The Grove Primary School

Design Technology Curriculum Statement

Intent:

The aims of teaching Design and Technology in our school are to:

• Develop creative, technical and imaginative thinking in children and to develop confidence to participate successfully in an increasingly technological world,
• Enable children to question how things work and to develop their technical knowledge,
• Apply a growing body of knowledge, understanding and skills in order to design and make products for a wide range of users,
• Encourage children to select appropriate tools and techniques when making a product, whilst following safe procedures,
• Foster enjoyment, satisfaction and purpose in designing and making things,
• Critique, evaluate and test their ideas and products, and the work of others,
• Understand and apply the principles of nutrition and to learn how to cook,
• Understand the journey of food to our plates and the impact on the environment,
• Understand how key events and individuals in design and technology have helped shape the world,
• Raise awareness of different career opportunities

Implementation:

To ensure high standards of teaching and learning in Design and Technology, we implement a curriculum that is progressive throughout the whole school. Design and Technology is taught as part of a termly topic, focusing on knowledge and skills stated in the National Curriculum.

The Design and Technology coverage at The Grove Primary School is based upon the 2014 Primary National Curriculum in England, which provides a broad framework and outlines the knowledge and skills taught in each Key Stage. Teachers plan lessons for their class using our progression of knowledge and skills document. Teachers can use this document to plan their Design and Technology lessons suitable to their class’s interests and what they want to learn about. The progression document ensures the curriculum is covered and the skills/knowledge taught is progressive from year group to year group.

When teaching Design and Technology a variety of teaching approaches are used based on the teacher’s judgement. Children showing extensive aptitude in Design and Technology will be celebrated following the schools reward system and provided with opportunities to expand their interests such as afterschool clubs and exposure to competitions.

At The Grove Primary School, we provide a variety of opportunities for Design and Technology learning to take place inside and outside the classroom, such as in our woodland area and outdoor classroom. Educational visits are another opportunity for the teachers to plan for additional Design and Technology learning outside the classroom (such as local restaurants and local walks to observe structure). In recent years, teachers in UPKS2 have linked with local secondary schools to use their facilities, technology and expertise for example providing CPD for staff (2019).

Alongside our curriculum provision for Design and Technology, we also provide all pupils with the opportunity to participate in DT based after school clubs (such as Lego club, craft clubs and S.T.E.M clubs).

Impact:

Within Design and Technology, we strive to prepare children to take part in the development of tomorrow’s rapidly changing world. We aim to encourage children to become creative problem-solvers, both as individuals and as part of a team.  We provide children with opportunities to reflect on and evaluate present and past design and technology, its uses and its impact. We strive to create as many cross curriculum links as possible, such as Roman architecture and Viking diets.

We measure the impact of our curriculum through the following methods:

• Assessing children’s understanding of topic linked vocabulary after the unit is taught.
• Images and videos of the children’s practical learning
• Interviewing the pupils about their learning (pupil voice).
• Moderation staff meetings where pupil’s books are scrutinised and there is the opportunity for a dialogue between teachers to understand their class’s work.
• Annual reporting of standards across the curriculum.
• Marking of work in books.