Design & Technology
At Corporation Road, through design and technology children 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. At Corporation Road, we would like children to draw on skills from a range of subjects such as mathematics, science, computing and art. Pupils learn how to take risks, becoming resourceful, innovative, enterprising and capable citizens.
Design and technology education begins well before children begin their formal schooling. Children constantly explore their world through a variety of activities and it is vital for us to continue to extend this. The child’s increasing understanding of the process of design and technology should match their intellectual and physical development throughout their primary education.
Intent
- Use creativity and innovation to design purposeful and appealing products for themselves and for others that solve real and relevant problems within a variety of contexts.
- Use a range of tools, safely, confidently and skilfully, selecting on a fit for purpose basis.
- Articulate their ideas in a variety of formats.
- Evaluate their work against a design criteria, considering their own and others’ views in how to modify and improve work whilst demonstrating resilience and respect.
- Develop a critical understanding of the impact of design on our daily lives through a study inventors, designers, engineers and chefs who have developed ground breaking products.
- To have fun, be challenged, work with others and learn in a practical context
- Leave KS2 with a firm grasps of the design, make, evaluate cycle, through the 5 key areas of DT:
- Food Technology
- Textiles
- Structures
- Mechanisms
- Electrical Systems (linked to Computing curriculum)
The curriculum is supported and delivered through the DT Association advocated approach of ‘Projects on a Page’.
National Curriculum
Key stage 1
Through a variety of creative and practical activities, pupils should be taught the knowledge, understanding and skills needed to engage in an iterative process of designing and making. They should work in a range of relevant contexts [for example, the home and school, gardens and playgrounds, the local community, industry and the wider environment].
When designing and making, pupils should be taught to:
Design
- design purposeful, functional, appealing products for themselves and other users based on design criteria
- generate, develop, model and communicate their ideas through talking, drawing, templates, mock-ups and, where appropriate, information and communication technology
Make
- select from and use a range of tools and equipment to perform practical tasks [for example, cutting, shaping, joining and finishing]
- select from and use a wide range of materials and components, including construction materials, textiles and ingredients, according to their characteristics
Evaluate
- explore and evaluate a range of existing products
- evaluate their ideas and products against design criteria
Technical knowledge
- build structures, exploring how they can be made stronger, stiffer and more stable
- explore and use mechanisms [for example, levers, sliders, wheels and axles], in their products.
Key stage 2
Through a variety of creative and practical activities, pupils should be taught the knowledge, understanding and skills needed to engage in an iterative process of designing and making. They should work in a range of relevant contexts [for example, the home, school, leisure, culture, enterprise, industry and the wider environment].
When designing and making, pupils should be taught to:
Design
- use research and develop design criteria to inform the design of innovative, functional, appealing products that are fit for purpose, aimed at particular individuals or groups
- generate, develop, model and communicate their ideas through discussion, annotated sketches, cross-sectional and exploded diagrams, prototypes, pattern pieces and computer-aided design
Make
- select from and use a wider range of tools and equipment to perform practical tasks [for example, cutting, shaping, joining and finishing], accurately
- select from and use a wider range of materials and components, including construction materials, textiles and ingredients, according to their functional properties and aesthetic qualities
Evaluate
- investigate and analyse a range of existing products
- evaluate their ideas and products against their own design criteria and consider the views of others to improve their work
- understand how key events and individuals in design and technology have helped shape the world
Technical knowledge
- apply their understanding of how to strengthen, stiffen and reinforce more complex structures
- understand and use mechanical systems in their products [for example, gears, pulleys, cams, levers and linkages]
- understand and use electrical systems in their products [for example, series circuits incorporating switches, bulbs, buzzers and motors]
- apply their understanding of computing to program, monitor and control their products.
Cooking and nutrition
As part of their work with food, pupils should be taught how to cook and apply the principles of nutrition and healthy eating. Instilling a love of cooking in pupils will also open a door to one of the great expressions of human creativity.
Learning how to cook is a crucial life skill that enables pupils to feed themselves and others affordably and well, now and in later life.
Pupils should be taught to:
Key stage 1
- use the basic principles of a healthy and varied diet to prepare dishes
- understand where food comes from.
Key stage 2
- understand and apply the principles of a healthy and varied diet
- prepare and cook a variety of predominantly savoury dishes using a range of cooking techniques
- understand seasonality, and know where and how a variety of ingredients are grown, reared, caught and processed.
