Design & Technology

Design and Technology Curriculum Statement

“Design and Technology is an inspiring, rigorous and practical subject. Using creativity and imagination, pupils design and make products that solve real and relevant problems within a variety of contexts; considering their own and others’ needs, wants and values.”

Design and Technology Intent

At Crow Orchard Primary School, we aim to provide children with a Design and Technology curriculum that is relevant in our rapidly changing world. We want to encourage our children to become problem solvers who can work creatively and inspire children to think independently and innovatively; developing a passion for changing their tomorrow. Our teaching of Design and Technology will develop children’s procedural and technical understanding whilst providing opportunities to research, generate ideas- representing them in a number of ways, explore and investigate, develop ideas, make products and evaluate their work. Children work with real-life purpose and we encourage all children to have limitless ambitions; inspiring the next generation of designers, chefs, structural engineers, architects, inventors…to name just a few!

Our Design and Technology curriculum aims to ensure that all pupils:

develop the creative, technical and practical expertise need to perform everyday tasks confidently and to participate successfully in an increasingly technological world.
build and apply a repertoire of knowledge, understanding and skills in order to design and make high-quality prototypes and products for a wide range of users
critique, evaluate and test their ideas and products and the work of others
understand and apply the principles of nutrition and learn how to cook.

Design and Technology Implementation

At Crow Orchard Primary School, Design and Technology is taught in every year group, once per week during one half of each term. Each child has their own DT ‘journal’- which we encourage them to take ownership of - and use their journals as an ongoing record of: research of inventors, inventions and design, their own critical response, ideas for designs and skills developed through short-focused practical tasks. Every child is given the opportunity to explore and progress within the genres of: Food Technology, Mechanical or Electrical systems, Structures and Textiles.

Projects all begin with purpose and specific intended audience. Children are given the chance to work both independently and collaboratively; carefully considering each-other’s creative ideas and problem solving techniques. In the development of confident design critics, the children share their opinions and make informed observations about what will improve their own practical work. At Crow Orchard Primary School, we relish in opportunities to enhance the teaching and learning of Design and Technology through educational visits, special subject specific days, visits from local designers where possible. Teachers follow a clear progression of skills which ensures all pupils are challenged in line with their year group expectations and are given the opportunity to build on their prior knowledge.

Early Years Foundation Stage

During the EYFS pupils explore and use a variety of media and materials through a combination of child initiated and adult directed activities. They have the opportunities to learn to:

Use different media and materials to express their own ideas
Use what they have learnt about media and materials in original ways, thinking about form, function and purpose
Make plans and construct with a purpose in mind using a variety of resources
Develop skills to use simple tools and techniques appropriately, effectively and safely
Select appropriate resources for a product and adapt their work where necessary
Cook and prepare food adhering to good health and hygiene routines

Key Stage 1

Through a variety of creative and practical activities, pupils should be taught the knowledge, understanding and skills needed to engage in an iterative process of designing and making. They should work in a range of relevant contexts, (for example the home and school, gardens and playgrounds, the local community, industry and the wider environment).

When designing and making, pupils should be taught to:

Design

· design purposeful, functional, appealing products for themselves and other users based on design criteria

· generate, develop, model and communicate their ideas through talking, drawing, templates, mock-ups and, where appropriate, information and communication technology

Make

· select from and use a range of tools and equipment to perform practical tasks, (or example, cutting, shaping, joining and finishing)

· select from and use a wide range of materials and components, including construction materials, textiles and ingredients, according to their characteristics

Evaluate

· explore and evaluate a range of existing products

· evaluate their ideas and products against design criteria

Technical knowledge

· build structures, exploring how they can be made stronger, stiffer and more stable

explore and use mechanisms, (for example levers, sliders, wheels and axles), in their products.

As part of their work with food, pupils should be taught how to cook and apply the principles of nutrition and healthy eating. Instilling a love of cooking in pupils will also open a door to one of the great expressions of human creativity. Learning how to cook is a crucial life skill that enables pupils to feed themselves and others affordably and well, now and in later life.

Pupils should be taught to:

use the basic principles of a healthy and varied diet to prepare dishes
understand where food comes from.

Key Stage 2

Within Key Stage 2 key events and individuals that have influenced the world of Design Technology are teaching focuses that are to be covered.
The use of computer programmes and applications are also a key focus to be utilised by children in their design of their products.

Through a variety of creative and practical activities, pupils should be taught the knowledge, understanding and skills needed to engage in an iterative process of designing and making. They should work in a range of relevant contexts, for example, the home, school, leisure, culture, enterprise, industry and the wider environment.

When designing and making, pupils should be taught to:

Design

use research and develop design criteria to inform the design of innovative, functional, appealing products that are fit for purpose, aimed at particular individuals or groups
generate, develop, model and communicate their ideas through discussion, annotated sketches, cross-sectional and exploded diagrams, prototypes, pattern pieces and computer-aided design

Make

select from and use a wider range of tools and equipment to perform practical tasks, such as cutting, shaping, joining and finishing, accurately
select from and use a wider range of materials and components, including construction materials, textiles and ingredients, according to their functional properties and aesthetic qualities

Evaluate

investigate and analyse a range of existing products
evaluate their ideas and products against their own design criteria and consider the views of others to improve their work
understand how key events and individuals in design and technology have helped shape the world

Technical knowledge

apply their understanding of how to strengthen, stiffen and reinforce more complex structures
understand and use mechanical systems in their products, (for example as gears, pulleys, cams, levers and linkages)
understand and use electrical systems in their products, (for example series circuits incorporating switches, bulbs, buzzers and motors)
to apply their understanding of computing to programme, monitor and control their products.

Pupils should be taught to:

understand and apply the principles of a healthy and varied diet
prepare and cook a variety of predominantly savoury dishes using a range of cooking techniques
to understand seasonality, and know where and how a variety of ingredients are grown, reared, caught and processed.

Design and Technology Impact

We have eight key priorities at Crow Orchard Primary School which underpin every subject area:

We believe that by focusing on these key priorities, our children will be ready to successfully meet the challenges of the next stage of their education and build life-long foundations. By the end of their time with us, we endeavour for all children to have learned, improved and embedded a range of innovative design skills and have an awareness of a broad range of designers within their specific fields. Our hope is that our children will have acquired the ability to consider and discuss examples of innovation they see around them; with confidence in their opinion and critical thought- then use these as inspiration for their own creative work. They will be confident to explore, experiment and take risks; placing value on the process and journey that they take, not just on the finished product.

Most importantly, our children will have developed as problem-solving, innovative thinkers who have a passion for making an essential contribution to the creativity, culture, wealth and well-being of the nation - for our future generations!