Design Technology
Design Technology Intent, Implementation, and Impact
‘Growing Global Citizens’
Intent
At Broseley C of E Primary School, we believe in building a design technology curriculum which is inspiring, creative, and practical – fit for the modern world in which we live. We want our children to become citizens that can see solutions to problems and have the thought processes to solve the problems.
Engaging in a problem-solving based, design curriculum, will ensure that pupils will gain knowledge and skills and will have the ability to engage positively with the designed and made world. They will experience how modern technology can serve a purpose for individual needs and broaden their minds about the world and the people in it.
We believe that by opening up the ‘problem’ to the children, it will spark their curiosity whilst allowing them the freedom to explore their own creativity; use their imagination; and think analytically whilst having the confidence to enjoy exploring new techniques and developing new skills. Our open-ended question approach will show children that there is always another approach to a situation – a fundamental skill in problem solving.
Through the study of ‘Design and Technology’, the children will achieve what is set out in the programmes of study in National Curriculum. They will combine the technical knowledge with designing, making, and evaluating. They will gain an understanding of aesthetic, social and environmental issues as well as reflecting upon their own work, work of others and reflecting upon how key events and individuals have shaped the world in which they live.
Design and technology is already in and is moving further towards a computerised approach. Modern designers and big companies solve problems using technology. We believe it is important for our children to see how aspects of the design process can be achieved using technology. We try to incorporate up to date software in order to give our children computing experience in designing and making.
We also seek to inspire our children to open up their horizons as to what can be achieved in their future. We seek to inspire them with current and historical influential designers, makers, chefs, manufacturers and engineers so the children know how they have contributed to the current creativity, culture, wealth and well-being of the nation.
Aiming high in a digitalised, modern world is key to our design and technology curriculum yet a grounding in practical life skills is also necessary to the development of children. We believe that a secure grounding in basic life skills is also necessary. Healthy nutrition and cooking is vital for health and well-being. Nutritional cooking is taught in each year group as we want our children to be healthy children leading to healthy adults.
Our aim is to empower our children so they can aspire to become an expert in the rapidly expanding world of Design and Technology. We want children to be solution driven thinkers of the future.
Implementation: How is Design Technology taught at Broseley C of E?
The curriculum is carefully sequenced to ensure that pupils build on the knowledge and skills they have been taught. In addition to this, the key design and technology threads are built into each unit of work. The 6 threads in which our units are considered and built up from include: user, purpose, functionality, design decisions, innovation, and authenticity. Teachers will plan to incorporate these key aspects into their sequence of learning.
User: Pupils should have a clear idea of who they are designing and making products for, considering
their needs, wants, values, interests and preferences
Purpose: Pupils should be able to clearly communicate the purpose of the products they are designing and making. Each product they create should be designed to perform one or more defined tasks.
Functionality: Pupils should design and make products that work/function effectively in order to fulfil users’ needs, wants and purposes.
Design Decisions: Pupils need opportunities to make their own design decisions. Making design decisions allows pupils to demonstrate their creative, technical and practical expertise, and use learning from other subjects.
Innovation: When designing and making, pupils need some scope to be original with their thinking. Projects that encourage innovation lead to a range of design ideas and products being developed and are characterised by engaging open-ended starting points for learning.
Authenticity: Pupils should design and make products that are believable, real and meaningful to themselves and others.
Our medium terms plans are designed to create consistency throughout our approach to teaching Design and Technology. Each teacher will plan on our shared planning document. This will ensure the progression will be built into our teaching and learning. Each unit of work requires the teachers to focus directly on the skills taken from the National Curriculum in the key areas of designing, making, evaluation and technical knowledge. We use our school progression document so teachers can break down the skills in small enough steps to be manageable for their age of child. Once the objectives have clearly been identified, we use ‘Projects on a Page’ to help us structure the body of the lessons.
Planning is sequenced in the following way to ensure consistency when moving between year groups and key stages in preparation for transition to secondary school and beyond. Although this sequence is not fully followed in Reception, teachers in the EYFS team ensure that key elements of Design Technology learning are addressed.
Design Technology excursions and incursions are planned to inspire children, to allow them a glimpse into the future of which they will soon be stepping out into. At Broseley, we have guest speakers from all aspects of industry. Further to this, we aim to take as many children into experiencing the working world of technology as we can.
Design and Technology in EYFS
During the EYFS pupils explore and use a variety of media and materials through a combination of child initiated and adult directed activities.
