Design Technology
Intent
Our Design Technology curriculum aims to instil in pupils an appreciation of the whole design process and a lifelong fascination with human creativity and achievement. Throughout the school, our children learn how to develop, plan and communicate their own ideas. They also learn about the impact designers have had, and will continue to have, on their daily life and the wider world.
The children work with a range of tools and materials, producing quality products and making creative and informed choices along the way. Through designing, making and evaluating, they deepen their understanding of the key elements of the design process, from concept to product.
Giving and receiving constructive advice is a crucial part of the design process, allowing our children to gain valuable insights and knowledge and helping them to develop their perseverance and resilience. ‘A person who never made a mistake, never tried anything new.’ Albert Einstein.
We ensure that we meet the National Curriculum aims for Design and Technology so that pupils are able to:
- 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.
Implementation
At Christ Church, we ensure that Design and Technology is given the same importance as the core subjects as we feel this important in enabling all children to gain ‘real-life’ experiences. Therefore, in line with other foundation subjects, we teach D.T. in blocks as we believe this enables pupils to become immersed in their learning; helps embed concepts in their long-term memory and enables them to apply new knowledge, skills and understanding.
In Reception, Design Technology is an important part of the school day, with regular provision for model making and building. Children are constantly encouraged to talk about their choices and to evaluate and make changes accordingly, be it while making a box model, construction or building with blocks in the outside area.
As children move through KS1 & 2, lessons focus on 4 key areas:
- Designing
- Making
- Evaluating
- Using Technical Knowledge.
Children develop their knowledge of design technology, through studying schemes of work tailored wherever possible to the Geography or History strands being studied that half-term.
In KS1, the children learn about Structures (Playgrounds, Homes); Architecture (Homes); Cooking & Nutrition (Seaside Snacks, Perfect Pizza); Mechanisms & Mechanical Systems (Making Fire Engines) and Textiles (Puppets).
Pupils begin to use their own experiences to influence their designs and, through talking and working with others, they bring their ideas into reality. They learn new vocabulary and they learn to apply their ideas to real-life problems. Then pupils build on their previous experiences of investigating objects around them to develop their own solutions to the problem. Exploring how familiar things work, talking, drawing and modelling are key elements of being an engineer or designer.
In KS2, the children deepen their understanding of Structures (Photoframes, Building Bridges, Chinese Inventions, Fairground); Architecture (Building Bridges); Cooking & Nutrition (Cornish Pasties, Seasonal Food, Burgers); Mechanisms & Mechanical Systems (Moving Monsters, Chinese Inventions, Fairground); Textiles (Money Containers, Funky Furnishings, Fashion & Textiles). They also learn about Electrical Systems (Torches, Fairground).
Pupils gain a lot of satisfaction in designing and developing product for others to use, eat or buy. They work on their own and as part of a team on a range of designing and making activities. Focus remains on 'meeting a need' or 'solving a problem' and as they get older, market forces become part of planning process. They think about what products are used for and the needs of the people who use them as well as conducting market research with potential buyers.
Long Term Plan
Curriculum Policies
To see all of our policies concerning the curriculum click the link below: