Design and Technology at Whitehouse Primary

Intent

Design and Technology prepares children to deal with tomorrows rapidly changing world. It encourages children to become independent, creative problem solvers and thinkers as individuals and as 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, they 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. 

The teaching of Design and Technology across the school follows the National Curriculum. Children design products with a purpose and with an intended user of the products in mind. We follow the design, make, knowledge and evaluation approach alongside guidance from the D&T association.

Children engage with the appropriate stages of design depending on their year group and follow on to test, evaluate and edit their end-products.

Food technology is also taught across the school with children developing an understanding of where food comes from, the importance of a varied and healthy diet and how to prepare this. 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. 

Design and Technology also embeds our Growth Mindset Learning Behaviours. It is an inspiring, rigorous and practical subject, requiring creativity, resourcefulness and imagination. Children learn to take risks, be reflective, innovative, enterprising and resilient.

Teaching of Art and Design Technology in Early Years Foundation Stage

Children are taught to represent their own ideas, thoughts and feelings through design and technology, art, music and dance.

Children recognise that a range of technology is used in places such as homes and schools. They select and use technology for particular purposes.

Children know about similarities and differences in relation to places, objects, materials and living things.

Children use ICT hardware to interact with age-appropriate computer software.

Teaching of Design Technology in Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2

Through a variety of creative and practical activities, pupils should be taught the knowledge, understanding and skills needed to engage in a frequent and repeated process of designing and making. They should work in a range of relevant contexts:

• Key Stage 1: the home and school, gardens and playgrounds, the local community, industry and the wider environment
• Key Stage 2: the home, school, leisure, culture, enterprise, industry and the wider environment

 

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 children’s design and construction of products.
• Involves delivery of the strands: Designing and Making, Technical knowledge and Evaluation 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.

 

Implementation

At Whitehouse Primary School, Design and Technology is taught in all year groups through at least one topic per term, which includes one topic relating to food. Activities are taught in a variety of ways across the school, sometimes in blocks of taught time e.g. Science Week/STEAM challenge days or as individual lessons as part of a selected topic. Appropriate units of work are planned using a combination of topic work and published resources. Design Technology projects are often cross-curricular linking to other subjects taught such as mathematics, science, engineering, computing and art (STEAM).

Design and Technology activities are planned to ensure continuity and progression by building on the specific knowledge, skills and understanding outlined in the curriculum.

Impact

Children will learn a wide range of Design Technology skills, from cooking and nutrition, to computer coding and programming. These skills are integral life skills that will provide a basis for the real world. Children will be competent at designing and assessing each other’s work and skills, creating children who are confident self and peer-evaluators.