They have the opportunities to learn to:
• Use different media and materials to express their own ideas
• Use what they have learnt about media and materials in original ways, thinking about form, function, and purpose
• Make plans and construct with a purpose in mind using a variety of resources
• Develop skills to use simple tools and techniques appropriately, effectively and safely
• Select appropriate resources for a product and adapt their work where necessary
• Cook and prepare food adhering to good health and hygiene routines
Prior to the start of each Design Technology unit
Each learning sequence will begin with also focuses on previously taught skills so that children can consolidate and recap what prior knowledge that they have. These might be a revision of practical skills such as peeling, grating, and chopping to a revision of the vocabulary associated with free standing structures. Key vocabulary from previous units will be studied at the start of each new unit.
The ‘Big’ Problem
Each learning sequence will begin with a ‘Big’ problem to be solved such as:
Year 2 – freestanding structures unit ‘How can we get a car across from Benthall to Ironbridge?’
Year 6 cooking and nutrition – Can you design, make, and evaluate a savoury ‘on the go’ snack (product) for Year 5 (user) to eat after they have completed the science exercise plan (purpose)?
Children are told that the knowledge and skills gained throughout the topic will allow them to answer this ‘Big’ question using a range of design, making and technical skills. This is how we are developing our learners to becoming good problem solvers.
Sharing the project title.
Each project will have a title, so all children are clear on what is expected from them. It also reinforces the vocabulary associated with designing, making, and evaluating.
Design, make and evaluate a _______ (product) for _________ (user) for __________ (purpose).
Investigative and evaluative activities. (IEAs)
At the start of the project, children will be given chance to experience some IEAs. These are opportunities to research and discover, to learn about existing products and D&T in the wider world. This is the children’s opportunity to reflect upon what is already available in order to help them solve their problem. They may be required to disassemble products, sample ingredients, and compare existing products all with a purpose to broaden their understanding.
Focused tasks
In order to solve a problem, children are going to need new technical knowledge and skills. By completing focused tasks, the children can practise and experience new skills that they might choose to develop when solving their problem. The knowledge of skills gained here will be drawn upon to make informed decisions later in the design process.
Design, Make and Evaluative Activities (DMEAs)
This is the part of the process where the children use the skills taken from the National Curriculum and the progression document to solve their problem. It is the chance for our learners to develop their creativity, make decisions and solve the problem. For the younger children, the brief might be quite closed while the teachers focus on developing one of the key aspects of learning. As the children progress through school, children will develop their autonomy in more of the key aspects – previously mentioned above.
Digital technology
In KS2, we will be developing our digital technologies to include 2D CAD design, 3D CAD design and programming and control. The children will use software including Silhouette Studio and Tinkercad. Further to this, in UKS2 we are part of the STEM National Centre for Computing Education which allows us blocked access to whole class Microbit and Crumble technology packs. This access allows us hardware to develop programming and control into our DT units.
INSPIRE it
Through out school, we all focus on finding influential people and companies (current and historical) to share with the children. We will endeavour to make these sessions as practical we can with the excursions and incursions to raise the awareness of what has been achieved by others.
Independent work
During the independent work section, pupils apply their knowledge to a task. Tasks are differentiated to provide a scaffold for pupils who may need it. All pupils have the opportunity to meet the same learning objective.
Support for Pupils with SEND
At the beginning of each unit of work, key pieces of knowledge for the unit are selected and work takes place to ensure that pupils with SEND are retaining and building on this. In addition, scaffolding ensures that pupils can meet the same learning objective as their peers. If equipment needs to be altered to allow inclusion, the teachers will ask the DT co-ordinator to investigate this.
Health and safety.
Considering risk and how to manage it is a key skill that our pupils need to develop. Even though the risks are mainly considered and maintained by the teaching staff, it is important that children are encouraged to become part of this thinking process. The children need to develop their own self-awareness and awareness of the safety of others within their environment. Demonstrations and key safety information will always be shared with the children.
Assessment
There is no formal written assessment of the projects in Design Technology. Instead, the children are encouraged to become reflective and evaluate their own success. Further to this, we encourage the children to seek feedback from their intended ‘user’. This can be in the form of a questionnaire, verbal and written questioning.
Presentation
At Broseley C of E, Design and Technology is planned and delivered at a very high standard, and we set very high expectations for the students in the lesson. We expect the work in their books to be at the same standard as their core lesson books. Often photographs of final projects will be incorporated into any written evidence. Floor books will be developed as a way of presenting a complete final project.
Impact
The impact on our children will be measured through various means: pupil voice, observations, learning walks and work scrutinies.
Work will be shared with an intended audience so that real feedback can be given in order to support the children in their evaluative skills.