“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.”

Maya Angelou

Intent

At Bladon, we intend to build an inspiring and practical Design and Technology curriculum that allows children to be creative and original thinkers. We would like to facilitate learning opportunities where children can explore, learn and practise a range of techniques, skills, methods and mediums successfully to increase their knowledge of the Design and Technology curriculum strands. We want our pupils to value the process of learning and acquiring skills and knowledge, not just the final product. We strive for our pupils to become critical thinkers and problem-solvers where they feel confident to test and evaluate their work against specifications and can then learn from their experiences. We encourage children to think carefully about the products and prototypes they make by helping them to consider the purpose and target audience of their creations. We do this by encouraging teachers to make strong cross-curricular links with other subjects such as history, maths, science, computing and art to support children to transfer and use their skills and knowledge across the curriculum.

Implementation

Due to our mixed year groups, we plan and teach the knowledge, understanding and skills needed to engage in the process of designing and making over a 2-year cycle. We ensure curriculum coverage by breaking down the skills and knowledge from the National Curriculum into steps of progression and milestones in key areas for each key stage, guided by the Chris Quigley Education Milestones. Our Design and Technology curriculum is broken down into the following key areas of learning:

• Food and Nutrition
• Material
• Textiles
• Electricals and electronics
• Computing
• Construction
• Mechanics

We recognise the importance of developing children’s confidence in their design ideas and the design process (design, make, evaluate) over time so that they can build upon the long-lasting life skills that the Design and Technology curriculum provides for them. From EYFS to Year 6, children will experience new tools, materials, mediums, equipment, methods and processes as they learn, or build upon, new knowledge and skills throughout each Design and Technology unit.

We ensure that we provide exciting and challenging opportunities throughout each key stage for children to learn, practise and develop the technical knowledge, vocabulary, key skills and design techniques. Our cross-curricular approach to planning and teaching enables the children to learn and apply their knowledge and skills in a variety of practical and real-life contexts, helping them to understand the influence and impact that Design and Technology has on daily life, especially in a modernised world. Art and Design is usually taught in alternate half-terms/terms to Design and Technology but sometimes these subjects are linked, as part of our cross-curricular approach.

In Design and Technology lessons, children are given opportunities to work creatively and develop their ideas independently, in pairs, small groups and sometimes, collaboratively as a whole class. All children work towards the same objectives, but lessons are differentiated and adapted to address potential learning barriers and those that need to be challenged further. We strive to meet the learning needs of all our pupils by ensuring learning the knowledge and skills in Design and Technology is accessible to all children and every child should be challenged at their own level.

We assess the children formatively through observation and questioning throughout each design process. We collect a portfolio of work from each class, that represents various parts of the curriculum, to help us make accurate and informed judgements about the level they are working at in each key area of the curriculum. In Key Stage 1 and 2, we have developed the use of sketch books for children to record and practise the different techniques they learn, the mediums they use and resources and research that they study and collect for inspiration. In Early Years and Reception, the children have a learning journal where the children can record and document their learning. We also use Tapestry to record the children’s Art and Design learning journey. As we strive to make Design and Technology lessons to be as practical and engaging as possible, we often take pictures and videos of the design process to show the children developing their skills and knowledge through each part of the learning sequence.

Impact

• The children have a positive attitude to learning, independent working and working collaboratively to develop ideas, prototypes and final products
• We develop a child’s individuality, originality, and confidence in expressing themselves through Design and Technology
• The children have an understanding of food sources, seasonality, food groups and the principles for healthy eating
• The children can use key vocabulary accurately to describe their work and how it functions
• The children can effectively analyse and critique their own work and the work of others to identify their own personal development
• The children have the ability to ask thought-provoking and leading questions to develop their knowledge and skills
• The children have an appreciation of key individuals who have helped to develop Design and Technology throughout history
• The children understand that Design and Technology appears in many forms, and they appreciate how it has helped shape history and culture
• The children have the knowledge, opportunity and ability to select, use and combine materials, mediums, processes, tools, equipment and techniques skilfully and successfully for shaping, joining, constructing, decorating, and manufacturing products
• The children understand that the Design, Make and Evaluate structure requires a process and learning journey that begins with innovative ideas with an audience and purpose in mind
• Children can evaluate if their product is fit for purpose and use
• The children can use time efficiently to plan, design, make and evaluate their designs and products by working and productively
• Children can use materials carefully and work safely, ethically, responsibility and hygienically