Purpose of study

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. They acquire a broad range of subject knowledge and draw on disciplines such as mathematics, science, engineering, computing and art. Pupils learn how to take risks, becoming resourceful, innovative, enterprising and capable citizens. Through the evaluation of past and present design and technology, they develop a critical understanding of its impact on daily life and the wider world. High-quality design and technology education makes an essential contribution to the creativity, culture, wealth and well-being of the nation.

Intent - What do we aspire for our children?

At St Anne’s Catholic Primary School, our Design and Technology curriculum provides opportunities for the children to think of themselves as, and become, designers and producers of purposeful products that will be used in real-life contexts. We encourage the children to  think and intervene creatively to solve problems both as individuals and as members of a team, within a variety of contexts. The children consider their own and others’ needs, wants and values. The children are also given opportunities to reflect upon and evaluate past and present design technology, its uses and effectiveness and they are encouraged to become innovators and risk takers.

At St Anne’s, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 utilise the KAPOW scheme and teachers plan and deliver Design and Technology as part of their overarching theme. Alongside this we have created a progressive skills document where objectives for each year group are progressively mapped out to ensure our pupils are given the acquired skills and knowledge that further their education journey into KS3.

Our aim is to provide inclusive and aspirational environments and learning experiences where pupils thrive and build the cultural capital they need to make aspirational choices about their own futures, overcoming any barriers.

Within the Design and Technology Progressive Skills Document, our objectives identify what pupils should know by the end of each year group and link to prior learning. These enable teachers to identify and plug gaps in pupils’ knowledge and skills. Within Design and Technology, pupils will develop a deep understanding of key concepts and disciplinary knowledge.
These key concepts have been carefully considered and identified as the core knowledge and skills, required to successfully achieve in Design and Technology. The key concepts are revisited and developed as the pupils move through the school to ensure the knowledge and skills are firmly embedded within the long term memory.

The Design and Technology curriculum is structured into five key concepts:

• Designing
• Making
• Evaluating
• Technical Knowledge
• Cooking and nutrition

 In addition to the key concepts, the subject leader has identified D&T specific disciplinary knowledge (how designers construct their  knowledge).  These can be used across all aspects of a subject to organise the substantive knowledge and skills taught.

Disciplinary Knowledge
Disciplinary knowledge  will be explored and developed throughout the D&T curriculum as pupils move through the school. They can be used across all aspects of a subject to grow an awareness of how designers construct their  knowledge.

• Responsibility: (working safely, how design can solve problems, choosing the right materials, responsibilities to customers to ensure quality / reliable products, healthy eating, quality ingredients)
• Similarity and difference: (making comparisons, noting differences and drawing conclusions)
• Cause    and    consequence:    (identifying   how    things    work,    how    an    action   can cause change/movement)
• Significance: (significant designers and designs, real world examples of effective and successful products)
• Written and oral expression: (Using terminology, evaluating, creating accurate designs, labelling and annotating, explaining processes, presenting)

By the end of EYFS, pupils will:

• be able to explore and choose a range of materials to create and make things
• be able to investigate how things work
• draw, build and make things which fulfil a function

By the end of Key Stage 1, pupils will:

• learn the knowledge and skills needed to design and make products for a range of relevant contexts
• be able to design and test products that are purposeful and appealing
  select tools and materials which are most suitable to make their products from
• evaluate their products against existing products and design criteria
• develop the technical knowledge needed to build structures which are stronger and more stable and be able to use a range of mechanisms
• develop an understanding of where food comes from and how to use the basic principles of a healthy diet to make their own simple dishes

By the end of Key Stage 2, pupils will:

• develop further knowledge and skills to enable them to design and make purposeful and quality products in different contexts
• be able to research how existing products work and use this to develop designs and products to meet a design brief
• be able to produce more detailed, annotated designs and to test and refine their ideas
• be able to select and use a wider range of tools and materials according to their function and properties
• develop the technical knowledge required to make their products work effectively
• be able to evaluate the effectiveness and quality of their products and use this to improve their work
• develop an understanding of a healthy and varied diet and be able to prepare and cook a range of dishes.

Any child working below their age-related expectation will receive pre-teaching and tailored support to help build the skills and knowledge needed to bridge the gap between themselves and their peers, enabling them to reach their full potential.

Characteristics of a Designer

• Significant levels of originality and the willingness to take creative risks to produce innovative ideas and prototypes.
• An excellent attitude to learning and independent working.
• The ability to use time efficiently and work constructively and productively with others.
• The ability to carry out thorough research, show initiative and ask questions to develop an exceptionally detailed knowledge of users’ needs.
• The ability to act as responsible designers and makers, working ethically, using finite materials carefully and working safely.
• A thorough knowledge of which tools, equipment and materials to use to make their products.
• The ability to apply mathematical knowledge.
• The ability to manage risks exceptionally well to manufacture products safely and hygienically.
• A passion for the subject and knowledge of, up-to-date technological innovations in materials, products and systems.

Aspirations for the Future

Pupils develop an understanding of how subjects and specific skills are linked to future jobs.

Here are some of the jobs you could aspire to do in the future as a Designer:

• Sound engineer
• Theme park designer
• Videogames studies researcher 
• Lego designer
• Den builder
• Jewellery designer

For more careers, please visit First Careers.

Implementation- How we will deliver the curriculum

At St Anne’s Catholic Primary School, our curriculum is carefully mapped out into a Long-Term Plan.

This enables links between subjects to be identified and carefully  planned for to support pupil’s retention of knowledge and skills.

Design and Technology projects are taught across the year and outcomes are demonstrated in Design  and  Technology books and in photographic evidence. The KAPOW scheme is organised as follows:

Each of the key areas follows the design process (design, make and evaluate) and has a particular theme and focus from the technical knowledge or cooking and nutrition section of the curriculum.
Our D&T curriculum is anchored in the KAPOW primary scheme which is a spiral curriculum with key area revisited again and again with increasing complexity, allowing children to revisit and build on their previous learning.

Lessons incorporate a range of teaching strategies from independent tasks, and paired and group  work (Kagan) including practical hands-on, computer based and inventive tasks. Lessons are engaging and appeal to children with a variety of learning styles. Differentiated guidance is built into each lesson to ensure that lessons can be accessed by all children and opportunities to stretch children’s learning are available when required.
Knowledge organisers (shared with families) for each unit support children to build a foundation of factual knowledge by promoting recall of key facts and vocabulary.

Strong subject knowledge is vital for practitioners to be able to deliver a highly effective and robust Design and Technology curriculum. Each unit of lessons includes multiple teacher videos to develop subject knowledge and support ongoing CPD.

Impact - How Do We Know Our Design and Technology Curriculum is Effective?

A wide range of strategies are used to measure the impact of our Design and Technology curriculum.
Our teaching sequence enables opportunities for formative assessments to be carried             out by teachers during lessons,  which will allow them to inform future planning. Additionally, summative assessments are carried out by using an internal assessment tool (Insights) . As a result of these assessment tools, pupils’ misconceptions or gaps in subject knowledge, skills, behaviours and attitudes are addressed and additional teaching and support is provided. 

In EYFS, staff professional judgements are valued. Assessments are formative so that they quickly make a difference to children’s learning. They inform the provision of activities and experiences which develop children’s skills and knowledge as well as giving opportunity for further practice.

Our Subject Leader will also monitor the effectiveness of the Design and Technology curriculum through regular subject monitoring. These evaluations are quality assured by the  Curriculum Leads, Senior Leadership and Governors.

The effectiveness of Design and Technology is also monitored through pupil and parental voice throughout the course of the year.

Evaluation

In evaluating the effectiveness of our teaching of DT, we should be aware of the following:

• • Do children understand the functional and aesthetic properties of a range of materials and resources?
  • Do children understand how to use and combine tools to carry out different processes for shaping, decorating and manufacturing products?
  • Have children built a repertoire of skills, knowledge and understanding required to produce high quality, innovative outcomes, including models, prototypes, CAD (Computer-aided designs) and products to fulfil the needs of users, clients and scenarios.
  • Understand and apply the principles of healthy eating 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.
  • Meet the end of key stage expectations outlines in the National Curriculum for Design and Technology.

Impact- How Do We Know Our Curriculum is Effective?

Our curriculum is designed to support teachers to make formative and summative assessments within each unit through lesson by lesson observations against the learning objectives, retrieval exercises and unit quizzes.

The expected impact of our DT curriculum is that children will:

• Understand the functional and aesthetic properties of a range of materials and resources.
• Understand how to use a range of tools for shaping, decorating and manufacturing a range of products.
• Build and apply a repertoire of skills, knowledge and understanding to produce a range of outcomes to satisfy the needs of the proposed user/scenario.
• Understand and apply the principles of healthy eating and recipes, including key processes, food groups and cooking utensils.
• Have an appreciation for key individuals, inventions and events in history and present times 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.
• Meet the end of key stages expectations outlined in the National curriculum for Design and Technology.