Design & Technology
Subject Leader: Mrs Spooner
“All our engineers are designers and all our designers are engineers.”
– James Dyson
Intent
Design and Technology is an inspiring and practical subject which encourages children to learn to think and intervene creatively to solve problems, both as individuals and as members of a team.
Through the study of our Design and Technology curriculum, we encourage and inspire our 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 the acquisition of progressive knowledge and skills, we aim to develop children’s creative, technical and imaginative thinking so that they can design innovative, thoughtful products for a range of users. They will understand how to apply the principles of nutrition and learn how to cook.
Our aim is for our pupils to become resourceful, innovative and competent young designers, who are given the opportunity to explore their own ideas and develop the creative and practical skills required to solve real and relevant problems.
Through the Kapow scheme of work, we aim to build an awareness of the impact of Design and Technology in our lives and encourage pupils to become resourceful, enterprising citizens who will have the skills to contribute to future design advancements.
Our Design and Technology aims align with those in the National Curriculum and our scheme of work enables pupils to meet the end of Key Stage attainment targets outlined in the National Curriculum.
Implementation
At Cheetwood Community Primary, we use Kapow Primary’s Design and Technology scheme to support our delivery. The scheme follows the National Curriculum’s three main stages of design, make and evaluate. Each lesson is underpinned by the technical knowledge which encompasses contextual, historical and technical understanding required for each strand. Cooking and Nutrition lessons are taught as separate units where there is a focus on specific principles, skills and techniques 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
- Make
- Evaluate
- Technical knowledge
- Cooking and nutrition
Kapow Primary’s Design and Technology scheme has a clear progression of skills and knowledge within these five strands across each year group. Our curriculum mapping shows which of our 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 year group and how these skills develop to ensure that attainment targets are securely met by the end of each Key Stage. Through Kapow Primary’s Design and 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)
- Digital world (KS2)
Each of our 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.
The Kapow Primary scheme is a spiral curriculum, with key areas revisited again and again with increasing complexity, allowing pupils to build on their previous learning. Lessons incorporate a range of teaching strategies from independent tasks, paired and group work including practical hands-on and inventive tasks. This variety means that lessons are engaging and appeal to those with a variety of 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.
Knowledge organisers for each unit support pupils in building a foundation of 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. Kapow has been created with the understanding that many teachers do not feel confident delivering the full Design and Technology curriculum and every effort has been made to ensure that they feel supported to deliver lessons of a high standard that ensure pupil progression.
At Cheetwood, Design and Technology is taught every half term, alternatively with Art and Design. It is delivered over a Key Stage to ensure that all skills and knowledge are taught throughout the school. Each lesson is approximately 1 hour long (per week) with added time when needed to complete projects or consolidate skills. Skills and knowledge taught in Design and Technology are referred to across other curriculum subjects.
In EYFS:
Through well-resourced continuous provision and child centred learning opportunities, children in our Nursery and Reception classes develop their skills through exploration of materials, construction and evaluation. They also learn how to play and communicate imaginatively by developing narratives for role play, building play scenarios and working collaboratively with their peers. Progress in the early years is assessed using the ‘Development Matters in the EYFS’ guidance and is recorded using the school’s attainment tracker.
In KS1 and KS2:
Through a variety of creative and practical activities, pupils throughout Key Stages are taught the knowledge, understanding and skills needed to engage in an iterative process of designing and making. They will explore and evaluate a range of existing products and evaluate their ideas and products against design criteria. They will acquire technical knowledge and develop an understanding of complex structures, mechanical systems, electrical systems and computing.
As part of their work with food, children are taught how to cook and apply the principles of nutrition and healthy eating, understand and apply the principles of a healthy and varied diet and prepare and cook a variety of predominantly savoury dishes using a range of cooking techniques.
Staff have access to a subject-specific cupboard which includes key resources needed for the projects. Subject leaders liaise regularly with staff to manage and replenish resources as required. Staff are encouraged to look ahead at unit plans to make sure that they have the necessary resources to deliver the lessons consistently and to order resources ahead of time.
Impact
The impact of Kapow’s Primary scheme will be monitored through both formative and summative assessment opportunities. Each lesson includes clear lesson objectives as well as quizzes and knowledge catchers which can be used at the end of a unit.
At the end of Kapow Primary, we aim for our pupils to have the skills and knowledge that will equip them to succeed in their secondary education and become innovative and resourceful member of society.
Our pupils will be seen enjoying their lessons, ask questions about theirs and others’ designs, products and make suggestions for improvements of future designs. They will use their sketchbook to draw designs, annotate, and note down changes they could make if they were to repeat the project.
The expected impact of following the Kapow Primary Design and Technology scheme of work is that children will:
- Understand the functional and aesthetics properties of materials
- Understand how to use and combine a range a tools to carry out different processes for shaping, manufacturing and products
- Build and apply a range of skills, knowledge and understanding to produce high quality outcomes including models and outcomes, prototypes, CAD and products to fulfil the needs of users, clients and scenarios
- Understand and apply the principles for 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 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 outlined in the National Curriculum for Design and Technology and Computing
