The Primary Art Network was launched in Surrey at the end of 2019 to provide a space for art subject leaders to network locally. Over the course of the pandemic we moved this network online which now means that we have art leads joining us from other areas of the UK.
Our meetings will usually begin with an art activity for us all to get stuck into, we are usually then able to use these back in school.
We will then have a focus for the meeting where we will share best practise and discuss ideas for future areas of focus.
These meetings are currently running over Zoom.
What super sharing! Thank you, so lovely to be championing art in primary.
Member of ‘The Primary Art Network’ – June 2021
When and where are the meetings?
- Termly networking meetings. – Monday 4:30-5:30
- All hosted online via Zoom.
What is included in my membership?
- 3 networking meetings (1 each term).
- A newsletter following each meeting.
- Meetings cover different areas of Primary Art.
Some of our previous meetings have included:
- Art for wellbeing (with Olivia from The Story Project)
- Assessing Primary Art (with Emily from The Primary Art Class)
- Using Sketchbooks (with Sarah from The Arty Teacher)
How to join/ pay for your membership:
This membership fee covers the academic year of September 2022 to July 2023. Please contact us using the link below to receive a link to pay your annual subscription fee or to find out more. Once you have made your payment you will receive a receipt via email and you will then be sent the password for the member’s area of our website.
This year the subscription fee is £70, this exclusively covers the academic year of September 2022 to July 2023. Due to running costs of this group this is a set annual fee, if you miss a meeting or join later in the year the fee still remains at £70 and runs until July 2023. We do not record our meetings and so if you join the network later in the year we cannot send you recordings. We are however able to share any resources and/or PowerPoints you have missed with you.
Upcoming Meeting:
Our next meeting: Monday 30th January 2023 at 4:40pm
Art is the most intense mode of individualism that the world has known.
– Oscar Wilde
If you are interested in joining our meeting or have any questions please contact us. The Zoom link will be emailed prior to each meeting.
March 2021
‘Assessing Primary Art and Design’
Creativity is now as important in education as literacy.
– Sir Ken Robinson
– with a guest speaker from The Primary Art Class
November 2020
‘Art for Wellbeing’
Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.
– Thomas Merton
– with a guest speaker from The Story Project
March 2020
This meeting was postponed due to Covid-19.
November 2019
Introduction to our first meeting:
Warm up activities led by Stefanie Smith from Stefanie Smith Art:
‘Blind’ observational drawing activity (use a paper plate with a pencil pushed through so that the plate acts as a shield). Children can focus on looking at what they are drawing rather than their own work. Tricky once you take your pencil off! Great for ‘taking the fear’ out of drawing.
Paired drawing, one person listens and draws while the other describes to them a picture. Great for learning to describe and developing listening skills. Could be used in History or RE to focus on exploring artefacts.
Minutes of the Meeting:
Sharing of a video from Tate Kids on YouTube “All Schools Should Be Art Schools”.
Future topics for discussion suggested during the meeting:
- starters (continue to build a bank of drawing activities for art starter or for other times in the school day)
- assessment (What does this look like in our schools? How do we ensure clear progression?)
- art themed weeks (eg. Take One Picture)
We then shared what our schools are currently doing for art, some of these are listed below:
- art week around a theme (examples of the art weeks and exhibitions run by Hannah Wickham while she led art at at Burhill Primary School can be found here: https://www.cultureboxsurrey.org.uk/case-studies/new-haw-cluster/)
- children working with secondary schools
- visits from artists (we discussed looking for local artists)
- art room with regular artist leading lessons
- block teaching of larger art projects (eg during test weeks)
The Primary Art Network 