AIMS

At St Marie’s we work as designers. The national curriculum for design and technology aims to ensure that all pupils are able:

 

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/239041/PRIMARY_national_curriculum_-_Design_and_technology.pdf 

 

INTENT 

At St Marie’s our Design and Technology curriculum aims to prepare our children to deal with tomorrow’s rapidly changing world. 

DT encourages children to become independent, creative problem solvers and thinkers, both as individuals and part of a team. It enables them to identify needs and opportunities and to respond to them by developing a range of ideas and by making products and systems. Through the study of Design and Technology, the children combine practical skills with an understanding of aesthetic, social and environmental issues, as well as functions and industry. This allows them to reflect on and evaluate past and present technology, its uses and impacts.  

Our curriculum has been designed with the intent of maximising the potential of all of our pupils; intellectually, socially, morally, emotionally and culturally.   

We have made DT a key element within our topic week with the intent of sparking the children’s interest and encouraging them to analyse, design, make and evaluate a project that is exciting, challenging and has a purpose.

 

IMPLEMENTATION 

Our Design Technology is taught in all year groups through at least one topic per term, which includes one topic per year relating to food as this a vital life skill that our children need to make healthy, independent choices.  

D&T is taught through discrete, meaningful lessons during our topic week and then completed throughout the term. Each year group focuses on 3 topics throughout the year and each topic will focus on a separate set of skills. As children progress through the school, they are presented with opportunities to develop these skills, as similar topics are revisited and built upon.  Our topics are linked to our immersive topic approach, this allows teachers to be creative with their lessons, whilst still ensuring all aspects of the National Curriculum are covered (APPENDIX ONE). 

At St Marie’s, we split the terms between D&T and Art, with subjects alternating each half term. The time dedicated to D&T ensures that each topic can be delivered to a high standard and children can create important and useful products. Resources are plentiful and allow children to be clever and creative when designing and making their products. Teachers plan using a learning pathway (APPENDIX TWO A) and children are given time each topic to analyse, design, make and evaluate products. All children are challenged during D&T lessons through continuous verbal feedback and through problems presented to them. Chidlren work through a specially designed booklet (APPENDIX TWO B) which ensures they children have time to rearch existing products, practise key skills, design and evaluate the product they are working on. These booklets travel with the children through school in a file and allows the children to revisit ideas and see their own progression.  

During D&T lessons, many cross-curricular links are observed.  Maths links are easy to come across during any D&T lesson; children are continuously measuring during the ‘design’ and ‘make’ phases of lessons. During cooking topics, children are measuring out ingredients, as well as calculating the quantities of different recipes. Instructions are often created as part of the ‘design’ phase, which has a direct link to English. Through the children presenting their products confidently oracy skills are practiced. Science knowledge is practiced when children are creating products that contain electrical components, for example Year 4 children use their knowledge of electrical circuits to create a quiz/board game. Teachers also encourage children to consider the impact their product can have on the wider world, to ensure they realise the difference they may make in the future. 

 

 

IMPACT 

It is clear to see the progression of skills throughout the school through the quality of products each year group creates as teachers plan using the progression of skills documents (APPENDIX THREE). Our children are confident in solving problems, using innovative ideas, following a design brief and making and evaluating using success criteria. Subject and school leaders monitor the impact of our curriculum provision through completing regular monitoring, that includes listening to the voice of our children, collating assessments, tracking pupils and reporting to governors and parents at the end of the year(APPENDIX FOUR). This ensures that children are continually challenged to achieved high standards and our curriculum develops with the changing world around us.  

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