZINE FOR PRIMARY AND PRE-SCHOOL TEACHERS OF ART, CRAFT & DESIGN

Part 1
The role of the subject leader
Subject Leaders’ Handbook
START
THE PRIMARY
ART AND DESIGN
SUBJECT LEADERS’
HANDBOOK
Part one: The role of the Subject
Leader in Art and Design
Each edition of START will contain a
section of a pullout handbook providing
guidance and support to all primary
Art and Design Subject Leaders.
Collect all sections over time to create
the definitive primary Art and Design
reference resource, offering invaluable
support for all aspects of your work.
In this edition the handbook examines
the roles and responsibilities of the
Subject Leader and some of the
challenges and opportunities that such
a post presents. Certain aspects of the
role, such as schemes of work for the
subject, will be developed in detail in
later editions.
The handbook will offer specific
guidance on the following:
• Writing a policy for the subject
with exemplar material
• Producing a long-term
curriculum plan.
• Producing a prioritised
development plan
• Assessment procedures
• Strategies for raising standards
• Properties of media; effective
organisation of resources throughout
the school
• Understanding critical studies theory
and practice
• Getting the best out of an artist
in school
• Using art galleries effectively
• Approaches to introducing pupils to
the visual elements of art and design
• Alternative ways of providing art and
design experiences; the ‘art week’
• Focused teaching in art and design
• Problem-solving and innovative
practice
• Display and presentation …and more
About the author
John Bowden MA was Senior Art
Inspector in a Local Education Authority
for many years.He currently runs inservice
training courses and has
written a number of publications.
An introduction to the challenge
In primary schools the subject leader
is charged with the responsibility for
leading art and design activities and
developments. It is an important and
exciting role. OFSTED, in their Primary
Art and Design Report of 2000/01,
noted that ‘high standards are found
where there is strong subject
leadership underpinned by a
commitment to the subject from the
Headteacher’. However, unlike
secondary schools, where teachers
usually only teach one subject, most
primary teachers are responsible for
teaching all National Curriculum
subjects. Some teachers in small
schools may have a larger portfolio of
responsibilities and inevitably some
will lack the background and expertise
in a particular discipline.
Qualifications and training
Ideally the subject leader should be
a member of staff who has had some
basic training in the subject,
though many may well not describe
themselves as a specialist.
Unfortunately not all initial teacher
training courses offer a discrete art
and design component in their training
programmes or devote a significant
period of time to such activities.
Whatever the level of expertise,
a subject leader should undertake a
personal audit of their knowledge and
understanding to ensure that training
priorities are established and
addressed. An audit schedule will be
provided in a later edition to assist in
this practice.
Irrespective of initial training, further
and regular INSET is essential to
maintain good subject knowledge and
develop expertise. Every art and design
subject leader should be granted
regular opportunities to engage in
development activity.
Reference to journals and websites is
also important. A list of the most useful
ones is featured later in the handbook.
Help and guidance is also available
from NSEAD to support even the most
inexperienced subject leader who is
determined to use their role to provide
a broad primary school art and design
experience for pupils.
THE NEW MAGAZINE FOR PRIMARY AND PRE-SCHOOL TEACHERS OF ART, CRAFT & DESIGN

THE PRIMARY ART
AND DESIGN
SUBJECT LEADERS
HANDBOOK
Part one: The role of the Subject
Leader in Art and Design
‘Irrespective of initial training, further and
regular INSET is essential to maintain good
subject knowledge and develop expertise.’
Some Head Teachers choose to rotate
co-ordinating roles around their staff;
and while this does offer additional
career experience, the practice can be
counterproductive if teachers are
required to occupy a new role with
regularly renewed limitations in their
expertise.
Having accepted the role, what are
the key responsibilities of the post?
Raising the profile of Art and Design
in the school
Inevitably, in many primary schools,
priority and status are usually given to
the co-ordinating roles related to
literacy and numeracy, as these areas
are key indicators when evaluating the
performance of the primary school
pupil against national criteria. It will be
of no surprise to read that OFSTED
wrote in the 2000/01 summary report
that ‘The successes of primary art built
up over several years are under threat
on two fronts: increasing numbers of
schools are allocating less time for art
and design; and there is a growing
tendency for art and design to be seen
solely as servicing other subjects.’
Thus the pro-active art and design
subject leader must explore ways of
raising the profile of the subject within
the school and ensuring that it is given
independence and status.
