Design and Technology

Design and Technology Policy

Intent

At Shakespeare Primary School, we believe that through the teaching of Design & Technology, we can contribute to the quality of our children’s lives, both within and beyond school. We see design and technology as a means to support learning in a range of ways. The skills that are developed in this subject can be transferred across the curriculum and thus aid learning. Design and Technology is an inspiring, rigorous and practical subject. It encourages children to learn to think and intervene creatively to solve problems both as individuals and as members of a team. Children are encouraged to use their creativity and imagination in order to design and make products which solve real life problems. Children consider a range of contexts and are encouraged to consider their own and others’ wants and needs. At Shakespeare, our children are given the opportunity to evaluate past and present design and technology in order for them to develop an understanding of its impact on daily life and the wider world.

As a school and in accordance with the National Curriculum’s expectations, we aim to ensure that all pupils:

develop the creative, technical and practical expertise needed to perform everyday tasks confidently and to participate successfully in an increasingly technological world
build and apply a repertoire of knowledge, understanding and skills in order to design and make high-quality prototypes and products for a wide range of users
critique, evaluate and test their ideas and products and the work of others
understand and apply the principles of nutrition and learn how to cook

Implementation

A set of three D&T projects are completed by each year group at Shakespeare. Cooking and nutrition will take place in every year group, with children developing an understanding of where food comes from, the importance of a varied and healthy diet and how to prepare this as well as developing healthy, safe and hygienic practice for food preparation.

The other two projects taught will cover the areas of textiles, structures and mechanical and electrical systems. The skills and knowledge taught in these areas will be returned to and built upon every two years.

The time dedicated to D&T ensures that each topic can be delivered to a high standard and children can create important and useful products. Resources are plentiful and allow children to be clever and creative when designing and making their products. All children are challenged during D&T lessons through continuous verbal feedback and through problems presented to them. We encourage our children to design their products iteratively and evaluate as they are working, always thinking of ways in which they could improve their product. Children are encouraged to consider the impact their product can have on the wider world, this ensures they realise the difference their products may make in the future.

Progression of Skills and Knowledge in Design Technology

Design Technology Long Term Plan

Impact

In design and technology, each topic ends with all children being given the opportunity to consolidate their skills by creating an individual final product. These products are a fantastic way for children to demonstrate their designing process and the skills they have learnt in order to produce their end product. Throughout the designing process, each D&T lesson builds on the skills learnt in the previous lesson and children’s skills are improved throughout each topic. The progression of skills throughout the school is clear to see through the quality of the products the children in each year group create. Assessment of children’s learning takes place in each lesson as class teachers monitor children’s understanding, knowledge and skills through questioning and observation. This assessment can then be used to inform differentiation, support and challenge required by the children.