Intent
Through a progressive and purposeful planning, children will be equipped with the relevant skills and broad knowledge required to become creative, imaginative and reflective problem solvers. Using creativity and imagination, pupils design and make products that solve real and relevant problems within a variety of contexts, considering their own and others’ needs, wants and values. 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. High-quality design and technology education makes an essential contribution to the creativity, culture, wealth and well-being of the nation.
Implementation
The children at Dallington CE Primary School are provided with a clear and comprehensive Design and Technology learning journey via a whole school curriculum. This allows the children to develop their subject knowledge, skills and creativity through carefully planned steps. Design and Technology very often has cross-curricular links to Science, Geography, Maths, History and Art, in particular.
Children are given the opportunity to research and evaluate existing products relevant to their own project, analysing successful components that they may want to include in their own product, whilst exploring how they will creatively integrate their own ideas. Through this thoughtful and careful evaluation, children will be able to create their own new and exciting product. They will carefully select their own materials and tools, considering which ones would be appropriate for the design criteria and which ones will help them create a successful finish to their product. Good health and safety routines are modelled and reinforced throughout each project. The Design Technology-specific vocabulary is overtly modelled and reinforced by staff, with discussion-based tasks integrated into each lesson to allow pupils to apply this vocabulary competently themselves.
The children at Dallington CE Primary School will be inspired by design and technology of the past and present and learn to think critically about the impacts of design and technology on everyday life and the wider world.
All KS1 and KS2 are encouraged to use the school garden and their allocated ‘greenhouses’ for planting. In addition to this, food technology, nutrition and healthy eating is taught consistently across the school. To celebrate, motivate and inspire the children design and technology work is displayed within classrooms and communal areas.
Impact
Through the well-planned and focussed teaching of Design and Technology, children will leave Dallington CE Primary school with skills in collaboration, investigation, construction, evaluation and design. The children will have a curiosity about how products are made and use this to innovate and design their own products. Alongside this, the children will understand the need to design and make with purpose in mind, whilst being authentic and creative designers. They will take away a knowledge of different designers and their products and the impact they have had on the world we live in.