Intent:

At St Columba's Catholic Primary School design and technology is fully inclusive to every child. Our aims are to: fulfil the requirements of the National Curriculum for design and technology, provide a broad and balanced curriculum, ensure the progressive development of knowledge and skills, to learn how to take risks, becoming resourceful, innovative, enterprising and capable citizens through evaluation of past and present design and technology, develop a critical understanding of its impact on daily life and the wider world, to participate successfully in an increasingly technological world using the language of design and technology. At St Columba's we block teach our DT curriculum so that our children fully immerse themselves in their projects and see them to a conclusion, while also having time to evaluate and reflect on their work.

The aims of teaching design and technology in our school are:

• Develop creative, technical and imaginative thinking in children and to develop confidence to participate successfully in an increasingly technological world.
• Enable children to talk about how things work and to develop their technical knowledge,
• Apply a growing body of knowledge, understanding and skills in order to design and make prototypes and products for a wide range of users,
• Encourage children to select appropriate tools and techniques when making a product, whilst following safe procedures,
• Develop an understanding of technological processes and products, their manufacture and their contribution to our society,
• Foster enjoyment, satisfaction and purpose in designing and making things,
• Critique, evaluate and test their ideas and products, and the work of others,
• Understand and apply the principles of nutrition and to learn how to cook,
• Understand how key events and individuals in design and technology have helped shape the world.

Design Technology

Intent

At St Columba’s Catholic Primary School, we intend to build a Design Technology curriculum which develops learning and results in the acquisition of knowledge and skills. Children will know more, remember more and understand more. We intend to design a design technology curriculum with appropriate subject knowledge, skills and understanding as set out in the National Curriculum Design Technology Programmes of study, to fulfil the duties of the NC whereby schools must provide a balanced and broadly-based curriculum which promotes the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils and prepares them for the opportunities and responsibilities and experiences for later life.

Implementation

- Clear and comprehensive scheme of work in line with the National Curriculum. The Design Technology National Curriculum and EYFS is planned for and covered in full within the EYFS, KS1 and KS2 school curriculum. Whilst the EYFS and National Curriculum forms the foundation of our curriculum, we make sure that children learn additional skills, knowledge and understanding and enhance our curriculum as and when necessary.

-Delivery of design and technology projects with a clear structure. Each year group will undertake a construction topic, a textile topic and a food/drink topic.

-Delivery showing clear following of the design process where each project fill follows: research, design, make and evaluate.

-A range of skills will be taught ensuring that children are aware of health and safety issues related to the tasks undertaken.

-Clear and appropriate cross curricular links to underpin learning in multi areas across the curriculum giving the children opportunities to learn life skills and apply skills to ‘hands on’ situations in a purposeful context.


-Design Technology focussed displays in every classroom alongside celebrating the outstanding three dimensional creations on display throughout the school. These displays celebrate exceptional practice and exemplify terminology and vocabulary used.

Impact

-Children will have clear enjoyment and confidence in design and technology that they will then apply to other areas of the curriculum.

-Children will ultimately know more, remember more and understand more about Design Technology, demonstrating this knowledge when using tools or skills in other areas of the curriculum and in opportunities out of school.

-The large majority of children will achieve age related expectations in Design Technology.

-As designers children will develop skills and attributes they can use beyond school and into adulthood.