Design & Technology
Subject Leader: Rebecca Powers
Through our Design and Technology scheme of work, we aim to build an awareness of the impact of design and technology on our lives and encourage pupils to become resourceful, enterprising citizens who will have the skills to collaborate with others and contribute to future design advancements. Our scheme of work aims to inspire pupils to be innovative and creative thinkers who have an appreciation for the product design cycle through ideation, creation, and evaluation. Children learn the language needed to share, evaluate and improve their ideas and creations. Our scheme of work is inclusive, enabling pupils to meet the end of key stage attainment targets in the National Curriculum. Children are given the opportunity to design and make a wide range of products making their lessons exciting and memorable. We want pupils to be bold and develop the confidence to take risks, through drafting design concepts, modelling, and testing and to be reflective learners who evaluate their work and the work of others.
At Corby Primary Academy, we follow the Kapow Design and Technology scheme of work. The Design and Technology National Curriculum outlines the three main stages of the design process: design, make and evaluate. Each stage of the design process is underpinned by technical knowledge which encompasses the contextual, historical, and technical understanding required for each strand. Cooking and nutrition* has a separate section, with a focus on specific principles, skills and techniques in food, including where food comes from, diet and seasonality.
The National Curriculum organises the Design and Technology attainment targets under five subheadings or strands:
- Technical knowledge
- Cooking and nutrition*
Kapow Primary’s Design and Technology scheme has a clear progression of skills and knowledge within these five strands across each year group.
Pupils respond to design briefs and scenarios that require consideration of the needs of others, developing their skills in six key areas:
- Cooking and nutrition (Food)
- Electrical systems (KS2) and
- Digital world (KS2)
- Each of the key areas follows the design process (design, make and evaluate) and has a particular theme and focus from the technical knowledge or cooking and nutrition section of the curriculum. The Kapow Primary scheme is a spiral curriculum, with key areas revisited again and again with increasing complexity, allowing pupils to revisit and build on their previous learning.
- Lessons incorporate a range of teaching strategies from independent tasks, paired and group work including practical hands-on, computer-based and inventive tasks. This variety means that lessons are engaging and appeal to those with a variety of learning styles. Differentiated guidance is available for every lesson to ensure that lessons can be accessed by all pupils and opportunities to stretch pupils’ learning are available when required. Knowledge organisers for each unit support pupils in building a foundation of factual knowledge by encouraging recall of key facts and vocabulary.
- Pupils should leave school equipped with a range of skills to enable them to succeed in their secondary education and be innovative and resourceful members of society.
Design and Technology education involves two important elements – learning about the designed and made world and how things work, and learning to design and make functional products for particular purposes and users.
In Design and Technology, children acquire and apply knowledge and understanding of materials and components, mechanisms and control systems, structures, existing products, quality and health and safety.
Children are encouraged to be creative and innovative, and are actively encouraged to think about important issues such as sustainability and enterprise.
The expected impact of our Design and technology scheme of work is that children will:
- Understand the functional and aesthetic properties of a range of materials and resources.
- Understand how to use and combine tools to carry out different processes for shaping, decorating, and manufacturing products.
- Build and apply a repertoire of skills, knowledge and understanding to produce high quality, innovative outcomes, including models, prototypes, CAD, and products to fulfil the needs of users, clients, and scenarios.
- Understand and apply the principles of healthy eating, diets, and recipes, including key processes, food groups and cooking equipment.
- Have an appreciation for key individuals, inventions, and events in history and of today that impact our world.
- Recognise where our decisions can impact the wider world in terms of community, social and environmental issues.
- Self-evaluate and reflect on learning at different stages and identify areas to improve.
- Meet the end of key stage expectations outlined in the National Curriculum for Design and technology.