Our Design and Technology subject lead is Mrs Mahon.
Intent
At Tow Law Millennium Primary School, we believe Design and Technology to be an inspiring and practical subject that will help prepare our children to deal with tomorrow’s rapidly changing world. Design and Technology encourages children to learn to think and intervene creatively to solve problems both as individuals and as members of a team. Pupils at our school often have a limited understanding of overall health and nutrition and we strive to address these limitations through ensuring our children understand where food comes from and the importance of a varied and healthy diet. At Tow Law Millennium Primary School, we encourage children to use their creativity and imagination, to design and make products that solve real and relevant problems within a variety of contexts, considering their own and others’ needs, wants and values.
Implementation
As a school, and in accordance with the National Curriculum’s expectations, we aim 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.
The teaching and implementation of the Design and Technology Curriculum at Tow Law Millennium Primary School is based on the National Curriculum and is, where possible, linked to topics to ensure a well-structured approach to this creative subject.
As a school, we have chosen to use a published scheme, Kapow Design and Technology, which uses the content from the D & T Association’s ‘Projects on a Page’, to teach the Design Technology Curriculum in Key Stage 1 and 2. The Scheme of Work meets the requirements for the National Curriculum for Design and Technology, and enables our teachers to deliver creative, inspiring and engaging lessons. The scheme also provides for progression in skills and knowledge. The curriculum content covers the following areas:
- Cooking and Nutrition,
- Mechanisms,
- Structures,
- Textiles,
- Electrical Systems.
Four strands of the Design and Technology Curriculum run through each unit (Design, Make, Evaluate and Technical Knowledge) and the fifth strand, Cooking and Nutrition is a standalone unit each year. Where possible, links are made with other curriculum subjects, as these will often lend ‘purpose’ and ‘user’ for the products which pupils will design and make. A two-year rolling programme ensures that all pupils are taught the full entitlement of Design and Technology within our mixed age class structure.
We teach the Kapow Scheme of Work for Design and Technology for Key Stage 1 and 2 in a block of lessons each term. Teaching Design and Technology in blocks at Key Stage 1 and 2, allows the curriculum to be studied in depth; pupils will have time to complete longer pieces of work over the course of a block rather than in short weekly sessions.
In EYFS, our pupils explore and use a variety of media and materials through a combination of child initiated and adult directed activities. There are always opportunities for children to engage in exploring different media and materials to express their own ideas, learning about media and materials in original ways, thinking about the form, function and purpose, making plans and constructing with a purpose in mind, selecting appropriate resources for a product and adapting their work where necessary, as well as developing skills using simple tools and adhering to good health and hygiene routines when cooking and preparing food.
Impact
Our children will enjoy being creators and designers. This will be evidenced through their sketch books, prototypes and final products, and progression grids. They will develop creative, technical and practical expertise needed to perform everyday tasks confidently and will be able to participate successfully in our increasingly technological world. The children will learn how to build and apply a repertoire of knowledge, understanding and skills in order to design and make high-quality products for a wide range of users and critique, evaluate and test their ideas and products and the work of others. Through this, our children will 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. At Tow Law Millennium, the monitoring of foundation subjects is carried out following the whole school annual monitoring programme. The subject coordinator also monitors progress, evidence and pupil voice termly.
Please follow this link to view our curriculum policies.
[Slideshow "design-and-technology-curriculum-page" not found]
