Intent:
At Elmwood, our intent for teaching Design and Technology is to firstly inspire pupils to be innovative and creative thinkers who have an appreciation for the design cycle through ideation, creation and evaluation. Secondly, 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 that of others. Additionally, we want to build an awareness in our pupils of the impact of design and technology in our lives, as well as to encourage pupils to become resourceful, enterprising citizens.
Implementation:
At Elmwood, we teach one structured, engaging DT unit every half term to ensure a progression of skills through the years. Our DT lessons outline the three stages of the design process: design, make, evaluate. Each stage of the design process is underpinned by technical knowledge which encompasses contextual, historical and technical understanding for each strand – this lends itself to cross-curricular links with other subjects.
Our DT scheme has a clear progression of these skills across the five strands which are central to the National Curriculum attainment targets across the year groups, the five strands being:
- Design
- Make
- Evaluate
- Technical Knowledge
- Cooking and Nutrition
Our lessons require pupils to 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
- Digital World
Each of our key areas follows the design process and has a particular theme and focus from the technical knowledge or cooking and nutrition section of the curriculum. The curriculum is a spiral in that key areas are revisited again and again with increasing complexity, allowing pupils to revisit and build on their previous knowledge.
Lessons incorporate a range of teaching strategies and this variety ensures that lessons are engaging and will appeal to all learning styles. Differentiated guidance is available for every lesson to ensure that lessons can be accessed by all pupils.
Impact:
We want the children of Elmwood, when they leave, to be equipped with a range of skills which will enable them to thrive and succeed in their secondary education. We want them to be innovative and resourceful members of society.
The impact of DT is that children will:
- Understand the functional and aesthetic properties of a range of materials and resources.
- Understand how to use tools to carry out different processes for shaping, decorating, and manufacturing products.
- Build and apply a repertoire of skills, knowledge and understanding to produce high quality, innovative outcomes, including models, prototypes, CAD, and products to fulfil the needs of users, clients, and scenarios.
- Understand and apply the principles of 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 for improvement.