Many of the additional roles and
responsibilities of the subject leader
are generic. In addition the content of
each National Curriculum subject also
presents discrete challenges; for
instance a practical subject such as art
and design presents special problems
related to organisation and management
of artistic media. The following sections
summarise these key responsibilities
which will be considered in more detail
in forthcoming sections of the handbook.
Key Responsibilities
Development planning
In order to do this effectively the
subject leader must audit practice in
the school, identifying subject
strengths and areas for development,
as well as recognising the limitations
of the school in terms of teacher
expertise and resources.
Development needs will have to be
prioritised if a number of areas are
identified, and they will vary according
to the school context. Not everything
can be done at once. The final
outcome of this process, if structured
appropriately, will produce a
development plan that is the focus for
change, and provide a development
‘diary’ to inform outside agencies,
such as OFSTED or the LEA.
Establishing a policy and scheme
of work for art and design
This is a key responsibility for the art
and design subject leader. Without
such documentation there cannot be a
coherent and consistent whole school
approach to the subject. The art and
design curriculum should be broad,
balanced and address National
Curriculum requirements.
A ‘policy’ is a general statement of
intent related to key aspects of the
delivery of the subject, presenting aims
and objectives, assessment strategies,
strategies for differentiation according
to ability, principles for inclusion, etc.
The ‘scheme of work’ (or curriculum
plan) outlines the programme of skills,
knowledge and understanding that will
be taught to each year group
consistently to ensure progression.
In order that staff ‘sign up’ to these
important documents they need to be
involved in their development through
a series of staff development
activities. The art and design subject
leader will need to have an
understanding of the essential contents
of a policy, and the procedures that are
necessary to ensure that an effective
and usable scheme of work is
established. It is helpful, if the school
has no current scheme of work, to use
as a template for planning a sample
overall plan, which can be modified
according to school needs.

‘…the subject leader may well be required to
arrange and deliver ‘in house’ in-service
training, having identified particular needs…’
The relationship between the QCA
units of work and the school
curriculum plan is also important, as
an effective synthesis between the
two is desirable.
The process of producing an
appropriate scheme of work for the
school is a complex one and will be
dealt with in detail in a later edition,
including the provision of a draft policy
and a sample curriculum plans.
Another aspect of school
documentation that some subject
leaders provide for staff, to assist in
raising standards, is a supplementary
‘guidance’ document, which offers
help to those who wish to extend their
knowledge about teaching skills or
appreciate fully the properties of
differing media. Clearly even the most
active subject leader may not have a
comprehensive knowledge of every
medium so several sections in later
editions of START will be devoted to
understanding and exploiting the
properties of diverse media such as
paint and clay, and considering the
most appropriate tools and equipment
to be purchased.
Establishing a whole school
assessment policy
Assessment in relation to art and
design in the primary school is
underdeveloped, despite the
introduction of National Curriculum
levels for assessment purposes at the
end of each key stage.
The art and design subject leader
needs to devise a manageable
assessment system, which is
understood by all staff and used
consistently to ensure that pupils
know what they have to do in order
to improve their performance.
A portfolio of exemplar materials,
mainly examples of a range of pupils’
work assembled according to year
groupings, should be compiled in order
to standardise judgements about the
assessment of pupils’ work. Another
chapter of this handbook will assist
co-ordinators in understanding and
developing assessment procedures.
Identifying and arranging staff
development and training
The corollary of a whole school audit
may well be that some staff need
assistance and guidance teaching the
subject. Each member of staff has a
right to appropriate training but in the
primary school it may well be that it is
not possible to offer individual subject
training outside the institution due to
cost and time constraints. Therefore
the subject leader may well be
required to arrange and deliver ‘in
house’ in-service training, having
identified particular needs; this might
be to develop skills (e.g. 3 D work) or
involve staff in curriculum planning
activities. Small schools often
combine to share training activities
and their common expertise. NSEAD
are able to recommend trainers with
an appropriate background, if needed.
Monitoring performance
‘The one area where practice
continues to remain relatively
underdeveloped despite its
importance – is the monitoring of
teaching in art and design’ states the
2000/01 OFSTED summary report.
Some time should be devoted to
monitoring staff performance and the
delivery of the subject throughout the
school in terms of both curriculum
coverage and standards.
