Design and Technology
Intent
The National Curriculum for Design and Technology aims to ensure that all pupils, including those who are disadvantaged, develop the creative, technical and practical expertise needed to perform everyday tasks confidently and to participate successfully in an ever increasing and rapidly changing technological world. At Spring Gardens Primary School, we aim to enable our children to become confident in embracing the continual technological changes as our society develops. We are preparing children to become active citizens in a world where new technology is continually being conceived.
Our Design and Technology Curriculum encourages children to think about the purpose of objects and products that we use in everyday life, in a variety of contexts, and consider and evaluate their effectiveness. Children are encouraged to think about the purpose and potential market for products they are creating e.g. what are they designing and who are they designing it for? The pupils are taught how to consider their own and other’s needs, desires and values. They are encouraged to use their imagination and creativity to design new products against a range of criteria. Children are taught design skills, alongside the knowledge and understanding that underpins specific skills required in the making process. Pupils are taught how to evaluate products against specific criteria both before they start designing and as they work through the design process. Evaluation and adapting is a key life skill that is interwoven through our D.T. curriculum.
Design and Technology allows children to apply the knowledge and skills learned in other curriculum subjects, particularly Maths, Science, Art and History, which we aim to link, wherever possible. Our curriculum encourages children to work as individuals and as part of a team.
Implementation
We follow the Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Framework and the National Curriculum. Our Design and Technology Curriculum is designed to be progressive from Nursery to Year 6. We aim to ensure that all children have made the expected progress at each milestone (end of Foundation Stage, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2). Children are taught the fundamental knowledge and skills in the design, make and evaluation process. Our progression document is planned to be sequential and demonstrate progression year on year, giving pupils the skills, knowledge and vocabulary that they need to move forward in their learning. Children are given opportunities to apply their knowledge to different situations. By revisiting key themes, children are able to revisit prior learning and build upon this knowledge.
Foundation Stage
Children in Early Years engage with Design & Technology activities throughout the different areas of provision. The EYFS curriculum is progressive and clearly outlines the skills and knowledge being taught from Nursery through to Reception. Children are encouraged to safely use and explore a variety of materials, tools and techniques. They are also encouraged to experiment with colour, texture, design and function. The children are encouraged to make plans and consider what resources they may use. Our curriculum develops the characteristics of effective learning and aims to ensure that all children are willing to have a go and explore new things, develop their resilience to keep going when things don’t work out for the first time and make links and think critically, all valuable components in becoming a designer. Our EYFS curriculum is themed termly, but is flexible enough to e incorporate children’s interests.
Key Stage 1 and 2
The structure of our DT lessons follows the Design, Make, Evaluate, process. All aspects are important and considered when assessing. The children are provided with real life contexts / problems to consider when designing and the outcomes produced are evaluated against specific criteria. When making, children are encouraged to make choices from a range of materials and tools and apply specific skills and techniques that have been taught. Children are encouraged to apply their learning and skills from other areas of the curriculum. To make this easier we aim (wherever possible) to link subjects and teach them in the same half term. A DT block of lessons is taught termly in each year group. We are members of the Design and Technology Association and have access to schemes of work to support the delivery of our DT curriculum. Staff make links and connections to other subjects within our creative curriculum and while some DT units may stand alone, others are linked to other subject areas.
Key skills we teach are:
- Design
- Make
- Evaluate
Technical Knowledge
- Use of materials and structures
- Cooking and Nutrition
- Mechanisms (including electrical and mechanical)
Assessment
From Year 1 to Year 6, we use Target Tracker, to assess our curriculum subjects. Our DT progression document closely aligns with the Target Tracker assessments for each year group. Teachers use ongoing formative assessments, and the work produced to make their overall judgements.
Impact
When children leave Spring Gardens Primary School, we expect them to have developed a range of skills, knowledge and techniques that will equip them to become the designers of the future. Pupil voice indicates that children are very enthusiastic about DT in school. They are proud of their work, can talk about their achievements and link their prior learning to what they are learning currently. Work evident in books, shows the design, make and evaluate process. The children are able to talk about the design process and link it to a target audience. Our children can apply relevant skills, make choices and create their projects during the making process. Finally the children are able to evaluate against their design criteria. The children’s work is displayed throughout school. Data indicates that children make progress over time in line with other curriculum subjects.