Design & Technology


Intent

At Hebden Royd Primary School we use Kapow Primary’s Design and technology scheme of work. This aims to inspire pupils to be innovative and creative thinkers who have an appreciation for the product design cycle through ideation, creation, and evaluation. 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 the work of others. Through this scheme of work, we aim to build an awareness of the impact of design and technology on our lives and encourage pupils to become resourceful, enterprising citizens who will have the skills to contribute to future design advancements.

Implementation

The Design and technology National curriculum outlines the three main stages of the design process: design, make and evaluate. Each stage of the design process is underpinned by technical knowledge which encompasses the contextual, historical, and technical understanding required for each strand. Cooking and nutrition has a separate section, with a focus on specific principles, skills and techniques in food, including where food comes from, diet and seasonality.

The National curriculum organises the Design and technology attainment targets under five subheadings or strands:

• Design

• Make

• Evaluate

• Technical knowledge

• Cooking and nutrition

Lessons incorporate a range of teaching strategies from independent tasks, paired and group work including practical hands-on, computer-based and inventive tasks. This variety means that lessons are engaging and appeal to those with a variety of learning styles. Differentiated guidance is available for every lesson to ensure that lessons can be accessed by all pupils and opportunities to stretch pupils’ learning are available when required. Knowledge organisers for each unit support pupils in building a foundation of factual knowledge by encouraging recall of key facts and vocabulary.

Impact

As a school, we keep a record of the children’s work in their D&T books which records the processes the children have gone through and the end results, with some examples of written work and photographs of their creations. The differentiation, support and challenge received by pupils is therefore evident throughout the their time in each Key Stage . Design and Technology is also monitored through class observations and pupil interviews, to ensure that children enjoy their activities and learning whilst making good progress.

What have we been up to in Design & Technology?