Curriculum Intent
At Sutton Bonington Primary School, we teach children that Design and Technology helps us to understand the process of how we come up with solutions to solve everyday problems.
Our intention for DT is for children to be inspired by engineers, designers, chefs and architects to enable them to create a range of structures, mechanisms, textiles, electrical systems and food products with a real-life purpose. We believe that high-quality DT lessons will inspire children to think independently, innovatively and develop creative, procedural and technical understanding. Our DT curriculum provides children with opportunities to research, represent their ideas, explore and investigate, develop their ideas, make a product and evaluate their work. Children will be exposed to a wide range of media including textiles, food and woodwork; through this, children will develop their skills, vocabulary and resilience.
Our curriculum intent is inline with that of the National Curriculum for Design and Technology.
Curriculum Implementation
Children take part in three Design and Technology units per year. These are taught within a half term in line with our coverage document.
The units of work are well sequenced to provide a coherent subject scheme that develops children’s designing, planning, making and evaluating skills. Each unit is based around a design and technology subject focus of either structures, mechanisms (including electricity), cooking and nutrition or textiles. Within a unit, children explore existing products before designing, making, testing and evaluating their own. The specific content of each unit is drawn from our knowledge and skills progression document to ensure appropriate pitch for the different year groups. Each unit also sets out key vocabulary that children are expected to be able to use. Units contain approximately 6 lessons.
Children’s written work and photographs are recorded in their sketchbooks. Each piece of work is dated and includes a learning objective in the form ‘to know…’ or ‘to know how…’
Within the Early Years Curriculum, children in Reception experience Design and Technology curriculum through the ‘Creating with Materials’ early learning goal.
Adaptations for children with special educational needs and disabilities are made in line with our SEND Curriculum Adaptations document. These may include the use of additional scaffolding, explicit instruction, cognitive and metacognitive strategies, flexible groupings and use of specific resources or technology.
Where possible, opportunities for curriculum enrichment within Design and Technology are exploited. For example, children may receive visits from craftspeople and engineers or visit places such as the local university. They may also take part in STEM based activities and competitions.
Opportunities for children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural development through Design Technology are also explored where appropriate. For examples, pupils’ cultural awareness is developed through the exploration of foods, textiles and sculptures from different cultures and periods of time. Social responsibility is promoted through ensuring the safe use of equipment and following rules and procedures. Children morally consider the impact of using certain materials on the environment while creative thinking and problem solving helps to improve our children’s self-confidence, self esteem and spiritual development.
Curriculum Impact
By the end of Key Stage 2, we aim for our children to have developed the creative, technical and practical expertise needed to perform everyday tasks confidently and to participate successfully in an increasingly technological world. They will be able to build upon a range of knowledge, skills and understanding in order to design and make high-quality prototypes and products for a wide range of users. When reflecting, they will be able to critique, evaluate and test their ideas and products and the work of others. They will be able to understand and apply the principles of nutrition and will have learnt some aspects of cookery.
We assess the impact of our curriculum through examining children’s work, talking with and questioning children as well as making observations and setting specific tasks. Teacher assessment is ongoing throughout the year with a formal summative assessment made and recorded at the end of the summer term.