As an OFSTED Inspector I recognise
that opportunities for this to take place
are limited, due to the constraints I
described in the introduction. To be
completely effective, monitoring
should involve lesson observation and
the subject leader will have to ensure
that this is done in a non-threatening
manner, and that an observation
schedule is agreed in advance, as
explored in a later section.
There are obviously additional
strategies for monitoring the way in
which the subject is being delivered in
the school. The subject leader should
regularly take the opportunity to view
pupils’ work, displayed in classes, and
occasionally examine staff planning

‘Small schools often combine to share training
activities and their common expertise.’
and assessment sheets, to ensure that
the subject is being delivered consistently
and recorded and assessed effectively.
Although ideally active classroom
observation and support should be
taking place, much can be learnt by
such informal monitoring.
Assessment procedures
Assessment is undeveloped in art
and design at primary level at present
but there is a national curriculum
requirement to report to parents at the
end of Key Stage 1 and 2 using
National Curriculum levels. The
subject leader will have to ensure that
this is taking place and that effective
assessment procedures have been
established for the subject. It is possible
to break down these levels into
strands to make them more ‘user
friendly’. A portfolio collection of
pupils’ work, indicating standards of
achievement measured against national
curriculum levels should be
established and reviewed regularly.
Assessment procedures for the
subject, including development
activities for staff, to raise awareness of
the issue of assessing Art and Design
feature in a separate chapter.
Managing resources
There may be a limited budget for the
subject, together with opportunities for
some capital outlay.
Each year the subject leader will have
the responsibility for either spending
this budget and/or advising other staff
on the most appropriate materials and
equipment to purchase. Resource
expenditure should be driven by the long
term needs identified in the
development plan.
Systems for delivery and distribution
of these resources are also the
responsibility of the subject leader, for
some resources will be kept centrally
and shared (eg. critical studies
resources), whilst others will be held
in individual classrooms (eg. basic art
materials). It is important to ensure
that systems are consistent and that
materials and resources are stored and
distributed efficiently, without waste.
The subject leader may also be
responsible for firing a kiln, and
establishing some general display
procedures in a policy, but the wise
co-ordinator should ensure that all
teachers share the responsibility for
this task. Further guidance on
organising materials and media,
including clay work, with or without
a kiln, and advice on establishing a
whole school display policy, again
feature in a separate section.
Innovative curriculum initiatives
Effective co-ordination of the subject
involves innovation as well as
organisation. Some of the most
exciting art work I see is produced
by using ‘artists in schools’ effectively,
or in ‘art weeks’ when the regular
curriculum is suspended allowing
concentration for a longer period on
one subject.
Such initiatives are usually the result
of imaginative thinking by the Art and
Design subject leader; later sections
will consider ways in which the diet of
pupils can be varied, and the exciting
outcomes that can result.
Summary
This list of responsibilities may seem
daunting, but it does of course
represent the ideal, which will not be
possible to deliver in every school.
Different contexts provide constraints,
as well as opportunities. However
without active and confident leadership
the subject is unlikely to flourish. This
handbook aims to provide the essential
support and guidance needed to
ensure that pupils in primary schools
are presented with a range of exciting
opportunities for diverse and
imaginative art and design activities.
In the next issue:
Guidance on writing a policy and
curriculum plan
THE NEW MAGAZINE FOR PRIMARY AND PRE-SCHOOL TEACHERS OF ART, CRAFT & DESIGN

Age range:
7–11 years
Time required: 40 minutes
Other artists’ work: Landscapes
Resources: Drawing pencils, erasers,
rulers, crayons and fine felt tip pens
Further reading:
Art Sketchbook Tasksheets
(Birmingham Advisory and
Support Service)
13
START
SIMPLE
PERSPECTIVE
An introduction to single
vanishing point perspective.
Adadpted from Art Sketchbook Tasksheets,
by Giles Hughes
Draw a scene using simple perspective
The instructions below should be followed
step-by-step, working in pencil. When the
instructions are complete, some lines can
be drawn in more firmly and other working
lines rubbed out. Finished drawings can
be coloured using pencil crayons or using
fine black felt tip to draw in the outlines
and detail.
This task works well when the teacher
demonstrates each step to the class,
with the children completing their pictures
stage by stage.
Once the children have mastered the
technique they may wish to attempt
other scenes with a single vanishing
point, for example, landscape painted or
drawn from observation.
Extension activities
Encourage the children to find and
examine landscapes painted or drawn by
various artists. Encourage them to identify
the horizon and vanishing point, and
notice how the artist has achieved a sense
of perspective.
Giles Hughes is art and design co-ordinator for
Colmore Junior School, Birmingham.
1.
Draw a line across your page. This will be your
horizon. Mark a point along the horizon. This point
is called the vanishing point.
2.
From the vanishing point draw two lines to the
bottom of the page. This will be the road.
Draw other lines to the corner of the page as shown.
3.
Draw vertical lines to make lamp posts. Draw them
getting closer together as they get further away.
4.
Draw three lines from the opposite side to the
vanishing point. These will form the basis of the
houses.
5.
Draw in the sides and roofs of the houses. Again,
draw them closer together as they get further away.
6.
To finish, draw in details and a sky. Carefully rub out
any guidelines, and colour if you wish.
THE NEW MAGAZINE FOR PRIMARY AND PRE-SCHOOL TEACHERS OF ART, CRAFT & DESIGN

14
ICT
Age range
5–10 Years
Rebecca Sinker a Digital Art Education Research Fellow at
Middlesex University explains the thinking behind Digital Art
Resource for Education ‘DARE’, a CD ROM for primary schools
DO YOU DARE?
Using ICT in primary school should be about
more than data processing and digital
encyclopaedias. Multifunctional multimedia
tools and resources can have both
creative and critical applications. They have
the capacity to cross subject boundaries,
enabling children to connect ideas and
processes for a more holistic understanding
of how art, language, work and play exist
and interact in school and society. But they
are of most value when integrated into a
broader learning environment.
A recent action-based research project,
linking children, artists and designers has
produced a new art and ICT resource,
though collaborative production and a rich
mix of old and new technologies.
Following the creation of the secondaryfocussed
Digital Art Resource for Education
(DARE) web site www.dareonline.org,
the DARE CD-ROM has been developed
through a series of workshops with
children from three classes at Columbia
Primary School in Tower Hamlets, East
London. In the Autumn term, two artists –
Maria Amidu and Barby Asante – came
into the school to develop ideas and make
a variety of artworks with the children.
With the exception of the digital video
camera, all the resources, materials and
tools used in these workshops, were
found within the school.
Over the Spring and Summer terms,
this material was transformed into an
interactive multi-media environment,
which the children, tested, critiqued and
helped design.
The resulting CD-ROM draws on and
reflects young children’s knowledge of
digital media conventions, as well as
referencing more traditional gaming rules,
narrative structures and learning strategies.
Its design was led by the ideas emerging
from the collaborative artists’ workshops,
where children were encouraged to think
outside the traditional frameworks of the
classroom, the subject divisions or the
computer screen.
The DARE CD allows children to explore
and discover a host of themes such as
play and performance, space and place,
language and translation, through the work
of other young children and a selection of
international artists.
This resource is not only designed to
introduce young children to culturallydiverse
contemporary artworks, it also aims
to provoke critical engagement with
associated social and cultural themes, in
an interactive, accessible and playful form.
With children’s voices and simple graphic
menus to help guide users through the
screens, the examples of children’s work
encourage ideas for similar projects, while
the on and off-screen activities stimulate
talk and making beyond the multimedia
environment. By introducing the various
themes through artworks, interactive
exercises, games, wordplay, role-play and
drawing activities, the CD-ROM is visually
dynamic, creatively challenging and
accessible to a range of ages and abilities.
Aimed at children between 5–10 years
the CD comes with a supporting booklet
for teachers and parents to explore and
extend the ideas it contains, through
discussion and further activities for KS1
and 2.
So how might children relate the diverse
practices of contemporary artists to their
own experiences and activities in and
beyond the classroom?
Within this project there is evidently a
complex set of relationships between the
artists and artworks which the children
encountered, the ideas and questions
these raised and the work they went on to
make themselves.
Their work has now been embedded in a
digital resource for a whole new audience
of children to encounter, which is an obvious
source of pride and achievement.
The experience of working with
professional artists and designers both
validated their opinions and provided an
opportunity to explore forms and ideas
which broadened their conception of art.
As luck would have it, the Year 2 children
were able to visit a Helio Oiticica
installation at the Whitechapel Gallery, in
the summer term. For their teacher this
was a great opportunity to build on the
artist’s workshop. During the gallerybased
activities several of the children
commented that they had created similar
‘play spaces’ in their classroom with
Barby, earlier that year. Not only had that
experience stayed with them, but they
were able to find connections between
their own creative activities and the work
of a contemporary artist in a gallery space.
