Curriculum Overview

Students will be shown a deep understanding of the contextual influences of a variety of historical and contemporary photographers and artists and how their work has been used to represent a wide range of messages. Students will understand and be able to use the technical properties of a camera to produce personal and meaningful imagery, taking inspiration from the artists and photographers studied. They will understand the ways in which meanings, ideas and intentions can be communicated through the use of figurative and non-figurative forms, image manipulation, close-up and imaginative interpretation, as well as through visual and tactile elements such as: colour, line, form, tone, texture, shape, pattern, composition, scale, sequence, surface and contrast.

Our students will use their creative skills alongside their engagement in a range of discourse to understand that Photography can not only be a way to capture a moment in time but can be used as a vehicle for social, cultural and political change. Students will develop their critical understanding of existing artwork and will approach this, and their own work, with a discriminatory lens to ensure that their work is refined and demonstrates a clear link between intention and outcome.

Intent

Photography inspires students to see and engage with the world around them through the eye of a lens. Students develop their knowledge of image taking and develop progressive levels of independence and decision-making. 

Implementation

Teachers will:

• Plan and deliver lessons to develop the skills necessary to produce original work as students explore and record their ideas creatively;
• Promote imagination and independence through carefully planned tasks and groupings;
• Ensure the curriculum is focused on the progression and continuity of skills over time to help students to develop fine motor skills to become proficient in taking photos, organising successful composition and exploring DSLR camera settings; 
• Promote the sketchbook as a tool for students to organise their ideas and influences when planning, critiquing and producing their work;  
• Provide frequent opportunities to talk about photography demonstrating an increasingly sophisticated use of technical language and articulating an understanding that there are no rules in photography, but being able to justify thought processes;
• Provide opportunities for students to learn to critically talk about the approaches and techniques of artists and to apply these in their own work; 
• Expose students to the work of artists that equally represent the racial mix that characterises the UK as well as artists from now and the past and from the UK and across the world; 
• Plan the curriculum to ensure the delivery of every students’ entitlement to visit galleries and photography in the community;  
• Celebrate students’ work through classroom displays, school exhibitions and competitions throughout the GLC and the wider community;
• Provide opportunities for students to work in groups to foster confidence and creativity but as they progress they will increasingly work independently as they develop their personal responses to an artistic brief.

Impact

Students will:

• Be able to articulate a knowledge and appreciation of photography in many forms, styles and contexts;
• Be able to produce photographic works with skill and creativity justifying the artistic intention underpinning the work;
• Have a lifelong interest in photography.

Staff