Art and design
case studies

History mural
Year 8 pupils with special educational needs design and produce a mural for display in school.

Shop front
Key stage 3 pupils from a special school create a decorative hoarding to protect a vacant shop from being vandalised.

Willow sculptures
Environmentalists work with Year 10 pupils to design and make sculptures from willow.

More . . .

‘Art and design stimulates creativity and imagination. Through art and design activities pupils learn to make informed value judgements and aesthetic and practical decisions, becoming actively involved in shaping environments. They explore ideas and meanings in the work of artists, craftspeople and designers. They learn about the diverse roles and functions of art, craft and design in contemporary life.’

The importance of art and design – National Curriculum for England

Art and design

Art and design provides opportunities to promote enterprise and entrepreneurial skills through developing pupils' willingness to explore and evaluate alternative ideas and views. It develops characteristics such as being prepared to take risks and persevere when things go wrong, to innovate, to use their intuition and to develop self-confidence and independence of mind.

Characteristics of enterprise are discussed further in About enterprise.

Learning through enterprise – contributes to improving motivation and raising achievement by helping pupils make connections between what they learn in the classroom with the world outside. It provides opportunities for pupils to: explore and develop ideas investigate and make art, design and craft evaluate and develop work develop knowledge and understanding of art, craft and design Learning about enterprise – helps pupils develop an understanding of enterprise in business and the wider community. It provides opportunities for pupils to: understand the potential contribution an artist, craftsperson and designer can make to an enterprise develop greater understanding of the factors influencing decisions about setting up, expanding and shutting down enterprises within the art, design and craft sector Learning for enterprise – provides an opportunity for pupils to develop and practise entrepreneurial skills. It provides opportunities for pupils to: recognise the wider relevance of skills developed through the study of art and design develop and practise a number of key skills and entrepreneurial skills including problem solving, working together, creativity and improving own learning and performance

Guidance on how to incorporate enterprise approaches into your teaching can be found in Good practice in enterprise education.

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