The Intent, Implementation and Impact of our Curriculum
Design Technology
Intent
Design and Technology is an inspiring, rigorous and practical subject. Design and Technology encourages children to learn to think and intervene creatively to solve problems both as individuals and as members of a team.
At Monkleigh Primary School, we encourage children to use their creativity and imagination, to design and make products that solve real and relevant problems within a variety of contexts, considering their own and others’ needs, wants and values.
We aim to, wherever possible, link work to other disciplines such as mathematics, science, computing and art. The children are also given opportunities to reflect upon and evaluate past and present design technology, its uses and its effectiveness and are encouraged to become innovators and risk-takers.
We teach children the importance of being healthy, eating well and understanding the importance of eating a balanced diet. At Monkleigh we aim to give children the skills and knowledge to design and make healthy, cost effective and nutritious meals and snacks; to give them opportunities to try new foods and be excited by a variety of options.
Aims
The National Curriculum for Design Technology aims 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
In ensuring high standards of teaching and learning in DT, we implement a curriculum that is progressive throughout the whole school.
DT is taught as part of a termly topic, focusing on knowledge and skills stated in the National Curriculum. This is either taught as a weekly afternoon lesson but usually blocked into a DT week. By blocking DT, it enables children to engage deeply with the topic, regularly adapting and changing their designs and work and develop skills over a shorter period of time. It enables children to learn about specific technical vocabulary and confidently use it to talk about their own work.
DT books are used and carried throughout the school. These books are used to develop and practise skills, to design and evaluate their work. They are used as assessment opportunities for the children and teachers. Feedback is verbal and, where appropriate, challenge is set ongoing through the lessons depending on the need. Where scaffolded learning is required, we have resources and tools to support children and help them succeed. Interventions are in place to support children with their fine motor skills (High 5 fingers).
In the Early Years, there are continuous provision design opportunities: these activities make important contributions to children’s development in the areas of Expressive Arts and Design and Communication and Language. There are also planned activities that form part of a topic.
We have a strong emphasis across our curriculum on developing children’s oracy. Key vocabulary to be taught throughout each scheme of work is explicit and shows progression throughout the school. We want our children to be confident to talk about their designs, their work and evaluate with confidence; understanding the importance of changing and adapting work where necessary.
Impact
The impact and measure of this is to ensure that children at Monkleigh are equipped with designing and making skills and knowledge that will enable them to be ready for the curriculum at Key Stage 3 and for life as an adult in the wider world. It will give them the confidence to be creative in all aspects of life and be proud of the design, making and evaluating skills they have learnt and the work they have produced. It is important children can use these confidently to allow them to access many job opportunities in the future – whether designing, making, a trade, digital design or culinary work. We want children to be able to make healthy and informed decisions about the food they eat, to be able to live a happy and healthy lifestyle and pass this knowledge on in the future for a healthier generation.
We want the children to have thoroughly enjoyed learning about technology, therefore encouraging them to undertake new life experiences now and in the future.
The work given to pupils, over time and across the school, consistently matches the aims of the curriculum. It is coherently planned and sequenced towards cumulatively sufficient knowledge and skills for future learning.
Pupils are making progress in that they know more, remember more, understand more and do more. They are learning what is intended in the curriculum.
All learning builds towards end points, these end points will be in children’s books at the end of each unit of work and demonstrate the learning and impact of the unit of work.
Ready_to_Progress_in_DT.doc.pdf
