Design and Technology

“Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works." – Steve Jobs

Design and Technology Lead - Mrs Phoebe Williams

Why is Design and Technology important?

“Design and Technology is about providing opportunities for children to develop their capability. By combining their design and making skills with knowledge and understanding they learn to create quality products”

“D&T is often one of a child’s favourite subjects. Children like making decisions for themselves and doing practical work. They love creating products they can see, touch – and even taste – for themselves. They feel proud to have done so.”

“D&T brings learning to life. It is a motivating context for discovering literacy, mathematics, science, art, PSHE and ICT.”

The Design and Technology Association

www.data.org.uk/for-education/primary/

The national curriculum 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.

Intent

St Dennis Primary Academy’s Design and Technology curriculum aims to inspire children to be innovative and creative thinkers who have an appreciation for the product design cycle through investigating, designing, making and evaluating.

We want our children to develop confidence to take risks, through drafting design concepts, modelling and testing to be reflective learners who evaluate their own work and the work of others.

Through the use the Kapow scheme of work, we aim to build an awareness of the impact of design and technology on our lives and encourage children to become resourceful, enterprising citizens who have the skills to contribute to future design advancements.

We want our children to develop confidence to take risks, through drafting design concepts, modelling and testing to be reflective learners who evaluate their own work and the work of others.

Implementation

Alongside the National Curriculum and Kapow scheme of work, we use the key skills of being a designer (Chris Quigley) during their lessons, a copy of which can be found in their books. Folders are also used to save templates and other resources.

The subject develops children’s ongoing understanding of British Values and their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

There are three main stages of the design process design, make and evaluate. Each stage of the design process is underpinned by technical knowledge which encompasses contextual, historical and technical understanding required

The National Curriculum organises the DT attainment targets into five strands:

Design
Make
Evaluate
Technical knowledge
Cooking and Nutrition (this has a separate section with a focus on specific principles of skills and techniques in food - where it comes from, diet and seasonality)

Five units are taught each year through key areas which are:

Structures
Textiles
Cooking and nutrition
Mechanisms / Mechanical systems

In addition to this, in Key Stage 2 there are:

Digital world
Electrical systems

We use a spiral curriculum, with key areas revisited a number of times with increasing complexity, allowing children to revisit and build on their previous learning.

Impact

Impact is monitored through formative and summative opportunities. Lesson objectives are assessed against and quizzes and knowledge catchers are used at the beginning of a unit as a ‘Memory Masters’ activity. This is to illicit what has been remembered to ensure any critical knowledge is revisited and recapped before moving on. Critical skills and knowledge have been identified and these are assessed against at the end of every unit.

Children leave St Dennis Primary Academy equipped with a range of skills to enable them to succeed in their secondary education and be innovative and resourceful members of society.

Through our design and technology curriculum, children:

Understand the functional and aesthetic properties of a range of materials and resources.
Understand how to use and combine tools to carry out different processes for shaping, decorating and manufacturing products.
Build and apply a repertoire of skills, knowledge and understanding to produce high quality, innovative outcomes, including models, prototypes, CAD and products to fulfil the needs of users, clients and scenarios.
Understand and apply the principles of healthy eating, diets and recipes including key processes, food groups and cooking equipment.
Have an appreciation for key individuals, inventions and events in history and of today that impact our world.
Recognise where our decisions can impact the wider world in terms of community, social and environmental issues.
Self-evaluate and reflect on learning at different stages and identify areas to improve.

Pupils with Special Education Needs or Disabilities

Appropriate seating arrangements allow all children in the class to communicate, respond and interact with each other and the teacher. Working in pairs and small groups allow opportunities for discussion, peer support and collaboration when working on projects.

Our resources are made accessible through clear labelling in large print which also includes images to encourage independent use. The use of displays of finished or ongoing work are informative and engaging and used as a resource for teaching and learning. Multi-sensory approaches and children's preferred learning styles are identified and built on.

A range of approaches are used to support teacher talk including visual aids and alternative communication modes, such as sign or symbol systems.

Children are made aware of any health and safety issues relating to the use of equipment and children with less awareness of dangers, are closely monitored to ensure they are engaging in the activities safely.

We provide planning support through consulting children wherever possible, about the type and level of support they require. Children have access to specific and generic aids in order for them to complete tasks. Children who have sensory needs or are averse to handling certain materials (such as clay or chalk) are provided with plastic gloves in order for them to feel comfortable in taking part. Children who have sensitivity to light are included by ensuring interactive whiteboards are non-reflective to reduce glare. Support from additional adults is planned to scaffold children’s learning, allowing them, increasingly, to work independently.

We have created this working document, which shows how we may adapt our lessons and strategies we may put in place to enable children with SEND to access learning.

Curriculum adaptations for pupils with SEND in Design and Technology

How does DT promote British Values?

At St Dennis Primary Academy, children follow the rule of law by developing an understanding of the importance of safety rules when using tools. Individual liberty enables children the freedom to express themselves through the design process and in the creation of a wide variety of products. Children are taught about tolerance of faiths and beliefs when they are encouraged to evaluate products from a range of times and cultures as well as their own. This enables children to appreciate that design ideas originate from other cultures.

Children are also expected to be able to take turns during discussions, resolve difficulties or make decisions, for example, when choosing materials for making a product. Design Technology also promotes the opportunity to offer supportive comments in evaluations that will improve learning outcomes in a way that is thoughtful and kind.

Children have the right to make their own choices but are encouraged to take the views and opinions of others into account. Opportunities are presented, enabling children to understand the value of compromise. During lessons, pupils are expected to listen to and consider the ideas and opinions of others. This teaches them mutual respect and acceptance of the democratic right to have an opinion and to understand that the ideas of others are as valid as their own.

How to help your child at home

There are many opportunities to help your child to enjoy this subject at home. By engaging in any type of design and technology, it will give your child opportunities to actively contribute to the creativity, culture, wealth and well-being of themselves, their community and their nation. It teaches how to take risks and so become more resourceful, innovative, enterprising and capable.

Understanding how to prepare and cook food, and the importance of hygiene as well as a balanced diet, is a crucial life skill. Is there a favourite family recipe that your child could help you with? As well as producing a lovely dish, the children will have experienced being involved in measuring and weighing the ingredients, which also helps their mathematical skills.

Do you have any old torches or clocks that your child could dismantle in order for them to gain understanding of their workings? Or perhaps constructing a bug hotel or a miniature garden from anything that comes to hand.

Useful websites: