Design Technology

Intent, Implementation and Impact Statement

Intent

Our Christian Values and Distinctiveness, alongside our School Mission Statement of ‘Learning, Growing and Inspiring through God’s Love and Grace’, are at the heart of our curriculum and all that we do at Samlesbury.

In teaching Design Technology at Samlesbury CE Primary School we aim to prepare our pupils for a rapidly changing society. We use Kapow’s Primary Design and Technology scheme of work which aims to inspire pupils to be innovative and creative thinkers who have an appreciation for the product design cycle through ideation, creation and evaluation. We want pupils to develop the confidence to take risks, through drafting design concepts, modelling and testing and to be reflective learners who evaluate their work and the work of others. Through our scheme of work, we aim to build and awareness of the impact of design and technology on our lives and encourage pupils to become resourceful, enterprising citizens who will have the skills to contribute to future design advancements.

Our DT scheme of work enables pupils to meet the end of key stage attainment targets in the National Curriculum and the aims also align with those in the national Curriculum.

Implementation

The Design and technology National Curriculum outlines the three main stages of the design process: design, make and evaluate. Each stage of the design process is underpinned by technical knowledge which encompasses the contextual, historical and technical understanding required for each strand. Cooking and nutrition* has a separate section, with a focus on specific principles, skills and technologies in food including where food comes from, diet and seasonality.

The National Curriculum organises the Design and Technology attainment targets under five subheadings or strands:

• 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 diagrams, prototypes, pattern pieces and computer-aided design

 

• Make

• select from and use a wider range of tools and equipment to perform practical tasks (for example, 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
• understand and use electrical systems in their products
• apply their understanding of computing to program, monitor and control their products

 

• Cooking and Nutrition*

Our scheme has a clear progression of skills and knowledge within these five strands across each year group.

Our curriculum overview shows which or out units cover each of the National curriculum attainment targets as well as each of the five strands.

Our progression of skills shows the skills that are taught within each mixed age class and how these skills develop to ensure that attainment targets are securely met by the end of each key stage

Through our design technology scheme, pupils respond to design briefs and scenarios that require consideration of the needs of others, developing their skills in six key areas:

• Mechanisms

 

• Structures

 

• Textiles

 

• Cooking and nutrition (Food)

 

• Electrical systems (KS2) and

 

• Digital worlds (KS2)

 

Each of our key areas follows the design process (design, make and evaluate) and has a particular theme and focus form the technical knowledge or cooking and nutrition section of the curriculum. The scheme of work is a spiral curriculum, with key areas revisited again and again with increasing complexity, allowing pupils to revisit and build on their previous learning.

Lessons incorporate a range of teaching strategies for independent tasks, paired and group work including practical hands-on, computer base inventive tasks. Their variety means that lessons are engaging and appeal to those with a variety of different learning styles. Differentiated guidance is available for every lesson to ensure that lessons can be accessed by all pupils and opportunities to stretch pupils’ learning are available when required. Knowdlge organisers for each unit support pupils in building a foundation or factual knowledge by encouraging recall of key facts and vocabulary.

Strong subject knowledge is vital for staff 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. The Kapow scheme of work has been designed so that for those teachers who are not as confident delivering the full DT curriculum every effort tis made to ensure that all teaching staff feel supported to deliver lessons of a high standards to ensure pupil progression.

DT in our school is timetabled on alternate half terms (with Art and design). This decision was made so that each lesson could be of a length of time to allow pupils to have time to explore and embed learning rather than shorter lessons weekly.

 

Impact

The impact of our scheme can be constantly monitored through both formative and summative assessment opportunities. Each lesson includes guidance to support teachers in assessing pupils against the learning objectives. Furthermore, each unit has a unit quiz and knowledge catcher which can be used at the start and/or end of the unit. Each lesson teachers will share whole class feedback with the class and use a range of weekly assessment tools such as what two things can you remember from last week or a mini quiz.

After the implementation of our DT curriculum, pupils should leave school equipped with a range of skills to enable them to succeed in their secondary education and be innovative and resourceful members of society.

The expected impact of the following in our DT scheme of work is that children will:

• 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, knowdlge 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 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 outlined in the National Curriculum for Design Technology.

 

Please CLICK HERE for our Progression in Design Technology document

Please CLICK HERE for Design Technology Curriculum Overview

Please CLICK HERE for Design Technology Vocabulary