Design & Technology

DT subject coordinator – Miss Nagra

Intent

At Moat Farm Infant School, we intend to build a Design and Technology curriculum which inspires pupils to be creative thinkers through ideation, creation and evaluation. We intend to design a curriculum with appropriate subject knowledge, skills and understanding as set out in the National Curriculum Design Technology Programmes of study, to provide a balanced and broadly-based curriculum.

We aim to inspire children to be innovative and creative thinkers, who have the appreciation for the product design cycle, through ideation, creation and evaluation. We want pupils to develop the confidence to take risks, 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.

The concepts we aim to cover are

• Learning about the designed and made world and how things work
• Design inspiration from a range of designers
• Design skills for a range of purposeful, functional products
• Making functional products for particular purposes and uses
• Knowledge and understanding of materials and components, mechanisms and control systems
• Understanding how to evaluate and improve the quality of the product to maintain a high quality
• Health and safety

These concepts are all derived from the National Curriculum key objectives that are

• Products are to be made for a purpose.
• Individuality should be ensured in children’s design and construction of products.
• Delivery of the two strands: Designing and Making and Cooking and Nutrition.
• Teaching the importance of making on-going changes and improvements during making stages.

Implementation

Design and Technology is taught half termly and follows the 3 main stage design process; design, make and evaluate. Each stage of the design process is underpinned by technological knowledge which encompasses the contextual, historical and technical understanding required for each strand. These strands are:

• Design
• Make
• Evaluate
• Technical knowledge
• Cooking and nutrition

At Moat Farm Infant School, we follow the ‘Kapow’ scheme of work for Reception and KS1, this has a clear progression of skills and knowledge within these five strands across each year group. Attainment targets and progression of skills have been carefully mapped out to ensure they are securely met by the end of each key stage.

Through Kapow Primary’s Design and Technology scheme, pupils respond to design briefs and scenarios that require consideration of the needs of others. It ensures that skills are being developed in:

• Mechanisms
• Structures
• Textiles
• Cooking and nutrition

Each key area follows the design process (design, make and evaluate) and has particular theme and focus for technical knowledge or cooking and nutrition. The Kapow scheme is a spiral curriculum, with key areas revisited with increasing complexity, allowing pupils to revisit and build on their previous learning.
Lessons incorporate independent tasks, paired and group work including practical hands-on, and inventive tasks.

Children can work independently by solving problems and take ownership in their learning or collaboratively whereby they may be asked to work as a team to support to each other to work towards a goal. Working walls are displayed in classrooms which allows children to consistently see good examples and the vocabulary needed to articulate their opinions in Design Technology. Teachers refer to the working walls when modelling concepts or solving design problems which is a crucial strategy for enabling pupils to become independent. Children’s work is celebrated by putting it on display around school. We hold parent workshops annually for year 1 and year 2 so children can work together with their parent to make and test their designs.

In Early Years Foundation Stage children explore and use a variety of media and materials through child initiated and adult led activities. They have the opportunity to use junk modelling to decide how to join materials together, use simple tools safely, select their resources and discuss what went well. As children go into Key Stage 1, they will learn the basic construction skills, join materials using staples, begin to sew a product, learn about different foods and how to be safe and hygienic.

Impact

Design and Technology is taught so children have a clear passion and enjoyment in this subject, and they will then apply this across the curriculum. Projects promote working together, building resilience and critical thinking to develop life skills for children to take with them in the future. At Moat Farm Infant School, we ensure our curriculum is monitored regularly and reflective upon to ensure we are providing a broad and balanced learning environment for our children. On entry to Reception, 39% of children are on track and by the time they leave us in year 2, 98% of children are on track in DT.

Non-negotiables for Design and Technology

• In Reception and KS1 teachers plan and teach following our scheme, KAPOW
• Class floor books are used in KS1 for DT
• Floors books are used in EYFS labelled as EAD
• Children are encouraged to evaluate their own work and make annotations where appropriate.
• Key vocabulary and the learning intention are shared with the children.
• Specific vocabulary should be evident in working walls where appropriate.
• Teachers assess their children every term.

End of Key Stage intentions for Design and Technology

By the end of EYFS pupils will have had the opportunity to:
• Use their natural creativity to investigate design and make, enabling them to learn about their world.
• Design and make with a purpose. Gain satisfaction, confidence, enthusiasm and perseverance making objects that represent other objects and ones that function like purposeful objects
• Develop communication and listening skills and vocabulary whilst discussing what they are making/ have made
• Safely use and explore a variety of materials, tools and techniques
• Share their creations, explaining the process they have used and how they might improve them
• Make use of and create props with everyday materials and large-scale junk modelling when role playing

By the end of KS1 pupils will have had the opportunity to:
• Engage fully in the process of designing and making
• Design purposeful products that are functional and appealing
• Select and use a variety of tools and materials in order to make their chosen products
• Evaluate existing products and their own ideas against design criteria
• Build structures and explore mechanisms to develop technical knowledge
• Use the basic principles of a healthy and varied diet to prepare dishes and understand where food comes from

Books that inspire Design and Technology – Click one to enjoy