Design & Technology

 “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

                                                                           Ephesians 2:10

Design and technology is an inspiring, rigorous and practical subject. Using creativity and imagination, pupils design and make products that solve real and relevant problems within a variety of contexts, considering their own and others’ needs, wants and values.

Children acquire a broad range of subject knowledge and draw on disciplines such as mathematics, science, engineering, computing and art. Children learn how to take risks, becoming resourceful, innovative, enterprising and capable citizens.

Design technology prepares children to take part in the development of tomorrow’s rapidly changing world.  D&T encourages children to become creative problem-solvers, both as individuals and as part of a team.  It enables them to identify needs and opportunities and to respond by developing ideas and eventually making products and systems.

Through the study of design and technology, they combine practical skills with an understanding of aesthetic, social and environmental issues, as well as functions and industrial practices. This allows children to reflect on and evaluate present and past design and technology, its uses and its impacts.

Instilling a love of cooking in children opens 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.

The school’s scheme of work for D&T aims to inspire children to be innovative, creative thinkers who have an appreciation for the iterative product design cycle of ideation, creation and evaluation. It is the school’s aim to develop children’s confidence so that they take risks, through drafting design concepts, modelling and testing and to be reflective learners who evaluate their work and that of others. The school aims to build an awareness of the impact of D&T and encourage children to become resourceful, enterprising citizens who will have the skills to contribute to the future design advancements.

The school’s D&T program enable children to meet the end of Key Stage attainment targets in the National Curriculum.

IMPLEMENTATION

The D&T curriculum is broadly catagorised within three main stages per topic: design, make and evaluate. Each stage of the design process is underpinned by technical knowledge. The curriculum has a clear progression of skills and knowledge within these stages, including technical knowledge.

Through the school’s curriculum, children respond to design briefs and scenarios that require the children to ‘solve a problem’ that require the consideration of the needs of others, developing their skills in the key areas of:

  • Structures
  • Mechanisms
  • Electrical systems involving computer programming
  • Textiles
  • Cooking and Nutrition

The curriculum is a spiral curriculum, with key areas revisited on a 1/2 year cycle with increasing complexity, allowing pupils to revisit and build on their previous learning.  This allows for planned repetition to allow knowledge to be committed to memory.