Design and Technology CURRICULUM

What is our vision for DT?

At WHPS, we provide a broad and balanced curriculum across all subjects, which develops the individual child according to their age and ability. We want all of our children to leave WHPS as:

Fluent readers with a love of books and excellent comprehension.
Fluent mathematicians, with a confidence in problem-solving and reasoning.
Clear and engaging writers who can communicate their thoughts and feelings.
Happy, healthy, interested children with a range of experiences, memories and knowledge of a broad and deep-rooted curriculum.

The curriculum in DT supports this by drawing on the child’s knowledge and experience from other subject areas, particularly English, Maths, Science and Art. Children have opportunities to make their own products inspired by items that are already available, or they can use the knowledge they have acquired through design and technology and other subjects to create a product in response to a new idea. Design and Technology should always be a relevant, enjoyable and creative activity for all children.

Intent

What are our aims in the teaching of DT?

We believe that children learn best through a curriculum that has rigour, challenge, depth and breadth, and which connects all areas of learning. At WHPS, we intend our students to:

Develop in children an understanding of the designing and making process, the need to evaluate existing ideas and products and an ability to work through the process confidently.
Ensure that by the end of key stage 2, children are able to work more independently, and with confidence in design and technology.
Make children more aware of the ways in which everyday objects have been designed and made.
Enable children to become more confident and skilled in using the range of tools and materials available in school.

This links to the National Curriculum for DT, which aims to ensure that all children:

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
Critique, evaluate and test their ideas and products and the work of others
Understand and apply the principles of nutrition and learn how to cook.

How have you designed the curriculum for DT to ensure that it covers the National Curriculum?

The curriculum for DT has been carefully planned to ensure coverage of the National Curriculum aims and objectives. Where possible, links are made with the history, geography or science units which are covered during the term.

Our DT projects are categorised into 5 different themes: cooking, structures, mechanical systems, electrical systems and textiles. Cooking and nutrition develop children’s knowledge or cooking and food preparation methods and their understanding of ingredients as they progress through the school. The skills and knowledge that children learn during units of work on textiles, structures and mechanical and electrical systems are revisited and developed. Throughout their time at WHPS, children have the opportunity to work independently and collaboratively to research, design, make and evaluate their products.

Implementation

What is the content of DT at WHPS?

Our curriculum is designed to:

Be clear about what knowledge children will learn, and in which order, throughout their time at our school.
Provide regular opportunities for children to review and apply prior learning to interrupt forgetting.
Provide enrichment opportunities that enhance and develop children’s learning.

The curriculum map provides further details on the objectives covered in D.T and the progression of knowledge and skills in each year group.

How is DT taught at WHPS?

DT lessons are taught by class teachers, using planning developed alongside subject leads. Children take part in regular lessons throughout each term. Ideas and suggestions from the DT association are available to support class teachers in the planning of lessons.

At WHPS, we believe that high-quality teaching and learning in DT includes:

Identifying the user of the product, considering their needs and wants
Being clear on the purpose of the product and the task it needs to complete.
Designing and making products that work in order to fulfil the users’ needs and wants.
Children making their own decisions, drawing on their creativity, experience, and knowledge from previous DT and other subjects.
Encouraging children to be original with their thinking by using open-ended starting points for learning.
Evaluating what has gone well and what could be improved.

We also recognise that there are many elements of excellent practice that are consistent across all subjects, which are included in our WHPS Teaching Standards for teachers to refer to and implement.

How are planning and resources for DT organised?

Every year group has a Year on a Page Overview, which provides an overview of units covered throughout the year, and a Foundation Subject Overview, which includes all of the objectives covered in each subject each term. Planning for all subjects is saved in the WHPS Curriculum folder for teachers to access.

How do we ensure that all children have access to the DT curriculum?

At WHPS, we aim to provide equal access to the curriculum for all children. We believe that all children can achieve and we value and promote each child’s achievements across every subject. We give our children every opportunity to achieve their best by taking account of our children’s range of life experiences when planning for their learning. We regularly review our curriculum and the resources we use to ensure that our teaching reflects equality and respects diversity. All teachers will adapt lessons and resources to provide support for individuals with SEND or other needs.

In DT this support may include:

Adapted tools for cutting and shaping to meet physical needs.
Linking problems to learning in other subjects to provide context and draw on prior knowledge.
Providing real life examples of products which meet certain needs.
Prepared structures for planning to organise thinking and reduce cognitive load.

How do we assess learning in DT?

Assessment for learning is an important part of every lesson at WHPS in order to check children’s knowledge and understanding. Lessons are carefully planned to provide opportunities for teachers to assess children’s knowledge in a range of ways, which can then support them to adapt future lessons appropriately. Any written work is record in Wider Curriculum books and is clearly marked with the subject name and learning objective. However, we also recognise that a more active or practical approach may be relevant for some objectives, which is detailed in the unit plans developed by teachers and the subject lead.

In DT, assessment opportunities include:

Children’s self-assessment against the design criteria.
Adult observation and questioning.

Impact

How do we monitor the impact of our teaching in DT?

Leaders regularly monitor teaching and learning across the subject throughout the year. Monitoring takes place through:

Planning scrutiny to ensure that planned lessons match the learning objectives and outcomes provided in unit plans
Book looks to ensure that outcomes reflect those provided in unit plans and check that children are making good progress within the subject
Pupil voice to understand children’s perspectives on their learning in the subject and explore whether they have remembered the knowledge identified in the curriculum maps
Learning walks to see teaching and learning in action across the school and ensure highquality teaching is taking place
Teacher surveys or informal conversations to ensure that teachers are confident in their subject knowledge and identify any support needed

Strengths and next steps identified during monitoring are recorded on our monitoring overview document and discussed with SLT.