Intent

At Newbold Church School it is our intent that Design and Technology is an inspiring, practical, meaningful and memorable subject.  Using creativity and imagination, pupils design and make products that solve real and relevant problems within a variety of contexts, considering their own and others’ needs, wants and values.  One project will be taught each half term, as a block over at least 1 day to ensure continuity, progression and to enable a focus on the process as well as the end product. Topics are cross-curricular and support a broad range of subject knowledge, drawing on disciplines such as mathematics, science, engineering, computing and art.  

Within Design and Technology children will learn and build on a range of practical and technical skills (see progression of skills), testing their ideas and critiquing and evaluating both their own products and the work of others.  Across all year groups children should be designing and making something for somebody for some purpose, known as the target audience.  There will be increased opportunities for computer aided design and the use of programmable computer systems within one unit in KS2.

Implementation

Our curriculum offers a range of exciting units that solve real and relevant problems. Through these units, we also learn and apply a set of technical skills and knowledge. The units include structures, mechanisms, electrical control and a range of materials, including food. The children also draw upon knowledge and skills also used within Maths, Science, Computing and Art.

We implement the curriculum by giving the children real and relevant problems to solve, making cross curricular links to broaden their understanding, offering enrichment opportunities like workshops and competitions and creating real products that serve a purpose.

Impact

Children will have a set of DT skills embedded. They can talk about real life designers or designs and the impact they have had on the world. They have developed and become confident in the many characteristics of learning such as: resilience, resourcefulness, creativity and problem solving.

We use a range of strategies to assess these skills and knowledge including the following:

• Book monitoring
• Self assessment 
• Pupil voice
• Feedback from each lesson