This Term, we are trialling a new scheme called Kapow. The Design and Technology units being taught are part of a combined DT and Art curriculum.

If you have any questions regarding the curriculum we teach, please contact the school office directly and the office staff will pass your enquiry on to the relevant Curriculum Leader.

Design & Technology Curriculum Lead: Miss Bennett

Intent

The intent of the DT Curriculum at St Michael’s is to provide plenty of opportunities for the children to learn, apply and strengthen essential skills required in the designing, making and evaluating of an effective product for a given purpose.

It is also the intent of the DT Curriculum to ensure that the children are well-equipped with useful technical knowledge to support them in the design and making of their product. For example: Learning how to strengthen a structure to make it more stable, learning how to use mechanisms or electrical systems in their designs and learning how to use computer programming to control a product.

In addition, the school aims to develop the children’s use and understanding of technical vocabulary associated with this subject. This is so that the children can articulate the skills that they have applied, the equipment that they have used and describe the material/s and features of the product that they have made.

Implementation

In Early Years, the children develop essential basic skills in design and technology which prepares them for their transition into Year 1.

This is through the teacher creating many opportunities for the children to carry out DT related activities across all areas of learning.

By the end of Early Years, it is expected that the children will be able to:

• Construct with a purpose in mind.

• Use simple tools and techniques competently and appropriately.

• Build and construct with a wide range of objects, selecting appropriate resources and adapting their work when necessary.

• Select the tools and techniques they need to shape, assemble and join materials they are using.

From Year 1 upwards, the children engage in three DT units a year, which will include the children exploring, researching, designing, technical knowledge / skill, making and evaluating.

EXPLORING

The children will explore products linked to their unit. They will do this by:

Þ Taking the product apart and looking at the material/s used to make it.

Þ Looking at the different features of the product.

Þ Establishing how the product is constructed.

Þ Questioning how effective the product is in its purpose.

Þ Discussing what could be done to improve the product.

Þ Producing a list of key vocabulary linked to the product.

RESEARCHING

The children will carry out research regarding the product that they are going to make so that they can use this research to support the design of their product.

DESIGNING

The children will draw/sketch their design and annotate this with information about the design such as, what features they have included in their design.

During this lesson the children also answer questions such as:

Þ What materials will I need?

Þ What tools will I need?

Þ What technical skills do I need to practise before making this product? (Some of these may have been previously taught skills that need refreshing or completely new skills)

TECHNICAL KNOWLEDGE / SKILL

The children will engage in a practical activity of technical skill or technical learning that will be required when making their product.

MAKING

The children will make their product.

EVALUATING

The children will not only evaluate the effectiveness of their product but also the skills that they have applied. This will be recorded both individually in their DT Books and collectively in the Class DT Diary.

Long Term Plan

The units that the children complete each year group have been carefully selected so that all National Curriculum Expectations are met by the end of KS1 & KS2 in the key areas of: Design, Make, Evaluate & Technical Knowledge and Cooking & Nutrition.

Teachers have access to planning resources in the form of Projects on a Page from the DT Society but are encouraged to draw on a wide range of resources, to ensure that:

· The children remember the long-term content.

· The children understand that they are systematically learning.

· The children can integrate new knowledge into larger concepts.

The school has implemented the following system.

At the start of each DT lesson, the children will consult their Class DT Diary so that they can recap on prior learning, skills and use of vocabulary. If, however, this is the first lesson in the unit, time will be spent looking back at all of the DT units completed over time. This is so that the children can see if there are any previous skills or learning that could be transferred to this new unit.

During each DT lesson, notes will be added to the DT Class Diary which will be discussed and used as an evaluation at the end of the lesson/unit.

The children also have individual files to use as a reminder of the work that they have completed previously.

Impact

The intended impact of the DT Curriculum is that the majority of children in each year group are working at or above the expected level for their age. At the end of each unit, the teacher will carry out an assessment linked the progression of both their process and technical skills.

In addition, it is the intended impact that the children:

· are inspired by the DT Curriculum and want to learn more.

· show the progression in their skills, knowledge and understanding in the work in their books.

· can discuss their learning and remember what they have learnt.

· can identify some key designers and talk about the impact that their work has had on the world.

Design Technology is usually linked to other areas of our enquiry based curriculum. Using creativity and imagination children investigate needs, design and make products that solve real and relevant problems. They evaluate and test their ideas and products and the work of others. Through the evaluation of past and present design and technology, they develop an understanding of its impact on daily life and the wider world.