Design and Technology

Key objectives of intent within the Design Technology Curriculum based on the National Curriculum 2014 guidance:

• Products are to be made for a purpose.

• Individuality should be ensured in pupil’s design and construction of products.
• Delivery of the two strands: Designing and Making and Cooking and Nutrition.
• More emphasis to be given on creating ‘innovative’ products in KS2.
• Teaching the importance of making on-going changes and improvements during making stages.
• Looking into seasonality of ingredients and how they are grown, caught or reared.
• The introduction of computing and coding of products in KS2.
• Researching key events and individual designers in the History of Technology in KS2.

 

Aims:

The National curriculum for Design and Technology aims to ensure that all pupils:

• Develop the creative, technical and practical expertise need 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 

Our DT curriculum aims to excite our pupils and allow them to develop their skills as designers. The programmes of study are carefully planned and delivered showing progression, enabling our pupils to develop their own design skills and knowledge which can then be transferred to other curriculum areas.  English, Maths and ICT skills are taught during discrete lessons but are revisited in DT so pupils can apply and embed the skills they have learnt in a purposeful context.

Our DT curriculum is designed to follow a research, design, produce and evaluate structure.  This allows pupils to combine their existing knowledge and skills with new learning before applying this to a new product reflecting on this.  This is promoted throughout the key stages, building on the skills each year.     Please see here for the curriculum overview alternating half termly with Art.

In Design Technology pupils may well be asked to solve problems and develop their learning independently. This allows the pupils to have ownership over their curriculum and lead their own learning in Design Technology.

Oracy is one of our key curriculum drivers and a language rich curriculum is essential to the successful acquisition of knowledge and understanding in DT. We use dialogic talk techniques to discuss and debate questions related to design and evaluation, using appropriate vocabulary and language. We encourage children to be independent in thought and confident in reasoning, justifying and challenging.

DT lessons are recorded in different ways across the key stages, through observations, photographs and samples of work in the EYFS, in the topic books for KS1 and KS2 have sketchbooks. 

A number of our promoted #50 things activities are linked to DT skills such as ‘sew something’ ‘bake a cake’ or ‘build a den.’

We plan visits, visitors to provide first-hand experiences for the children to support and develop their learning. These can be linked to Design Technology.

Design and Technology also embeds our Oasis Academy Putney Learning Powers and Behaviours. It is a practical subject, requiring creativity, resourcefulness, and imagination. Pupils design and make products that solve real and relevant problems within a variety of contexts. Pupils learn to take risks, be reflective, innovative, enterprising and resilient. Through the evaluation of past and present technology they can reflect upon the impact of Design Technology on everyday life and the wider world.

DT in EYFS

Early Years Foundation Stage

During the EYFS children explore and use a variety of media and materials through a combination of child initiated and adult directed activities. They have the opportunities to learn to:

• Use different media and materials to express their own ideas
• Use what they have learnt about media and materials in original ways, thinking about form, function and purpose
• Make plans and construct with a purpose in mind using a variety of resources
• Develop skills to use simple tools and techniques appropriately, effectively and safely
• Select appropriate resources for a product and adapt their work where necessary
• Cook and prepare food adhering to good health and hygiene routines

National Curriculum requirements at Key Stage 1

Through a variety of creative and practical activities, pupils should be taught the knowledge, understanding and skills needed to engage in an iterative process of designing and making. They should work in a range of relevant contexts, (for example the home and school, gardens and playgrounds, the local community, industry and the wider environment).

When designing and making, pupils should be taught to:

Design

• design purposeful, functional, appealing products for themselves and other users based on design criteria
• generate, develop, model and communicate their ideas through talking, drawing, templates, mock-ups and, where appropriate, information and communication technology

Make

• select from and use a range of tools and equipment to perform practical tasks, (or example, cutting, shaping, joining and finishing)
• select from and use a wide range of materials and components, including construction materials, textiles and ingredients, according to their characteristics

Evaluate

• explore and evaluate a range of existing products

• evaluate their ideas and products against design criteria

Technical knowledge

• build structures, exploring how they can be made stronger, stiffer and more stable
• explore and use mechanisms, (for example levers, sliders, wheels and axles), in their products.

 

National Curriculum requirements for food and Nutrition at KS1

As part of their work with food, pupils should be taught how to cook and apply the principles of nutrition and healthy eating. Instilling a love of cooking in pupils will also open a door to one of the great expressions of human creativity. Learning how to cook is a crucial life skill that enables pupils to feed themselves and others affordably and well, now and in later life.

Pupils should be taught to:

• use the basic principles of a healthy and varied diet to prepare dishes
• understand where food comes from.

In Key Stage 2:

Within Key Stage 2 key events and individuals that have influenced the world of Design Technology are teaching focuses that are to be covered.

The use of computer programmes and applications are also a key focus to be utilised by pupils in their design of their products.

 

National Curriculum requirements at Key Stage 2

Through a variety of creative and practical activities, pupils should be taught the knowledge, understanding and skills needed to engage in an iterative process of designing and making. They should work in a range of relevant contexts, for example, the home, school, leisure, culture, enterprise, industry and the wider environment.

When designing and making, pupils should be taught to:

Design

• use research and develop design criteria to inform the design of innovative, functional, appealing products that are fit for purpose, aimed at particular individuals or groups
• generate, develop, model and communicate their ideas through discussion, annotated sketches, cross-sectional and exploded diagrams, prototypes, pattern pieces and computer-aided design

Make

• select from and use a wider range of tools and equipment to perform practical tasks, such as cutting, shaping, joining and finishing, accurately
• select from and use a wider range of materials and components, including construction materials, textiles and ingredients, according to their functional properties and aesthetic qualities

Evaluate

• investigate and analyse a range of existing products
• evaluate their ideas and products against their own design criteria and consider the views of others to improve their work•     understand how key events and individuals in design and technology have helped shape the world

Technical knowledge

• apply their understanding of how to strengthen, stiffen and reinforce more complex structures
• understand and use mechanical systems in their products, (for example as gears, pulleys, cams, levers and linkages)
• understand and use electrical systems in their products, (for example series circuits incorporating switches, bulbs, buzzers and motors)
• to apply their understanding of computing to programme, monitor and control their products.

 

National Curriculum requirements for food and nutrition at KS2

As part of their work with food, pupils should be taught how to cook and apply the principles of nutrition and healthy eating. Instilling a love of cooking in pupils will also open a door to one of the great expressions of human creativity. Learning how to cook is a crucial life skill that enables pupils to feed themselves and others affordably and well, now and in later life.

Pupils should be taught to:

• understand and apply the principles of a healthy and varied diet
• prepare and cook a variety of predominantly savoury dishes using a range of cooking techniques
• to understand seasonality and know where and how a variety of ingredients are grown, reared, caught and processed.

 

Impact

• Pupils will know more, remember more and understand more about Design Technology
• Pupils will understand and use the key DT skills
• The large majority of pupils will achieve age related expectations in DT.
• As designers pupils will develop skills and attributes they can use beyond school and into adulthood.

At Oasis Academy Putney we use formative assessment to determine children’s understanding and inform teachers planning. DT skill progression documents support this.

DT is monitored throughout all year groups using a variety of strategies such as subject leader learning walks, profile and topic book scrutiny in EYFS and KS1 and sketchbook scrutiny (KS2) as well as pupil interviews.

Further Information:

DT Vision Statement
DT & Art Overview
DT Policy