DARE is an ongoing research and development
collaboration between The Institute of International
Visual Arts (inIVA) and Middlesex University’s School
of Lifelong Learning & Education (LLE) with the
Landsdown Centre for Electronic Arts (LCEA). The CD
was designed by The Institute of Digital Arts and
Technology (i-DAT) at Plymouth University and produced
by inIVA and Middlesex University, with support from
The Arts Council of England and LloydsTSB.
For further information or a copy of the CD contact:
DARE Research Fellow, Rebecca Sinker
(dare@mdx.ac.uk) or inIVA Marketing Manager,
Natasha Anderson (nanderson@iniva.org)
Tel: 020 7729 9616
THE NEW MAGAZINE FOR PRIMARY AND PRE-SCHOOL TEACHERS OF ART, CRAFT & DESIGN

Further information or a copy of the CD contact:
DARE Research Fellow, Rebecca Sinker
dare@mdx.ac.uk or inIVA Marketing Manager,
Natasha Anderson nanderson@iniva.org
Tel: 020 7729 9616
15
START
1. Artist Maria Amidu explored the theme Space
and Place with a year 3 class, culminating in the
production of a huge floor piece, covered in drawings,
writing, photographs and other memorabilia relating
to the children’s sense of self and location.
2. This giant ‘floor map’ has now become the interface
for the ‘Space and Place’ section of the CD, where you
scroll across it’s surface, discovering links and hotspots
leading to children’s artwork, artist’s work and a range
of games and activities.
3. Maria also worked in Reception where the children
tried a range of activities related to translation and
interpretation including storytelling, word-play,
collage, speaking, listening and memory games.
4. Artist Barby Asante worked with a year two class,
who explored the themes of play and performance.
They made photo, video and performance pieces
including ‘one minute sculptures.’ Erwin Wurm,
‘Wrong/Right’, 1996. From the ‘Do It’ series.
5. Looking at the work of contemporary artists, such
as Erwin Wurm, who work with live art, time-based
media and performance gave the children ideas for
their final video work, ‘Famous for 1 Minute.’
6. Working with the multimedia designers, the children gave their responses to the developing CD-ROM.
Their ideas and criticisms informed the navigation design while their artwork and voice-overs helped integrate the form and content.
THE NEW MAGAZINE FOR PRIMARY AND PRE-SCHOOL TEACHERS OF ART, CRAFT & DESIGN

16
Feature
Age range
3–5 Years
Further information:
Nigel Meager is the author of Teaching Art at
Key Stage 1 and Teaching Art at Key Stage 2
www.nsead.org/publications
THROUGH THE EYES
OF A CHILD
Artist Nigel Meager describes how an early years education
philosophy developed in Italy went on trial in Cardiff
THE NEW MAGAZINE FOR PRIMARY AND PRE-SCHOOL TEACHERS OF ART, CRAFT & DESIGN

To find out more about the Reggio Emilia
approach to early years education go to
www.ericeece.org/reggio.html
If you would like to discuss organising a similar
project for Early Years teachers in your area,
email: nigelmeager@hotmail.com
17
START
Teachers in Reggio Emilia in Italy have
pioneered approaches to early years
education that place creative control in the
hands of 3 to 5 year olds. Adults are crucial
support workers helping children achieve
their intentions and injecting necessary
skills and understanding.
The children talk a lot with the adults who
are part of their team but it is the children
who decide the detailed content of each
stage of a project. The adults suggest
rather than dictate ideas, but help with
practical support as the children move on
to attempt to realise their intentions.
As with any truly creative activity there is
a great deal of ebb and flow, changes of
direction, but gradually outcomes crystallise.
Drawings, paintings, photographs, movement,
music making, stories, sculptures, puppets,
fabrics, installations, prints, digital image
making and much else are all possible.
Along with many LEAs across the UK,
Cardiff educators have taken a strong
IDEAS FOR THE
CLASSROOM
Meeting the pigeon man and
meeting real birds
John, a racing pigeon enthusiast, bought
half a dozen sleek birds to show the
children. They could stroke and feed them.
They listened to the pigeons call to each
other. John answered questions and told
them stories about pigeon races and
caring for the birds.
Talking about John’s visit
What can you remember about the racing
pigeons John showed you?
