Design and Technology

Design and Technology is an important and creative discipline that helps us to understand and be a part of our world. At St Marie's, we want all pupils to experience the power and enjoyment of Design and Technology to develop a sense of curiosity about the subject; making links in their learning. We adopt positive ‘can do’ attitudes, believing all children can achieve in Design and Technology. We encourage our children to develop their Learning Behaviours through our progressive Design and Technology curriculum.

Intent

We want pupils to ask questions about how things work and how they are made. We want them to challenge themselves to create practical artefacts and to develop new skills. Children are expected to be reflective and evaluate their work, thinking about how they can make changes and keep improving. Lessons are planned to allow pupils to be resilient and independent in their skills. We want them to be fully engaged in DT lessons, developing a love of experimentation, to think critically about their work.

Implementation

The teaching and implementation of the Design Technology Curriculum is based on the National Curriculum and linked to topics to ensure a well-structured approach to this creative subject.

The children are taught DT as part of their termly topic work. Areas covered include food, textiles, mechanisms, structures and electrical systems. Designing skills are ongoing throughout the school. There is a clear progression throughout the school of key objectives and vocabulary. The DT programme is usually linked to topic work, often to the history, geography or science curriculum

Children in Key Stage 1 and 2 use DT books to record ideas, plan and design their work and review and revise their ideas. Photographs also show the progression and final piece of work. It is usually taught as a block of work over several consecutive days. 

Impact

During DT lessons, time is always spent reflecting on work and suggesting ways to develop it further. Pupils are encouraged to critically evaluate their ideas and practical skills and look for ways they can develop them further. They are encouraged to make a practical product for an intended audience and evaluate how successful they have been. Teachers give verbal and written feedback throughout a unit of work.

Assessment

At the end of each unit of work, teachers assess pupils using the school’s Assessment Grids, indicating whether they are working at the expected level for the year, towards the expected level, or at greater depth.

Monitoring, evaluation and review