Design and Technology

Intent

It is our intention that Design and Technology at EHPS is aspirational, enabling and inclusive, as well as:

  • ambitious

  • innovative

  • inspiring

  • rigorous and

  • practical

Our curriculum is in line with The National Curriculum.

At EHPS, we intend for our Design and Technology curriculum to allow children to use their imagination and creativity to design, make and evaluate a range of products with different purposes within a variety of contexts.

Through diagonal links to other areas of the curriculum, we intend for our Design and Technology curriculum to be relevant, purposeful and for children to understand how the skills and knowledge that they learn can be transferred to their everyday lives.

Through our curriculum we intend for our children to:

  • Develop their imagination, critical thinking and their understanding of the world around them through an appreciation of Design and Technology.

  • Develop the technical knowledge and vocabulary in relation to structural design, mechanical and electrical systems, textiles, food production and nutrition.

  • Question and think innovatively about the world around them in order to design and develop their own products with a purpose in mind.

  • Apply their knowledge and skills to plan, make, test and evaluate prototypes and design products to meet a purpose for something or someone.

  • Learn how to design and follow their own recipes and learn how to cook, whilst applying the principles of good nutrition and healthy eating.

  • Think critically in order to evaluate their past prototypes and during the process of testing their current designs.

By the end of Key Stage 2, we intend for our children to show a coherent knowledge of a range of practical skills (e.g. cutting, shaping, joining and finishing), demonstrate an ability to apply these skills and talk about their work using relevant technical language. We also intend for them to have the capabilities to design, make and test their own ideas and designs, whilst considering whether their product is fit for purpose.

 

Implementation Overview

At East Hunsbury Primary School, we implement our D&T curriculum using the planning, guidance and resources supplied through the scheme Kapow. This scheme is used throughout NPAT schools and was chosen carefully to ensure skill progression, continuity across the key stages and to match the scope and ambition of the National Curriculum.

Children will be taught Structures, Textiles, Mechanisms, Food, Electrical Systems and Digital World, within Design and Technology and will develop a deeper understanding of how to apply investigating, designing, making and evaluating skills throughout each unit of work.

The curriculum will be implemented through a project base approach which will include: 

  • Activities which involve investigating and evaluating existing products.

  • Focused tasks in which children develop aspects of knowledge and skills.

  • Activities in which children design and make something for a specific use or specific user.

Lessons will be practical, where appropriate, and purposeful, with the children having access to a range of resources and materials.

Substantive and disciplinary knowledge and skill progression will be cumulative with vertical and horizontal links connecting the units running throughout the school.

 

Impact

The impact of our curriculum will be assessed through a multi-faceted approach including:

  • Teacher observations, quizzes and questioning,

  • Completed products from the practical tasks,

  • The ability to critique and evaluate their own and others’ designs and products,

  • Pupil voice,

  • Lesson observations.

Pupil attainment in D&T is recorded on Insight annually at the end of the summer term.

Design and Technology will be taught in all year groups, in blocks of approximately 6 lessons, three times a year. The topics have been carefully planned into the timetable to build upon the children’s prior knowledge in Design and Technology, as well as across the curriculum within subjects such as science. Structures, Textiles, Food and Mechanisms are taught within KS1 and KS2 to allow for continuous skill progression throughout each unit, with the addition of Electrical Systems and Digital World in KS2 to coincide with science and computing units.

D&T

Term 1   

 

Term 2

Term 3

Term 4

Term 5   

 Term 6

 

Reception

 

Seasonal

Hibernation Boxes

Textiles

Bookmarks

Structures

Boats

Food

Soup

Structures

Junk Modelling

Year One

  

 

Food

Smoothies

(Yr1, Su1)

 

 

Textiles

Puppets

(Yr1, Sp1)

 

 

Structures

Baby Bear’s Chair

(Yr2, Sp2)

Year Two

  

 

Mechanisms

Making a Moving Monster

(Yr2, Sp1)

 

 

Textiles

Pouches

(Yr2, Su1)

 

 

Food

Eating Seasonally

(Yr3, Su1)

Year Three     

  

 

Textiles

Cushions

(Yr3, Au1)

 

 

Mechanical Systems

Pneumatic Toys

(Yr3, Sp1)

 

 

Structures

Pavilions

(Yr4, Su1)

Year Four

  

 

Digital World

Wearable Technology

(Yr3, Sp2)

 

 

Food

Adapting a Recipe

(Yr4, Sp2)

 

 

 

 

Electrical Systems

Torches

(Yr4, Au1)

Year Five

  

 

Structures

Bridges

(Yr5, Sp2)

 

 

Textiles

Fastenings (with additional skills)

(Yr4, Su2)

 

 

Mechanical Systems

Mechanical Cars

(Yr4, Au1)

 

 

 

Year Six

 

 

 

 

  

 

Food

Developing a Recipe

(Yr5, Sp1)

 

 

Electrical systems

Steady Hand Game

Yr(6, Su1)

 

 

Digital World

Navigating the World

(Yr6, Au1)

Combined with Computing ‘Sensing - Microbits’

The children’s Design and Technology learning journey starts in our Early Years where they will learn, through Expressive Arts and Design and Physical Development (fine motor skills), to:

  • Use a range of small tools, including scissors, paintbrushes and cutlery.

