Art CPD for Schools: Essentials: Teaching Drawing in the Primary Classroom

The Creativity in the Classroom – Art CPD for Schools programme is designed for teachers of all stages of experience and expertise and offers a range of practical CPD workshops led by leading art educators.

Each CPD workshop will build your art teaching skills, extend your repertoire of art techniques and grow your subject knowledge to apply and use in the classroom.

Essentials Series

The Essentials Series is designed to develop the core skills, subject knowledge and confidence of primary teachers, primary Art Leads and professionals working in schools, based around the fundamental building blocks needed for teaching art in the primary classroom. The series supports teachers to fulfil the requirements of the national curriculum and responds to the findings of the Ofsted 2023 art and design subject review.

Who is this workshop for?

• Primary teachers
• Primary Art Leads
• Professionals working in schools

What will this workshop involve?

This session will build your skills and confidence in teaching drawing with KS1 and KS2 pupils. During the day you will learn a range of drawing techniques that can be adapted for your pupils and your curriculum needs. You will grow your knowledge of different drawing materials, learning about their properties and exploring how they can be applied.

Through the workshop you will build your understanding and experience of formal art elements such as line, shape, tone, texture, form and space. You will be introduced to a variety of drawing projects inspired by traditional and contemporary artists that will develop pupil’s drawing and close looking skills and their ability to discuss and analyse, using art vocabulary.

The workshop will be led by Becky Thompson, Arts Connect’s Education Producer, visual artist and qualified art teacher with 15 years of experience of working in schools.

What will I learn on the day?

On the day you will:

• Learn about and try different observational and expressive drawing techniques.
• Build your drawing skills and confidence in a range of materials including pencil, pen, charcoal and oil pastel.
• Grow your understanding and experience of formal art elements, such as line, shape, tone, texture, form and space.
• Enhance your visual analysis skills and art vocabulary through discussing, analysing and comparing artwork.
• Learn about traditional and contemporary artists.
• Discuss learning strategies and the sequencing of art activities and how they can be adapted for pupils needs.
• Consider how drawing can be introduced in different curriculum areas.