Art is a creative journey. The process of art making should be viewed as a significant aspect of creation. The process of art making often takes second place to the art being produced. Teachers need to recognise the abundance of learning opportunities that occur during the creation process. They have a responsibility to help pupils to develop their knowledge that engagement during the creative process is a key to success.

Give the children opportunities to experience the different processes involved in creating art. They can realise these processes by:

• drawing and painting;
• 3D construction;
• using malleable materials;
• working with textiles; and
• print making.

Give the children opportunities to develop their skills in each of the processes listed above.

Appreciating art involves taking the time to view, identify and consider the nature, purpose and impact of a piece of art. Children need this knowledge to appreciate their own and famous artists’ work. They will need support to develop the skills to do this; from learning to appreciate the basic elements of an artwork (see visual elements) to developing an appreciation of the importance of its context.

We need to consider many aspects when teaching children to appreciate art, including:

• the age range of the children;
• their prior learning; and
• opportunities to engage with the art such as visiting a museum or gallery.

Evaluation is an important part of the development process in art. Pupils need to be able to recognise what they have done well and where they can make improvements. It is only with this knowledge and understanding that they will be able to make progress in the arts. Evaluating doesn’t only happen on completion of a project; it is an ongoing process. You should actively encourage the children to understand that evaluating is a continual cycle.

The visual elements refer to the qualities that together make up the properties of a piece of art or design. These include line, shape, space, value, form, texture and colour. These are the ingredients or building blocks of art. Pupils need to gradually develop an awareness of how to combine these features in their own art work.