  • Safely explore a variety of materials, tools and techniques, experimenting with colour, texture, form and function.

  • Share their creations, explaining the processes they have used.

Alongside this, the children are taught about Structures, Textiles and Food through the scheme Kapow. This knowledge and skill base will then be built upon in Year 1.

Our curriculum has been sequenced to allow children to make clear and consistent progress in Design and Technology. Building on from the Early Years, the children in Key Stage 1 will be provided with opportunities to learn new skills and techniques within relevant contexts; exploring, designing and making products that serve a purpose for a particular person. In Key Stage 2, the children will further develop their skills in different contexts, for example, leisure, enterprise, industry and the wider environment. Pupils will be taught to apply existing knowledge from other curriculum areas (such as electrical circuits in science) to create more complex designs for products created to meet the needs of an individual, group or industry.

Enrichment in design and technology takes place alongside the curriculum. The children apply the skills they have developed within each unit of work to produce products with specific purposes.

At East Hunsbury Primary School, we deliver enrichment through Earth Day; an annual celebration that focuses on the impact we are having on our planet. This event incorporates elements of D&T, science and geography. Some of the topics the children learn about are:

  • Recycling

  • Pollination

  • Plastic and sea pollution

  • Extreme weather

  • Renewable energy

  • Climate change

Additionally, clubs are another aspect of D&T enrichment and include clubs such as Lego club and cooking club.

The British Values of Democracy, Rule of Law, Individual Liberty, Mutual Respect and Tolerance are actively promoted at East Hunsbury Primary and are threaded throughout the Design and Technology curriculum to provide opportunities for children’s further understanding.

Democracy:

  • Children are encouraged to take turns when speaking and working practically with others.

  • Children are supported to consider the views and opinions of others, while still having the right to make their own decisions.

  • Children are presented with opportunities to support their understanding that it is not always possible, or right, to have their own way and to recognise of the value of compromise.

Rule of Law:

  • Children develop an understanding of the importance of safety rules when using different tools.

  • Children understand and accept that there are consequences if safety rules are not followed e.g. equipment is taken away.

  • Children are expected to take responsibility for all the equipment used when working in D&T.

Individual Liberty:

  • Children are provided with opportunities to express themselves through the design and creation of a variety of products.

  • Children understand that it is important to listen to the ideas of others, which may not be the same as theirs but are equally valid.

Mutual Respect:

  • Children are expected to listen carefully to the ideas of others and consider their ideas and opinions even if they differ from their own.

  • Children are able to take turns during discussions to make decisions or resolve difficulties.

  • Children are reminded to treat each other equally and with respect, regardless of attainment.

  • Children are supported to positively critique each other’s work in a constructive manner, whilst showing respect for their peers.

Tolerance:

  • Children learn to accept and appreciate that the ideas of others that may not be the same as their own.

  • Children understand that designs ideas originate from different cultures and religions.

The protected characteristics are actively promoted throughout our curriculum to ensure that pupils have an age-appropriate knowledge and understanding of the nine protected characteristics. Our curriculum, including D&T, ensures that, as a school, we:

  • Eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct that is prohibited by or under the Equality Act 2010.

  • Provide equality for all.

  • Foster good relations between persons.

Our Design and Technology curriculum is inclusive by design and enables each child access to the learning through quality first teaching. Support for disadvantaged pupils, and those with SEND, is individualised, based on careful consideration of the children’s needs, and ensures everyone has what they need to succeed and secure the knowledge and skills associated with our Design and Technology curriculum.

Aspects of Design and Technology are included within the Education Teams ‘Our World’ and ‘Careers and Aspirations’, which aim to provide opportunities for the children at East Hunsbury Primary to deepen their learning beyond the curriculum.

As part of ‘Our World’, the children participate in the annual celebration Earth Day. Throughout this event, the children develop their practical D&T skills (such as cutting, sewing, joining, etc), critical thinking (through the processes of designing and evaluating their products) and understanding of the importance of our planet, as well as the impact we are having on it.

The ‘Careers and Aspirations’ Team incorporates Design and Technology throughout its bi-annual Careers Fair. This event is an introduction to a variety of jobs and what they consist of, allowing the children to meet members of our community, which have previously included parents who are designers and engineers for Formula 1 teams such as Red Bull and Haas, as well as other companies such as Jaguar.  

Alongside this, Year 6 pupils partake in an annual STEAM event, which takes place at the University of Northampton. This day centres around promoting and inspiring children’s engagement in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics and allows them to discover new passions, unique jobs and opportunities for their future education.