S1-S2 Art and Design Report Comments (Scotland)

Art and design covers recording from observation and imagination in a sketchbook, exploring media, techniques and the visual elements, developing expressive work and design work to a brief, responding to artists and designers, and evaluating work with art and design vocabulary.

Below are 13 sample sentences for S1-S2: two strengths and one next step for each of the 4 comment levels (Secure / Consolidating / Developing / Beginning), plus a tip for families. They are a small selection from the 288 art and design sentences in the full pack. Copy one, then add a detail only you know about the student.

Jump to: Secure · Consolidating · Developing · Beginning · Writing tips

Student name Pronouns

Fills in the name and pronouns on this page. Nothing is sent anywhere.

Secure S

Strengths

Building on primary learning, [Name] uses line, shape, colour, texture and pattern with confidence and names each visual element correctly.
[Name] refines work through careful stages, testing colours and materials on a small scale before committing to a final piece.

Next steps:

[Name] could now explore how artists use texture and pattern to lead the eye, and try the same approach in [his/her/their] next piece.

Consolidating C

Strengths

[Name] knows the core visual elements of line, shape, colour, tone, texture and pattern and can use most of them with purpose.
[Name] often improves a piece through drafts, making changes to colour or layout after testing them on a small scale first.

Next steps:

[He/She/They] should practise using texture and pattern more deliberately, for example adding varied marks to show the surface of an object.

Developing D

Strengths

[Name] takes part in class discussions about artwork and sometimes uses the new vocabulary learned in the department to explain a view.
With some guidance, [Name] makes changes that improve a piece, such as adjusting a colour or redrawing an outline.

Next steps:

Practising cutting and arranging shapes for collage before gluing will help [Name] plan neater compositions.

Beginning B

Strengths

With a word bank, [Name] can name some visual elements, such as line, shape and colour, and is starting to use them on purpose.
When working alongside the teacher, [Name] is beginning to make changes that improve a piece, such as redrawing a shape.

Next steps:

Learning the names of the visual elements with the class word bank will help [Name] talk about and use line, shape and colour.

Support at home

On a walk, you could point out textures, patterns and colours in buildings, plants or the shoreline and ask your child to describe them.

How to write art and design comments for S1-S2

Name the media and the skill: shading with a range of tones in pencil, mixing colours in paint, cutting a printing block. Parents and carers can then picture the work and ask to see it in the sketchbook.
Comment on observational drawing as well as finished pieces. Note whether the pupil looks closely at proportion, tone and texture, and suggest a small habit such as a short drawing from life each week.
When pupils respond to an artist or designer, describe what they took from the work, such as a colour palette or a way of making marks, rather than just naming the artist. A next step might be annotating why a choice was made.

Watch out: Avoid praising talent or neatness alone. Describe what the pupil does, such as building tone gradually or developing a design through several versions, so parents and carers see a skill that can keep growing.

The four levels describe how secure, accurate and independent the learning is in what has been taught, never a CfE level. Secure suits detailed, accurate work applied to unfamiliar tasks; Consolidating suits a sound grasp with occasional guidance; Developing suits sometimes, or with a model or worked example; Beginning names what is starting to show and the support that helps. Show the level through the work rather than writing the level word.

What Art and Design covers

In these comments, art and design covers these behaviours:

records from observation and imagination through drawing and a sketchbook
explores media, materials, techniques and the visual elements
develops and refines ideas, including design work to a brief
researches and responds to the work of artists and designers
evaluates own and others' work using art and design vocabulary

More Scottish secondary subjects comments

How these sentences were made, and what has been checked: About these comments.