“We stroked them, they were racers, they
had sharp claws, we had to stay quiet and
not shout, in case they fly away, the
pigeons won prizes, won races…”
Make sounds
If you were a bird, what would you sound
like? Use your voice to make the call of
your bird. Practice lots of different calls.
Why are the calls so different? What are
the birds saying?
Talk about the imaginary birds
What does your bird look like? What does
it do? Where does it go...?
Draw your imaginary birds
These are imaginary birds so they do not
need to look real or realistic! How strange
will your bird be? You could think about all
interest in the Reggio Emilia philosophy
and practice. Julie Ashfield, the Art Education
Development Officer, planned one day inservice
conferences for early years teachers
and support staff in the city to allow them
to experience the philosophy in practice.
Groups of teachers took the role of children
and helped direct the content, whilst the
course leaders providing the same kind of
structure, understanding and practical
support as the Early Years teachers offer
their children in Reggio Emilia.
Of course, Wales is not Italy and the
content of the activities as much reflected
the tradition of early years arts education in
Cardiff as the philosophy of their Italian
colleagues.
The theme for the first course was birds,
and for the second lorries. In each case the
approach was trailed with Cardiff nursery
children just a couple of days before the
adult course. The various outcomes from
the children were shared with the adults as
the different parts of your bird. Would you
add in beaks, bills, heads, eyes, mouths,
plumes, tails, bodies, wings, feathers, legs,
necks, claws, toes, ears…?
Draw an imaginary bird onto acetate –
change the scale!
Project it with the overhead projector onto
a very large sheet of paper. Trace over your
drawing with large marker pens. Why not
use paint? Make a bird that’s as big as you!
Find books about real birds. Make photocopies
of pictures of real birds. Make
photocopies of your imaginary birds. You
could photocopy your imaginary bird on to
the acetate and project your drawing!
What could your imaginary birds be doing?
What do you think real birds do?
“Flying south, or to the beach, or to the
sand, the pond, or the sea. Eating worms,
wheat, or bread. Looking after baby birds,
finding friends, sitting on a wall, hanging
on trees, having a rest, sleeping, making
nests, staying in a hole or a house or a box,
playing racing games, sliding games or
flying games”
But could imaginary birds do things that
real birds cannot do? “Yes!”
Work together to make a large collage
Cut or tear out the pictures of real and
imaginary birds. Glue the birds onto large
sheets of paper and add your own
drawings to show what the birds and
doing and where they are now, or where
they discovered for themselves how a
framework for creativity could be
constructed, and how as team members
they could work to forge their own content.
Each group developed and then went on to
express very different ideas, even though
the structure introduced by the course
providers, Nigel Meager and Chris Glynn,
was the same for everyone. A very similar
structure was developed for lorries. To
illustrate the importance underlying
structure rather than that of the simple
subject of the overlying theme, readers are
invited to substitute the idea of lorries as
you read the text. For example in the very
first paragraph, children could meet a lorry
driver who has driven to the nursery. In the
second paragraph try, “If you were a lorry
what would you sound like?”
On the inset days, participants constructed
their own content. Examples follow of
approaches that could be forged by any
team of adults and children.
they are going. Some birds will be flying,
some standing, some perching; some will
be doing the things we talked about earlier.
You could put your collage on the wall and
use the overhead projector to add real or
imaginary birds in a different scale.
Create movements for your birds
How do your birds move? Are they graceful,
slow, excited, jerky, clumsy, pecking, aloof,
proud, suspicious…?
Make up stories about the birds
Where do they live, what they are doing?
Make 3D environments for the birds that
could illustrate the story.
Use some of the photocopies of real or
your imaginary birds. Glue them on to
pieces of card to make them stronger.
Draw more ideas into the card if there is
room. How could you make the card stand
up, or could you fix it to a perch? Birds like
to perch, swing, fly, stand, feed etc. Make
constructions using cane, card, string,
wire, paper. Fix your cardboard birds to the
construction. Use your drawings, collages
and prints as a backdrop. Use the overhead
projector to project large birds into a setting.
You could make the environment first and
then decide on the story.
Plan a performance
Add sounds and movement and tell a story
to accompany the 3D environments. Why
not record the sounds, video the movements
and remember the story to tell again on
another day.
