INTENT

Through a range of design explorations, children at Cotford St Luke and the wider Tone Valley Partnership within the schools catchment area examine products used in our everyday lives and reflect on present and past design and technology, its use and effectiveness. From this, they are able to design products to suit varying design briefs, combining practical skills with an understanding of aesthetics. They also develop their appreciation of the relative merits of form and function and improve their skills of evaluation.

Many additional activities are linked to D.T through the quests that we pursue each term.  We have a school kitchen that has ovens and an additional small oven for supporting the food element of the curriculum.

The following skills are what we aim to teach all children at Cotford St Luke.

All D.T lessons comprise of a process including design, make and evaluate. Technical knowledge is inbuilt into lessons and projects.  From KS1 all teachers follow Projects on a page planning tools to ensure progression of skills and knowledge as the children move between different year groups.

At Cotford St Luke, we endeavour to plan and deliver a design technology curriculum that is inspiring, rigorous, and practical. We want our children to use 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 intend for all children to acquire appropriate subject knowledge, skills and understanding as set out in the National Curriculum. It is our aim to create strong cross-curricular links with other subjects, such as Mathematics, Science, Computing and Art. We aspire for design and technology to prepare our children, to give them the opportunities, responsibilities, and experiences they need to be successful in later life

IMPLEMENTATION

Design and Technology is a crucial part of school life and learning; it is for this reason that as a school we are dedicated to the teaching and delivery of a high-quality design and technology curriculum. This is implemented through:

• A well thought out (2-year cycle) overview of the curriculum which allows for progression across all year groups in all areas of design technology (textiles, mechanisms, structures, food and electrical systems.)
• Well planned and resourced projects providing children with a hands-on and enriching experience.
• A range of skills being taught ensuring that children are aware of health and safety issues related to the tasks undertaken.
• Teachers being given ownership and flexibility to plan for design and technology; often teaching DT as a block of lessons to allow the time needed for the children to be critical, inventive and reflective on their work.
• Each project from Year 1 to Year 6 will address the principles of designing, making, and evaluating and incorporating relevant technical knowledge and understanding in relevant contexts.
• Children being introduced to specific designers, chefs, nutritionists, etc. helping to engender an appreciation of human creativity and achievement and increase the cultural capital from which they can draw in the future.

EARLY YEARS FOUNDATION STAGE:

During the EYFS, children explore and use a variety of media and materials through a combination of child initiated and adult directed activities. They have the opportunities to learn to:

• Use different media and materials to express their own ideas.
• Use what they have learnt about media and materials in original ways, thinking about form, function and purpose.
• Make plans and construct with a purpose in mind using a variety of resources.
• Develop skills to use simple tools and techniques appropriately, effectively and safely.
• Select appropriate resources for a product and adapt their work where necessary.
• Cook and prepare food adhering to good health and hygiene routines.

IMPACT

Our Design Technology Curriculum has been structured to demonstrate the progression of knowledge and skills and ensures that children can build on their understanding, as each new concept and skill is taught with opportunities for children to revisit skills and knowledge as they progress through school. 

We assess the children’s application of design technology skills through observation of their work on tasks, contribution to class discussion and peer discussions.  

We measure the impact of our curriculum using learning walks, scrutiny of the children’s physical portfolios and discussions with the children about their learning; which includes discussion of their thoughts, ideas, processing and evaluations of work. 

Design and Technology is led by: Miss Knight