Design & Technology

Express your imagination and creativity without limits!

We are Designers

'The best designs come from taking a close look at the world around us and seeing things differently'

James Dyson

Why should we learn about Design and Technology?

Design and technology helps to prepare children for the developing world. The subject encourages children to become creative problem-solvers, both as individuals and as part of a team. Through the study of design and technology, they combine practical skills with an understanding of aesthetic, social and environmental issues. Design and Technology helps all children to become discriminating, informed consumers and potential innovators. It should assist children in developing a greater awareness and understanding of how everyday products are designed and made.

Design and Technology is often one of a child’s favourite subjects. Children like making decisions for themselves and doing practical work. They love creating products they can see, touch – and even taste – for themselves. They feel proud to have done so.

At St Matthew's we endeavour to plan and teach creative, awe-inspiring Design and Technology projects which captivate our young designers. Here they will be given the opportunity to hone their design skills, while learning to use a range of tools and computer software, and implement this in practical tasks.

How will it help children in later life?

Pupils learn how to take risks, becoming resourceful, innovative, enterprising and capable citizens.
Develop the creative, technical and practical expertise needed to perform everyday tasks confidently and to participate successfully in an increasingly technological world.
Build and apply a repertoire of knowledge, understanding and skills in order to design and make high-quality prototypes and products for a wide range of users.
Understand and apply the principles of nutrition and learn how to cook.
Develop a critical understanding of its impact on daily life and the wider world.
Make an essential contribution to the creativity, culture, wealth and well-being of the nation.
Subject knowledge acquired is a spring board into careers such as mathematics, science, engineering, computing and art.
A thorough knowledge of which tools, equipment and materials to use to make products.

What do we want for St Matthew's children?

We live in an ever-changing world, fuelled by technology and innovation. The study of design technology teaches children to think outside the box, to develop their own ideas and to respond to identified needs and opportunities, preparing them for life in the world of tomorrow. It gives children the chance to work through a creative process that is more structured and action-orientated; making or adapting existing products and systems.

At St Matthew's, we aim to equip our children with both the creative and investigative skills they need to excel across the primary curriculum and beyond. The transferable skills they are taught in design technology marry closely with their learning in history, science, mathematics and art, and open up a wealth of opportunities for pupils to have future careers in engineering, architecture, culinary practices and product design, among others.

Children are taught how to problem solve, and will work creatively on shared projects to solve a specific brief, where they will organise, delegate and implement their collective ideas. We encourage children to ask questions and seek answers through practical exploration, thus becoming more resourceful and inquisitive.

Intent

At St Matthew’s, we place great importance on a curriculum which develops the whole child, inspiring us as God’s children to achieve our potential and shine brightly in our own unique way. Art, craft and design embody some of the highest forms of human creativity. A high-quality art and design education should engage, inspire and challenge pupils, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to experiment, invent and create their own works of art, craft and design. As pupils progress, they should be able to think critically and develop a more rigorous understanding of art and design. They should also know how art and design both reflect and shape our history, and contribute to the culture, creativity and wealth of our nation.

Implementation

Our Design and Technology topics aim to ensure pupils produce creative work, exploring their ideas. The National curriculum outline three main stages of the design process: design, make and evaluate. Each stage of the design process is underpinned by technical knowledge which encompasses the contextual, historical, and technical understanding required for each strand. Cooking and nutrition has a separate section, with a focus on specific principles, skills and techniques in food, including health and safety, where food comes from, diet and seasonality.

The National curriculum organises the Design and Technology attainment targets under five subheadings or strands:

Design
Make
Evaluate
Technical knowledge
Cooking and nutrition

Our Design and Technology scheme has a clear progression of skills and knowledge within these five strands across each year group.

Pupils respond to design briefs and scenarios that require consideration of the needs of others, developing their skills in six key areas:

Mechanisms
Structures
Textiles
Cooking and Nutrition (Food)
Electrical systems (KS2) and
Digital world (KS2)

Each of our key areas follows the design process (design, make and evaluate) and has a particular theme and focus from the technical knowledge or cooking and nutrition section of the curriculum.

Design and technology overview

How do we deliver this effectively?

Here at St Matthew's, we use the Kapow scheme of work which fulfils the statutory requirements outlined in the national curriculum (2014) and for EYFS (Reception) links are made to Development Matters and the Early Learning Goals. The national curriculum Programme of study for Design and Technology aims to ensure that all pupils:

The Kapow Scheme of work is organised into six key areas. Each area is divided into 4 strands of design, make, evaluate and technical knowledge. The six key areas are revisited each year, with Electrical Systems and Digital World beginning in Key Stage 2.

The Design and technology National Curriculum outlines the three main stages of the design process: design, make and evaluate. Each Kapow Primary unit follows these stages, to form a full project. Each stage of the design process is underpinned by technical knowledge which encompasses the contextual, historical and technical understanding, required for each strand.

What does this look like?

Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)

In Early Years, child-led learning is integral to the curriculum. Supporting children in following and exploring their own interests encourages them to explore their practical design and making skills through a combination of child-led and adult-directed activities. These include sewing and weaving, junk-modelling, building using construction kits (e.g. Lego, Duplo, blocks), cookery, bakery and others aspects of creative play through one of the 7 areas of learning – Expressive arts and design. In this area, pupils develop their imagination, creativity and their ability to use media and materials and work towards the Early Learning Goals.