THE NEW MAGAZINE FOR PRIMARY AND PRE-SCHOOL TEACHERS OF ART, CRAFT & DESIGN

18
Feature
Age range
3–11 years
POWER
DRAWING
The CAMPAIGN FOR DRAWING is helping children to learn
says Eileen Adams
Power Drawing is the education programme
of Drawing Power, the Campaign for
Drawing. It focuses on how drawing can
help children to learn. The intention is to
develop a range of strategies, methods and
techniques to support learning through
drawing. Drawing is not confined to art and
design, but can be used as a medium for
learning across the curriculum.
Teachers and their pupils in schools in
England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and
Wales are involved in action research,
generating and collecting evidence of
children using drawing to help them learn.
Just as different kinds of writing and
speaking serve different purposes, drawing
can be used for a variety of reasons.
Drawings need to be seen as conceptual
tools, an aid to thinking, a way of
organising, shaping and communicating
ideas and the means for taking action.
We can use drawing in a variety of ways:
Drawing as perception: drawing that assists
the ordering of sensations, feelings, ideas
and thoughts.
Children draw to understand something for
themselves, something they see, or their
feelings or intuitions. These drawings might
not mean anything to anyone else. It does
not matter.
They might be for the child to enjoy the
sensuous experience of using materials,
exploring qualities of colour and line. They
might be gestural drawings, full of emotion.
They might be repetitive, enabling the child
to practise making marks. They might be
obsessive, allowing the child to focus on
something personal.
Drawing as communication: drawing that
assists the process of making ideas,
thoughts and feelings available to others.
Children have something to say and attempt
to use codes and conventions that someone
trying to ‘read’ their drawing will understand.
These can include illustrations, narrative
drawings, maps, plans, graphs, storyboards,
diagrams and many more. Drawing can be
used in any subject to communicate ideas.
Drawing as manipulation: drawing that
assists the creative manipulation and
development of thought.
Children have ideas, but cannot develop
them unless they make them visible,
accessible and sharable. Their ‘rough’
drawings provide prompts for further
thought, experiment and interaction.
The Power Drawing team are collecting
evidence from teachers in nursery, infant
and primary schools. This includes
examples of different kinds of drawings
and short reports from teachers and pupils.
This evidence will be analysed and used as
a basis for a major book, which will be
published in 2005. The current series of
24-page Power Drawingbooklets reports on
work in progress and invites responses
from educators.
Power Drawing sets the framework for the
research, identifying how drawing can be
used to develop skills of perception,
communication and invention (out of print).
Get Drawing, focuses on children aged
3-6 and shows how drawing features as
an important aspect of education in the
early years.
Drawing on experience explains how drawing
can be used in museums and galleries to
focus attention, increase concentration and
help visitors make sense of their
experience.
Lines of Enqiry (available autumn 2003)
suggests how the use of research
notebooks in primary schools can develop
observational skills and imaginative
capabilities to nurture intellectual curiosity
and creativity.
THE NEW MAGAZINE FOR PRIMARY AND PRE-SCHOOL TEACHERS OF ART, CRAFT & DESIGN

Further information:
www. drawingpower.org.uk
www.accessart.org.uk/drawingtogether
www.nsead.org/publications
19
START
The team has also developed You can
draw … guidance notes on drawing for
teachers in primary schools to promote
drawing in a variety of contexts. Contact
Sally Bassett, Education Development
Manager, sbassett@binneysmith.com
A ten minute video Draw it! based on the
first BIG DRAW at The British Museum
has been produced by Malachite Films in
association with the Campaign for
Drawing. The pack includes discussion
material, POWER DRAWING books and
guidance notes.
POWER DRAWING publications are
available from NSEAD. Books cost £4.00
including p&p. Video £15 including p&p.
Online drawing workshops for children
have been produced in collaboration
with Access Art at:
www.accessart.org.uk/drawingtogether
Primary teachers, pupils and parents
may also wish to know about THE BIG
DRAW. This is an annual event in
October in museums, galleries, science
centres, schools and many other places
open to the public, where drawing is
used to encourage access to collections,
to make the experience of learning more
enjoyable and more intense.
Check the website
www.drawingpower.org.uk
Pattern found on a wooden chest in the village
church. Based on an observational drawing in pencil,
then translated into a Iino print and used as an
illustration in a book, Celebrating Coton (9 years,
Coton Primary School).
Observation drawing using fibre tip pen. The approach
is fast and intense. Key elements are exaggerated.
‘Mistakes’ are not rubbed out, but worked over,
built upon or changed into something else (9 years,
Swansea).
