Design and Technology
Curriculum Intent |
At The Holy Spirit Catholic Primary School, we intend to build an design and technology curriculum which develops learning and results in the acquisition of knowldge and skills. Children will know more, remember more and understand more. We aim for our design and technology curriculum to include appropriate subject knowledge, skills and understanding as set out in the National Curriculum Design Technology Programmes of study. We encourage children to show the creativity and imagination to design, make and evaluate products that are useful in real life situations. Children are encouraged to reflect on designs and opportunities to alter design for purpose with effectiveness for puropse in mind. We encourage children to become innovative thinkers and risk takers. Design and Technowology is linked to other areas of the curriculum where possible.
Our Curriculum Drivers: |
Spirituality: As a Catholic School we are driven by a spiritually rich curriculum that holds Gospel values at its heart, encompassing the importance of British values and Equality.
Possibilities: A curriculum that provides quality experiences, encouraging our children to have high aspiration for their future and to be aware of all the opportunities available to them.
Resilience: Our curriculum encourages children to learn how to think well, it seeks to remove barriers to learning through growth mind-set, developing problem-solving skills and bounce-back ability.
Implementation |
Master practical techniques :
This concept involves learning and understanding new techniques, implementing technical and practical knowledge and using subject specific vocabulary.
Take inspiration from design :
Design, make, evaluate and improve :
These threshold concepts underpin learning in each milestone. This enables pupils to reinforce and build upon prior learning, make connections and develop subject specific language.
The vertical accumulation of knowledge and skills from Years 1 to 6 is mapped as follows:
Milestone 1 - Year 1 & Year 2 | Milestone 2 - Year 3 and Year 4 | Milestone 3 - Year 5 & Year 6 | |
Master practical techniques |
Materials
• Cut materials safely using tools provided. • Measure and mark out to the nearest centimetre. • Demonstrate a range of cutting and shaping techniques (such as tearing, cutting, folding and curling). • Demonstrate a range of joining techniques (such as gluing, using hinges or combining materials to strengthen). Structures • Practise drilling, screwing, gluing and nailing materials to make and strengthen products. Mechanisms • Create products using levers, wheels and winding mechanisms. Food and nutrition • Cut, peel and grate ingredients safely and hygienically. • Measure or weigh using measuring cups or electronic scales. • Assemble and cook ingredients. |
Materials • Cut materials accurately and safely by selecting appropriate tools. • Measure and mark out to the nearest millimetre. • Apply appropriate cutting and shaping techniques that include cuts within the perimeter of the material (such as slots or cut outs). • Select appropriate joining techniques. Electrics and computing • Create products with series and parallel circuits. • Control and monitor models using apps designed for this purpose. Mechanisms • Use scientific knowledge of the transference of forces to choose appropriate mechanisms for a product (such as linked levers or pneumatics). Structures • Choose suitable techniques to construct products or to repair items. • Strengthen materials using suitable techniques. Food and nutrition • Prepare ingredients hygienically using appropriate utensils. • Measure ingredients accurately to the nearest gram. • Follow a recipe. • Assemble and cook ingredients (controlling |
Materials • Cut materials with precision and refine the finish with appropriate tools (such as sanding wood after cutting or using a more precise scissor cut after roughly cutting out a shape). • Show an understanding of the qualities of materials in order to choose appropriate tools to cut and shape (e.g. the nature of fabric may require sharper scissors than would be used to cut paper). Electrics and computing • Create products using electronics kits that employ a number of components (such as LEDs and resistors). • Write code to control and monitor models or products. Structures • Develop a range of practical skills to create products (such as cutting, drilling and screwing, nailing, gluing, filing and sanding). Mechanisms • Convert rotary motion to linear using cams. • Use innovative combinations of electronics (or computing) and mechanics in product designs. Food and nutrition • Understand the importance of correct storage and handling of ingredients (using knowledge of micro-organisms). • Measure accurately and calculate ratios of ingredients to scale up or down from a recipe. • Demonstrate a range of baking and cooking techniques. • Create and refine recipes, including ingredients, methods, cooking times and temperatures. |
Take inspiration from design |
• Explore objects and designs to identify
likes and dislikes. • Suggest improvements to existing designs. • Explore how products have been created. |
• Identify some of the great designers in all of the areas of study (including pioneers in horticultural techniques) to generate ideas for designs. • Improve upon existing designs, giving reasons for choices. • Disassemble products to understand how they work. |
• Combine elements of design from a range of inspirational designers throughout history, giving reasons for choices. • Create innovative designs that improve upon existing products. • Evaluate the design of products so as to suggest improvements to the user experience. |
Design, make, avaluate and improve |
• Design products that have a clear
purpose and an intended user. • Make products, refining the design as work progresses. • Use software to design. |
• Design with purpose by identifying
opportunities to design. • Make products by working efficiently (such as by carefully selecting materials). • Refine work and techniques as work progresses, continually evaluating the product design. • Use apps to design and represent product designs. |
• Design with the user in mind, motivated
by the service a product will offer (rather than simply for profit). • Make products through stages of prototypes, making continual refinements. • Ensure products have a high-quality finish, using art skills where appropriate. • Use prototypes, cross-sectional diagrams and computer-aided designs to represent designs. |
Aspirations |
- Fashion Designer
- Chef
- Carpenter
- Software engineer
For more careers, please visit First Careers.
Impact |
Children will have clear enjoyment and confidence in design and technology that they will then apply to other areas of the curriculum. Children will ultimately know more, remember more and understand more about Design Technology, demonstrating this knowledge when using tools or skills in other areas of the curriculum and in opportunities out of school. The large majority of children will achieve age related expectations in Design Technology - this will be decided using a mixture of summative and formative assessment. Children will develop life skills such as cooking, designing, repairing and evaluating. Children learn how to take risks, becoming resourceful, innovative, enterprising and capable citizens. High-quality design and technology education makes an essential contribution to the creativity, culture, wealth and well-being of the nation.