Design and Technology
“Design is not just how it looks, it is how it works” Steve Jobs
We encourage children to use their creativity and imagination, to design and make products that solve real and relevant problems within a variety of contexts, considering their own and others’ needs, wants and values.
Design and technology is an inspiring, rigorous and practical subject. It can be found in many of the objects children use each day and is a part of children’s immediate experiences. Design and technology encourages children to learn to think and intervene creatively to solve problems both as individuals and as members of a team.
At Audley Primary School, the design and technology curriculum combines skills, knowledge, concepts and values to enable children to tackle real problems. It can improve analysis, problem solving, practical capability and evaluation skills. We aim to, wherever possible, link work to other disciplines such as mathematics, science, engineering, computing and art. The children are encouraged to become innovators and risk-takers. High-quality design and technology education makes an essential contribution to British creativity, culture, wealth and well-being.
Intent | Why is DT taught the way we teach it? |
At Audley, our Design and Technology curriculum enthuses and drives creativity and inventiveness of children, as well as developing life-long skills. Pupils of Audley will be given opportunities to experience a broad range of skills, techniques, materials and use of tools. As their subject knowledge develops pupils will think critically, ask questions and have a much deeper understanding of how technology has helped shape our world, both in terms of the past, present and the future. Pupils design and make products that solve real and relevant problems considering their own and others’ needs, wants and values. As they progress through each year group, they will develop their skills in research, ability to ask questions, to critique, evaluate, and know that their work has real purpose. Pupils will be given the opportunity to learn to take risks, become resourceful, innovative and enterprising citizens of today and tomorrow.
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Implementation | What makes Audley’s coverage/approach to DT effective? |
Audley’s curriculum enables us to integrate Design and Technology within our exciting topics. This means that pupils develop the creative, technical and practical expertise to design and make products that are purposeful and meaningful to them. Across the school, Design and Technology lessons are planned in a series of consecutive lessons which follow a design process. This will begin with children having a brief to design for, this is for a purposeful or functioning product with criteria they must meet. Children will then create a design to meet this brief, considering materials, construction methods and tools they may need to make the item. Next, the children will create their products using their designs to guide them and then finally test to ensure the product functions and meets its purpose. They will then evaluate against their original criteria to judge how well their project went. The children will learn new skills through guided and modelled teaching, progressing and building on prior learning. | |
Impact | What do we want an Audley design technician to know/have experienced/be able to do before they leave Year 6? |
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The National Curriculum for design and technology aims to ensure that all pupils:
• Develop the creative, technical and practical expertise needed to perform everyday tasks confidently and to participate successfully in an increasingly technological world
• Build and apply a repertoire of knowledge, understanding and skills in order to design and make high-quality prototypes and products for a wide range of users
• Critique, evaluate and test their ideas and products and the work of others
• Understand and apply the principles of nutrition and learn how to cook.
The National Curriculum sets out the statutory entitlement to learning for all pupils in each Key Stage.
Key Stage 1 (Years 1 and 2)
When designing and making, pupils should be taught to:
Design
- Design purposeful, functional, appealing products for themselves and other users based on design criteria
- Generate, develop, model and communicate their ideas through talking, drawing, templates, mock-ups and, where appropriate, information and communication technology.
Make
- Select from and use a range of tools and equipment to perform practical tasks [for example, cutting, shaping, joining and finishing]
- Select from and use a wide range of materials and components, including construction materials, textiles and ingredients, according to their characteristics.
Evaluate
- Explore and evaluate a range of existing products
- Evaluate their ideas and products against design criteria.
Key Stage 2 (Years 3 – 6)
When designing and making, pupils should be taught to:
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 and exploded 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.
Cooking and Nutrition
As part of their work with food, pupils should be taught how to cook and apply the principles of nutrition and healthy eating. Instilling a love of cooking in pupils will also open a door to one of the great expressions of human creativity. 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.
Pupils should be taught to:
Key Stage 1 (Years 1 and 2)
- Use the basic principles of a healthy and varied diet to prepare dishes
- Understand where food comes from.
Key Stage 2 (Years 3 – 6)
- Understand and apply the principles of a healthy and varied diet
- Prepare and cook a variety of predominantly savoury dishes using a range of cooking techniques
- Understand seasonality, and know where and how a variety of ingredients are grown, reared, caught and processed.