Felt tip and water colour, drawing of the
neighbourhood. Different kinds of perspectives
combine to create a complex and interesting
narrative (9 years, Cwmrhydyceirw Primary School).
Water colour of the landscape, using colour and
tone to create a feeling of space and distance
(9 years, Coton Primary School).
Drawing and collage used to analyse the design
and use of the school grounds (5 years, St Davids
Primary School, Swansea).
A design to change the school grounds to
create playground markings and shelter (9 years,
Gillespie School, London).
THE NEW MAGAZINE FOR PRIMARY AND PRE-SCHOOL TEACHERS OF ART, CRAFT & DESIGN

20
Books
Further infomation:
www.nsead.org/publications
ALL ABOUT
BOOKS
Primary Publications for Art & Design
Books on art and design education rather
than the work of artists and designers are
hard to find. True, the education sections
of the big booksellers and university
bookshops are likely to stock some titles
from commercial publishers but if you
want to appreciate the range of what is
on offer where do you look?
The mail order bookshop operated by the
National Society for Education in Art &
Design (NSEAD) normally lists over 200
publications. The more generally available
titles account for perhaps twenty-five per
cent of the list. In addition are publications
from NSEAD itself, from local authorities,
university presses and imports from all over
the English speaking world.
The range includes books that are firmly
based in classroom practice, accounts of
special projects, those that focus on particular
activities such as drawing or the use of
computers in art education, curriculum
theory and practice, and more philosophical
works – in fact, something for everyone from
the primary phase generalist, to specialist
secondary and tertiary teachers, teacher
training and MA students and their tutors.
However. primary teachers are particularly
well served by over fifty titles. A Year in the
Art of a Primary School by Bob Clement
and Liz Tarr is a compelling account of all the
art work undertaken in one Devon primary
school over a full year including detailed
planning sheets.
There are several guides to preparing art
guidelines for primary schools and a very
useful text on Improving the School
Environment, a self-help guide from the
Pioneers. Teaching Art at Key Stage 1 and
Teaching Art at Key Stage 2 by Nigel
Meager have become standard works.
Other useful texts include Maskwork by
Jenny Foreman, Developing Art Experience
4–13 by Morgan and Robinson, Art 4–11
also by Margaret Morgan and Art 7–11 by
Linda Green and Robin Mitchell. A very
useful cross-phase book is Rod Taylor’s
Understanding and Investigating Art
which uses the National Gallery in London
as a model of how to introduce critical and
contextual studies in the classroom.
A few highlights from the list would include
important books from the archive section
such as Elliot Eisner’s Educating Artistic
Vision, Rhoda Kellogg’s Analyzing
Children’s Art and Edmund Burke Feldman’s
Becoming Human through Art. Overseas
books include a fine series of monographs
from the Getty Center for the Arts with
essays by Elliot Eisner, Rudolf Arnheim,
Howard Gardner, David Perkins and Graeme
Chalmers. There is a fine authoritative work
from Australia on teaching about Aboriginal
Art and the Dreaming, while Finland offers
the richly stimulating 1001 Papers.
The full NSEAD booklist is available from
the NSEAD, The Gatehouse, Corsham Court,
Corsham, Wiltshire SN13 0BZ or visit:
www.nsead.org/publications
Book Review
Start Drawing
London: Drawing Power:
The Campaign for Drawing (2002)
24pp, Colour throughout, £4.00
This valuable and very accessible book is
one of a series being produced to
accompany the current Campaign for
Drawing. ‘Start Drawing’ shows the
importance of drawing in the intellectual and
emotional development of young children.
It is an introduction to how drawing in the
early years with children aged 3–6 can
support learning across the curriculum.
It identifies ways in which drawing can help
develop the young child’s ability to respond
to and understand the world, to think,
to feel, to shape and communicate ideas.
It highlights some of the knowledge, skills
and attitudes that can be developed.
It addresses the questions: Why do young
children draw? What are the purposes and
functions of drawing? How can drawing be
used as a tool for learning? What do young
people learn from drawing?
Start Drawing is available from the
NSEAD, The Gatehouse, Corsham Court,
Corsham, Wiltshire SN13 0BZ price £4.00
including post and packing.
Please let us know if you have
suggestions for books to be reviewed.
THE NEW MAGAZINE FOR PRIMARY AND PRE-SCHOOL TEACHERS OF ART, CRAFT & DESIGN

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