What is Design and Technology?

At St. Andrew’s, we believe that Design and Technology is when we combine practical skills with an understanding of designing, exploring, creating and evaluating products in real life contexts.

Through the eyes of our children, Design and Technology is important because:

‘It helps us to become independent, creative problem solvers and thinkers as individuals and as part of a team..’

Early Years

Children are given the opportunities:

Expressive arts and design: Exploring and using media and materials: children sing songs, make music and dance, and experiment with ways of changing them. They safely use and explore a variety of materials, tools and techniques, experimenting with colour, design, texture, form and function.

Being imaginative: children use what they have learnt about media and materials in original ways, thinking about uses and purposes. They represent their own ideas, thoughts and feelings through design and technology, art, music, dance, role-play and stories.

National Curriculum

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. Pupils learn how to take risks, becoming resourceful, innovative, enterprising and capable citizens. 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.

By the end of each key stage, pupils are expected to know, apply and understand the matters, skills and processes specified in the relevant programme of study.

Curriculum Intent

At St. Andrew’s Church of England Primary School, our children use their creativity and imagination to design and make products that solve problems in real life contents. They draw on the disciplines of other subjects such as: Mathematics, Science, Computing and Art. Evaluations of designers and existing products takes place to inspire our children to create their own ideas and designs.

Our 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. 

Our children learn how to take risks, while becoming resourceful, innovative and capable citizens. We follow the 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
• Delivery of the two strands: Designing and Making 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 

The teaching and implementation of the Design and Technology curriculum at St. Andrew’s C.E. Primary School is based on the Early Learning Goals and National Curriculum; it is supported by expectations from Chris Quigley Milestones, ensuring a well-structured approach.

We organise our pupils’ learning around the following structure:

Take inspiration from design throughout history: This concept involves appreciating the design process that has influenced the products we use in everyday life.

Design (see below)

Master practical skills: This concept involves developing the skills needed to make high quality products (we have highlighted a range of skills but they may be added to or changed as appropriate for your school).

(Design), make, evaluate and improve: This concept involves developing the process of design thinking and seeing design as a process.

These key concepts underpin learning in each milestone. This enables pupils to reinforce and build upon prior learning, make connections and develop subject specific language. 

In Design and Technology children design products with a purpose in mind and an intended user of the products. Food technology is implemented 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.

At St. Andrew’s, we are dedicated to the teaching and delivery of a high-quality Design and Technology curriculum through well planned and resourced projects and experiences. We have determined that Design Technology will taught in three units across the school year. During Design and Technology units, our children draw upon subject knowledge and skills within Mathematics, Science, History, Computing and Art. Through the evaluation of past and present technology they can reflect upon the impact of Design Technology on everyday life and the wider world.

Impact

Assessment of children’s learning in Design and Technology is an ongoing monitoring of children's understanding, knowledge and skills by the class teacher, throughout lessons. This assessment is then used to inform differentiation, support and challenge required by the children.  At the end of each unit of work, each teacher completes unit evaluations, assessing attainment against the Chris Quigley Essentials milestones to make informed judgements about the depth of their learning and the progress children have made over time.