Design Technology

Design Technology

Aims

The national curriculum for design and technology aims to ensure that all children:

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.

Intent

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. Children learn how to take risks, becoming resourceful and innovative. 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. At Moss Lane we aim to provide a high-quality design and technology education which engages, inspires and challenges children; equipping them with the knowledge and skills to design, make and evaluate a range of products. As children progress, they should be able to think and work creatively to solve problems both as individuals and as members of a team. The children are also given opportunities to reflect upon and evaluate past and present design and technology, its uses and its effectiveness and be encouraged to become innovators and risk-takers when designing their own projects.

Implement

The following aims are at the heart of our planning:

To ensure high standards of teaching and learning in design technology, we implement and provide a curriculum that is progressive throughout the whole school.
At Moss Lane we are using the ‘Projects on a Page’ scheme of work from the Design and Technology Association.
The projects the children work on are linked in to the overall class topic for that half term.
We have introduced class sketchbooks to journal the children’s learning through the process of designing, making and evaluating products.

Impact

Good design technology outcomes are shown through work in the children’s sketchbooks.
The progression of skills is clear across the school and there is evidence of individual progress from starting points to final pieces.
Design technology opportunities are carefully planned, linking where possible to units of work in other subjects.
Effective modelling of skills allows children to create products safely.
Displays not only promote and celebrate excellence in design technology across the curriculum, but also encourage children to value their own work and that of others.
Clear teaching and learning objectives enable high quality teaching of core skills to enable good design technology outcomes.
Real life contexts are selected carefully to motivate children and promote problem-solving skills.