Our Design Technology Curriculum
St Paul’s C.E. Primary School
Design Technology Curriculum Statement 2022 – 2023.
INTENT
At St Paul’s we have designed our D&T curriculum to be inclusive and accessible for all children. We believe that the teaching of D7T is essential for all children across all age ranges. It is an important subject which helps us provide a broad and balanced curriculum
Design Technology helps us to develop as reflective learners, as we work through the design process. Through design technology, we are able to work collaboratively to solve problems and find solutions, teaching us to deal with uncertainty whilst developing communication, organisational and other practical life skills. In design technology, we learn to appreciate the needs of others, the built environment and the likely impact of future technologies.
It is our aim, as educators, to provide children with the skills to understand, interpret, analyse and evaluate different designs. As the children progress, we hope to instil in them the ability to think critically and develop their own understanding of art and design.
We aim to provide all children with the skills and knowledge to achieve at least the agreed age expectations in Art and design. We hope that they foster a love of art and use this to express themselves in a variety of contexts.
IMPLEMENTATION
At St Paul’s we follow the Dimensions Learning Means the World curriculum and D&T is taught through thematic units, both through Skills Development Tasks and through design projects. The Satellite View maps out which thematic units feature this subject and clearly shows the objectives taught. Design Technology is taught through a combination of subject knowledge, skill building and design and make projects. Food technology is also taught through thematic units and our 3D PSHE programme. Learning takes place both inside and outside the classroom.
We learn about:-
Mechanisms
Sliders
Levers
Structures
Textiles
Food technology
Electronics
We also complete design technology projects in each phase for specified clients e.g. the pirate, the evil genius, allowing pupils the opportunity to both experiment and apply their knowledge and skills.
In the EYFS, we focus on the specific areas of exploring and using media and materials as well as expanding their imaginations.
In order to embed knowledge and skills into long term memory, each year group builds upon and uses prior skills to further push the children to reach their full potential. Learning, experimenting and trialling new techniques should be presented in the children’s Art/DT books which should be individual to every child and move through school with them.
IMPACT
Children enjoy D&T and are keen to experiment and try new techniques which will allow them to explore their creativity. This is evidenced through the children’s art/D&T books and the work that they produce. They are inspired by different design skills that we study and this is reflected in the work around school. They are able to use transferable skills and are well prepared for the next stage of their learning journey.
All children will make good progress and achieve at least age expected standard in D&T.