Design and Technology:

Intent:

At St Mark’s C.E. Primary School, we encourage our children to learn to think and intervene creatively to solve problems, both as individuals and as members of a team. This can be found in many of the objects children use each day and is a part of children’s immediate experiences. We aim to, wherever possible, link learning to other disciplines, such as mathematics, science, engineering, computing and art. We aim to give the children opportunities to use a range of materials and processes to work independently or as part of a team. This enables them to identify needs and opportunities and to respond to them by developing a range of ideas and by making products and systems. The children are encouraged and supported to challenge themselves by increasing their technical vocabulary and developing their knowledge of mechanisms, structure, forces and electronics so that they can explain how their products work.  The children learn how industry and inventors have had an impact on our world today.

Implementation:

We aim to deliver a carefully sequenced Design & Technology curriculum with high standards to ensure quality outcomes.  The design cycle is at the heart of each unit.  This involves the children being given a product to design, make and then evaluate.  In addition to this, children are taught key specific vocabulary alongside each unit of work.

At St Mark’s C.E. Primary School, Design & Technology is taught in every year group with one unit per term allowing for consolidation and progression of skills.  Over the years, the children develop their skills, for example, in textiles, this progresses from a simple stitch for a hand puppet in Year 2 to designing and making their own pattern for a drawstring bag in Year 6. Using the design cycle as a model, we ensure progression in designing, making and evaluating.

Curriculum strands:

-The design cycle: design, make, evaluate and improve

-Textiles

-Cooking and nutrition

-Electronics

-Using materials for construction

-Mechanics

Impact:

Through our creative Design Technology curriculum, which is engaging and practical, all children progress and develop their skills and knowledge. By the end of their primary school education, children will be able to:

• Effectively use the design cycle:  design, make, evaluate, improve
• Use and apply skills in cooking and nutrition, textiles, electronics, mechanics and construction

We use a variety of strategies to evaluate the knowledge, skills and understanding that our children have gained in each unit, these include:

-Frequent use of formative assessment to inform teaching and learning

-Referring back to prior learning to assess the retention of previous learning

-Regular live feedback and pupil questioning to identify next steps

-Subject monitoring: learning walks, book looks, pupil voice, etc.