The first NC bullet for KS3 Art and Design: “produce creative work, exploring their ideas and recording their experiences.”
The making strand of KS3 Creative Arts. Original work in the medium of the learner’s choice — drawing, painting, sculpture, photography, digital art, mixed media. Recording experiences (sketchbooks, journals, voice memos, photographs). Exploring ideas through the act of making, not just before it.
NEO’s framing per the Curriculum Rationale: this is “open creative engagement without examination framing” — the learner produces work at their own pace, builds confidence in their own voice, and discovers what mediums suit them.
NC outcomes (paraphrased)
Pupils should be taught to:
- Produce creative work that explores their own ideas and the wider world
- Record their experiences through visual and other creative means
- Develop a personal vocabulary of marks, forms, and materials
- Take risks in creative work — try things that might not succeed
- Document and keep work over time
Forward to KS4
This strand is the precursor to:
- KS4 Creative Arts — Investigating and developing ideas
- KS4 Creative Arts — Refining through experimentation
- KS4 Creative Arts — Presenting a personal response
KS3 work that the learner has made, kept, and annotated transitions directly into KS4 IGCSE Art and Design Personal Portfolio submission — Component 1 of Edexcel IGCSE Art and Design or AQA GCSE Art and Design depending on the registered awarding body.
Suggested evidence types
- Sketchbook (physical or digital — drawings, photographs, annotations, ephemera)
- Finished pieces in a chosen medium
- Process photographs / videos showing development
- Reflective annotation in the learner’s own voice
- Discovery Phase creative-engagement evidence
Mastery descriptors (KS3)
- developing — produces simple creative work with prompting; basic recording of experiences
- secure — works in a chosen medium with growing confidence; records experiences and ideas in a working sketchbook
- mastering — original work showing personal voice; sustained engagement across multiple pieces; takes creative risks