Design and Technology

Most of the children start at our school with some experience of joining materials creatively to make things, using junk modelling or reclaimed materials.

We aim to instil in our children, an awareness of Design and Technology as part of our everyday lives and to provide opportunities for Design and Technology tasks. We want our children to have the opportunities to explore, design, make, model, test and reflect, as individuals and collaboratively. We aim for our children to become resourceful, enterprising and confident problem solvers.

Our Design and Technology scheme of work has comprehensive cover of the National Curriculum requirements, showing clear progression of knowledge and skills from Reception to Year Two. This year we have begun to use Kapow Primary’s scheme of work for teaching our Design and Technology curriculum.

https://www.kapowprimary.com/subjects/design-technology/

The Kapow scheme of work gives children the opportunity to engage in real life, relevant contexts and processes, immersing them in learning which is memorable, purposeful and practical. It helps the children to think about products in the world around them and question how and why things work the way they do, exploring the designed world in which we live and work.

language development

In order to reduce cognitive overload and develop our children’s working memories, a precise bank of key design and technology vocabulary will be identified in each lesson. This will be planned, taught, used in context and built upon in subsequent lessons through a unit and relevant future topics.

Throughout lessons, we aim for the children to practise using relevant vocabulary in the context of their exploring, planning, making, describing processes and evaluating.

learning behaviours

Individual design and technology lessons will incorporate and require individual, paired and/or group work depending on the tasks. Elements of each unit will require the children to explore, think creatively, join and construct collaboratively, reflect on and modify ideas, solve problems and communicate ideas. We aim for our children to think creatively, being resourceful with the materials and tools they have, as well as being able to generate alternative solutions to a problem. Teachers will aim to communicate when specific school learning behaviours are needed within these lessons.

physical activity

Design and Technology lessons will involve a range of practical hands on tasks, including drawing, joining and constructing. We aim for our children to be able to select appropriate tools and techniques for making a product, whilst knowing and following safe procedures and instructions. We aim for our children to work collaboratively and support each other to hold materials and products stable and to help each other cut and join.

cultural capital

Our design and technology curriculum is linked to each half term’s topic in each year group. Units are mostly linked to subjects such as Science, Humanities and Literacy. We actively encourage our children to apply their knowledge and experience gained from other areas of the curriculum. We also encourage the children to draw on their own cultural experiences. We recognise that children are intrinsically interested in and excited by the idea of making functional products, and we aim to foster a life-long interest in Design and Technology.

We aim to ensure that starting points for units involve research of a broad range of interesting and inspiring products from real life. We also aim to ensure that our children become increasingly aware of making a product for a specific purpose and user, considering the needs of others. Children to begin to develop their knowledge of nutrition and the importance of eating healthily. They will take part in food preparation and cooking activities. They will explore where food comes from.

creative curriculum design and progression

This year we have begun to use Kapow Primary’s Design and Technology scheme of work and resources, which are based on the requirements of the National Curriculum. We aim for our children to develop their working memories and build their knowledge securely over time, usually in the context of a wider curriculum topic, which encourages them to make links between different curriculum areas and help the learning stick.

For Key Stage 1, this scheme is organised into the four key areas of: Mechanisms, structures, textiles, and cooking and nutrition. Each area follows the design process of designing, making and evaluating. Units of learning build on previous units across each year and from year to year. Each unit outlines key knowledge and skills, and unit outcomes. Each lesson outlines the learning objective and success criteria, key vocabulary and questions, opportunities for cross curricular links, adaption and assessment opportunities.

In Reception, we feel that it is vital that our children have the opportunity to develop foundational design and technology skills though having many opportunities to develop their fine motor skills in different contexts, explore materials, join, make and talk about what they have done.

If you were to walk into a Design and Technology lesson at Garden Suburb Infant School, you would see:

All children engaged and enthusiastic to gain knowledge about designing and making products.
Children handling a range of tools and materials confidently and safety, including in the continuous provision in the early years.
Children who can work independently, and are also keen to share and work co-operatively. They take turns, are keen to enquire, explore and ask questions.
Children using subject specific vocabulary, appropriate to their age and stage of development, with understanding and confidence, to talk about different aspects of their work.
A focus on aspects of the designing, making and evaluating cycle.
Children working collaboratively to join, make and solve problems in lessons.
Teachers demonstrating secure subject knowledge, teaching lessons which are explicitly adapted to be both ambitious and to meet the needs of pupils with Special Educational Needs.
Teachers and support staff presenting information and examples of existing products clearly, encouraging appropriate discussion to learn key concepts.
Teachers and support staff helping children to use and apply their knowledge and skills, in a practical context.
A powerful learning environment, including displays which reflect their learning.