Design Technology

Design and Technology

Vision

Excellence achieved through care, creativity and challenge.

Intent

As a practical subject, our curriculum for DT is designed to give as much experience with actual hands-on skills as possible. As well as allowing pupils to be creative, it exposes them to the history and importance of design.

Implementation

Historically, the UK is a leader worldwide for design and our curriculum has been crafted to support and maintain this tradition. The purple threads represent key elements that sum up and underpin the subject, which are Nourishment, Movement and Enterprise. Pupils are given opportunities to practise new skills linked to the topic, then apply them to a specific situation/challenge. Making is key, in line with a design brief and evaluating the success of meeting this brief. This emphasis is given as our catchment demography shows that our pupils are not given opportunities for using craft/art/making skills at home and therefore the school needs to provide all of these experiences for them. The school is very well equipped with tools and materials for each theme, along with a healthy year group budget for purchasing resources required to deliver the theme effectively. This allows for both high quality, practical modelling by staff and high quality, meaningful outcomes for pupils.

Key information for teachers and learners is provided in the Knowledge Organisers which also highlight important vocabulary that is expected to be utilised during the theme. Lessons are delivered from planning following the system of building on prior knowledge, basic (learn/acquire it) advancing (reason it) deepening (apply it). The themes have been selected to excite, inspire and  accumulate new skills whilst connecting back to previous learning/knowledge.

Impact

DT lessons are popular with the pupils who enjoy activities where they meet their basic human need to create things using their hands. The expectation is that every child will succeed in such a practical subject. They are encouraged to make connections between the projects they undertake and the real world around them, citing examples and finding their own links. Teachers assess pupils against the KPIs, but equally importantly pupils reflect fully on their own success and learning with respect to the product they design and build. Children have a greater knowledge and understanding of the design process, the importance of resilience, redesign, making amendments and being able to articulate their ideas, successes and failures. These processes help pupils to view themselves as real designers. The use of Knowledge Organisers, self-assessed and highlighted to demonstrate pupils’ learning, which are kept in the AM folders, demonstrates their progression and acquisition of skills.

Enhancements

Opportunities to engage and inspire pupils are used during ‘Big Bangs’, relevant trips and assemblies to further extend knowledge of this subject. After-School Clubs for sewing, designing and creating are also utilised.

Design Technology Progression