Design Technology

Values

Design technology allows children to solve problems in various contexts. It also allows children to work together with others and develop their teamwork and communication skills.

Aims

Design Technology helps children to problem-solve, making on-going changes and improvements during the design and make process.
Design Technology teaches pupils about the seasonality of ingredients and how they are grown, caught or reared.
Design Technology teaches pupils how to participate successfully in an increasingly technological world.
Design Technology develops pupils’ practical skills and techniques as they apply these to designing and making prototypes and products.
Design Technology develops pupils’ understanding of products and their intended users.
Pupils develop their communication skills through design technology, when they are sharing ideas and explaining their thinking.
Design Technology gives pupils the opportunity to develop skills, knowledge and understanding of designing and making functional products.
Through design technology, pupils develop creative vision, technical vocabulary and practical skills.
Design Technology allows pupils to build and apply a repertoire of knowledge, understanding and skills to design and make high quality prototypes and products for a wide range of users.
In design technology, pupils learn to critique, evaluate and test their own ideas and products and the work of others.
Design Technology teaches pupils to understand and apply the principles of nutrition and learn how to cook.
Through design technology, pupils’ understanding of key developments in history is broadened when researching important individuals and their inventions.

Intent

Design Technology helps us to develop as reflective learners, as we work through the design process.

Through design technology, we are able to work collaboratively to solve problems and find solutions, teaching us to deal with uncertainty whilst developing communication, organisational and other practical life skills.

In design technology, we learn to appreciate the needs of others, the built environment and the likely impact of future technologies.

Implementation

When is Design Technology taught?
Design Technology is taught both through Skills Development Tasks and through design projects. The Satellite View maps out which thematic units feature this subject and clearly shows the objectives taught.

How is Design Technology taught?
Design Technology is taught through a combination of subject knowledge, skill building and design and make projects. Food technology is also taught through thematic units and our 3D PSHE programme. Learning takes place both inside and outside the classroom.

What do we learn in Design Technology?
We learn about:-

Mechanisms
Sliders
Levers
Structures
Textiles
Food technology
Electronics

We also complete design technology projects in each phase for specified clients e.g. the pirate, the evil genius, allowing pupils the opportunity to both experiment and apply their knowledge and skills.

Impact

How do we assess and monitor Design technology?

Design technology is assessed through Assessment for learning, self and peer assessment, through the production of design or physical product. In each unit, children think about their clients needs and design a product to suit, often thinking directly about the reasoning behind their choices.

Children also share their experiences of design technology, through subject questionnaires which assists the monitoring of the subject. Each year the subject is reviewed using professional dialogue, the review of an action plan and pupil voice.

Subject leaders monitor through medium term planning and lesson objectives, as well as success criteria to regularly assess and monitor progress against current and prior skills and knowledge. Parents are informed of curriculum coverage in a curriculum newsletter sent out each week and the progress achieved by their child in the end of year report.