Children at the expected level of development will:

Safely use and explore a variety of materials, tools and techniques, experimenting with colour, design, texture, form and function
Share their creations, explaining the process they have used
Make use of props and materials when role playing characters in narratives and stories

As we work through our EYFS reception units, children will have plenty of opportunities to get to know each of these areas, as they explore different materials, processes and outcomes. Children do this in a range of ways including junk modelling, playing with colours, textures and designs. This emerging knowledge and understanding can be used to explore crucial early design and making skills. By the time children are in Reception, they will be increasingly able to use what they have learnt to independently explore their own practical and creative design ideas, including making for a purpose or for a particular person. Free access to resources is key, and so children have a dedicated construction area and access to recycled materials every day.

The early learning goals in the EYFS aim to guide children in their exploration and experimentation of materials, tools, colours and textures. Through this, they can begin to attribute meaning to the models and designs they make. Their experiences in the EYFS form the foundation for future learning in Design Technology.

Key Stage One (Years One and Two)

In years 1 and 2, children begin to design for a given purpose, or for a specified person or group of people – the user. Children learn to use their knowledge of existing products to help inspire their own designs, and be will introduced to some key designers and products through time. They will be introduced to the ‘design cycle’, and will start to communicate their ideas through talking and drawing. They will be supported in using simple design criteria to develop these ideas. Children will begin to say how their products will work, and how they will make them suitable for their users.

Across Key Stage 1 pupils learn core foundation skills across the key areas of cookery, construction and textiles, for example: threading a needle, basic sewing stitches, cutting and joining materials, strengthening basic structures, and measuring and cutting ingredients. How to be safe and hygienic whilst using specific tools will be taught and revisited consistently throughout all units.

Throughout the design cycle, children will be encouraged to talk about their design ideas and what they are making. By the end of the Key Stage, children will be making simple judgements about their products using specific design criteria, and suggesting how their products or designs could be improved.

Key Stage Two (Years Three to Six)

Across Key Stage 2, children continue to immerse themselves in practical textiles, construction and cookery sessions, building upon their understanding and experiences of design from Key Stage 1. Children will become increasingly confident in understanding and working through the ‘design cycle’, and this will form the basis of all teaching. They will continue to design based on a target user and will learn how to gather information about the user’s wants and needs, using this to inform their designs. By Upper Key Stage 2, this research will take the form of surveys, interviews and web-based investigation. Children will be able to indicate key features of their design that will appeal to their intended users, and explain how particular parts of their products work.

Building upon the foundation of core skills taught in Key Stage 1, pupils will begin to use a wider range of materials and tools with improved precision and deftness. They will be introduced to techniques that involve a number of steps, and will be taught how to select suitable tools and materials to suit particular methods. Building upon the skills taught in previous years, children will be sewing, finishing textiles, assembling and joining components and preparing ingredients with increasing accuracy. By the end of the Key Stage, pupils will be demonstrating resourcefulness when tackling practical problems.

Children will use design criteria to evaluate their completed products, identifying strengths and areas for development in their own outcomes, as well as those of their peers. By Upper Key Stage 2, children will consider the views of others, including their target users, to improve and amend their design ideas. By the end of the key stage, children will able to assess the quality of their designs, including their manufacture and fitness for purpose. They will explore important and impactful designers and existing products throughout history, consider other areas of design such as sustainability and cost-effectiveness, and begin to think about the impact products may have beyond their intended purpose.

Progression of Knowledge, Skills and Understanding

The Kapow Primary scheme of work has been designed as a spiral curriculum with the following key principles in mind:

Cyclical: Children return to the key areas again and again during their time in primary school.
Increasing depth: Each time a key area is revisited it is covered with greater complexity.
Prior Knowledge: Upon returning to each key area, prior knowledge is utilised so pupils can build upon previous foundations, rather than starting again.

Consistent progression in design technology is essential and our ‘Progression of Skills and Understanding’ document clearly outlines how children will develop year-on-year.

DT Progression of skills and knowledge

As with all learning at St Matthew's, technical vocabulary acquisition is prioritised and correct spellings and vocabulary are insisted upon and modelled at all times.

Impact

By the end of each key stage, pupils are expected to know, apply and understand the matters, skills and processes within the Design and Technology curriculum. Pupils will leave St Matthew’s with a secure understanding of the academic content of our national curriculum; with the understanding of how to be socially, morally, spiritually and culturally responsible and aware. They will have a clear understanding of how to make positive contributions to the local community and be able to endeavour to be the best that they can be. We aim for all of our children to leave St Matthews as respectful, skilful, ambitious young people with a thirst for life and all it has to offer.

Inclusion

Adaptive teaching is key to delivering an effective and inclusive curriculum. All pupils' starting points are considered and activities and work is matched to ensure pupils reach their full potential, whilst supporting the child's learning. Adult support, a range of activities, equipment, scaffolding, questioning and resources can enable children of all abilities to access learning.

Our school will ensure that:

all children have entitlement to a broad and balanced, enriching curriculum
all children enjoy an active involvement in Design and Technology
all children have opportunities to experience a broad and balanced range of DT activities
all children have opportunities to learn about DT from different times and cultures
all children will be given equal access to the experience of Design and Technology regardless of their gender, race, disability, medical or other needs
teachers use a variety of approaches that are matched to the activity and the ability of the children