Our Intention
The teaching and learning of Design Technology at St.Thomas’ is based around a clear, coherent, and robust curriculum, that allows all learners to develop design skills and talents in a meaningful and progressive way, regardless of ability.
Children are provided with opportunities to explore, generate, and develop ideas, acquire new skills, and express themselves, whilst developing an understanding of the world around them. It also allows for an appreciation of the wider world through the exploration of cultural diversity, ideas behind designs, different designers and architects.
Children are encouraged to work both collaboratively and individually, sharing skills and achievements. They are supported in becoming resilient, independent learners, working creatively and responsibly, and provided with opportunities to feedback on experiences based around their own learning. Positive experiences enhance future learning and enable them to utilise aspects of Design technology in their everyday lives, becoming creative problem solvers.
Implementation
We follow a broad and balanced Design and Technology curriculum based on the ‘Kapow’ scheme of work for primary schools. It is a scheme that enables children to effectively build on previous learning and provides both support and challenge for learners, whilst adhering to the requirements of the National Curriculum.
All year groups from year one to year six will have a scheduled Design and Technology lesson most weeks, in alternating terms. Where possible, opportunities are taken to link these lessons to the wider curriculum or adapted accordingly, whilst ensuring the coverage of key skills. Children’s work and pictures of their work will be recorded and presented in a book, specifically for Design and technology and where written work is not relevant, photographic evidence will be recorded for reference and assessment. We recognise that the skills learned through the subject of Design and technology should be, as far as possible, implemented in other areas of the curriculum. children will be given opportunities to voice their opinions through questionnaires and help to inform teachers for future learning.
Find out more about the scheme at https://www.kapowprimary.com/subjects/design-technology/
Impact
Our children enjoy and value Design and Technology and it is important that they know why they are doing things, not just how, with a view to a ‘bigger picture’. Children understand and appreciate the value of Design and Technology in the context of their personal wellbeing and through the study of creative and culturally diverse industries and designers. Progress in Design and Technology is demonstrated through regularly reviewing, evaluating and scrutinising children’s work in accordance with our Design and Technology assessment policy to ensure that progression of skills is taking place, with formal assessment at the end of each unit.
Our Design and Technology curriculum will contribute to children’s personal development in creativity, independence, working collaboratively, judgement and self-reflection. This will be evident in them being able to talk confidently about their work, sharing their work and opinions with others and being proud of their achievements. Progress will be shown through judgement against outcomes and through the important record of the process leading to them.
