Intent
Within Design Technology teaching there is the intention that children will gain an appreciation of the design processes used within a variety of disciplines such as architecture, cookery and textiles. They will also gain understanding of the mechanical processes and techniques that can be utilised within design, along with the corresponding vocabulary to enable them to discuss how things work and how products might be improved. Children will be offered an opportunity to explore and express their own interests and experiences, in order to make the design process meaningful to them. They will develop competence at controlling a variety of materials and tools, and gain understanding of the importance of testing their ideas and developing prototypes, allowing them to refine and improve their initial products. Our intention is that children will develop an appreciation of the relationship between a product and its intended user, and an ability to explain how the two can influence one another. They will be offered opportunities for reflection concerning their own creations, allowing them to develop increasingly sophisticated abilities to offer informed critical responses and ideas for improvement
Implementation
We teach Design and Technology using the Kapow scheme. The scheme of work fulfils the statutory requirements outlined in the National Curriculum (2014). The National Curriculum Programme of Study for Design and technology aims to ensure that all pupils:
- develop the creative, technical and practical expertise needed 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
We have identified five key strands which run throughout our scheme of work:
- Design
- Make
- Evaluate
- Technical knowledge
- Cooking and nutrition
The scheme of work has been designed as a spiral curriculum with the following key principles in mind:
- Cyclical: Pupils return to the key strands again and again during their time in primary school.
- Increasing depth: Each time the key strand is revisited it is covered with greater complexity.
- Prior knowledge: Upon returning to each key strand, prior knowledge is utilised so pupils can build upon previous foundations, rather than starting again.
Impact
Our Design and Technology curriculum enables and encourages our children to becomes critical thinkers. They look at existing designs to analyse and assess its effectiveness and then they consider ways of redesigning and reconstructing it to improve its overall success. Through DT our children learn to take risks, become resourceful, innovative and enterprising individuals. Children learn to be passionate and excited by the designing and making of products including working with, preparing and tasting food. Learning is assessed through the analysis of the pupil’s ability to evaluate, design, make and improve their own work.