"We can create anything." - EYFS Pupil
Intent
Design & Technology at St Patrick's gives children the chance to use creative thinking to make products which solve real problems, whilst allowing children to develop technical skills across the age phases. In line with National Curriculum, children complete a wide variety of creative and practical activities. In each unit, they research, design, make and evaluate a product, ensuring that previous skills are built upon and new ones are developed each year.
We motivate and inspire children through a curriculum that engages and challenges all learners, by encouraging them to become resourceful, innovative, enterprising and capable citizens, who are prepared to take risks. Children acquire a broad range of subject knowledge, through cross-curricular opportunities e.g. mathematics, science, engineering, computing and art. Our curriculum is designed to deepen knowledge and develop transferable skills.
"I liked the puppets the most, I made an orange one with button eyes and we used kids' needles." - Year One Pupil
Implementation
In Design and Technology, we implement an inclusive curriculum that meets the statutory requirements of the National Curriculum.
A series of exciting and stimulating lessons are planned, with clear knowledge and skills-based learning objectives and subject-specific vocabulary.
Children are encouraged to be inquisitive about the way products work. Opportunities are given to ask and answer questions, through investigating and analysing a range of existing products. This supports them to create their own design criteria. They then practise, experiment and build on new and prior technical knowledge and skills to create a prototype. Children develop their ideas through discussion, annotated sketches and diagrams, before creating their final piece. We encourage children to evaluate and refine their designs, regularly. Ownership is given to the children, through their choice of materials, components, tools and equipment, to fulfil the product’s design criteria. In addition, children are taught where food comes from, the importance of a healthy and varied diet and how to prepare a nutritional dish.
When possible, enrichment opportunities, such as links with local secondary schools, provide our children with rich experiences and enhance teaching, learning and knowledge.
Our Design and Technology curriculum promotes children’s Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural development, ensuring that they are reflective and responsible citizens. Fundamental British Values are actively promoted in Design and Technology lessons in order to prepare the children for life in Modern Britain.
" I like the fact that we can use tools on our own and we can make very impressive models with a small amount of supplies." - Year 5 Pupil
Impact
In Design & Technology, children acquire a broad range of subject knowledge from cooking to construction skills and draw upon other subjects such as mathematics, science, engineering, computing and art. Children 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.