Design and Technology
Intent
At the Queens’ Federation we aim to foster ‘Learning for Life.’
We will provide a rich, relevant and inspirational curriculum that promotes a lifelong love of learning and equips our pupils with the key knowledge and understanding, skills and personal qualities that they will need to thrive in a rapidly changing world. Our curriculum is designed to be relevant to our children and is linked to the context of our school and the local community.
The intent of our Design Technology curriculum is to provide opportunities for pupils to learn and apply skills required in the designing, making and evaluating of an effective product for a specific user and a given purpose.
Design and technology lessons will enable pupils to learn about the world in which we live. They will inspire them to think independently and innovatively and use their creativity and imagination to design and make products that solve real and relevant problems within a variety of contexts. Pupils will be given opportunities to reflect upon past and present design technology, its uses in daily life, the wider world and its effectiveness.
Implementation
Our Design Technology curriculum is built around five key elements: mechanisms, construction, food technology, textiles and electrical systems. Each area is revisited, building upon pupil’s prior knowledge and understanding of each element. Skills and knowledge are built upon year by year and are sequenced appropriately to maximize learning for all pupils. Throughout each element, pupils will follow the cycle of research, design, make and evaluate. The design process will be based on real life, relevant contexts which provide meaning to learning. While making, pupils will be given choice and a range of tools to choose freely from. When evaluating, pupils will be able to evaluate their own products, adapting and improving them against design criteria. Each stage will be given equal weighting and evidence of each stage will be seen in Design Technology books. Pupils will be made aware of health and safety issues related to all tasks undertaken.
Our Design and Technology curriculum is enriched, wherever possible, through links to learning in other curriculum areas such as mathematics, science, computing and art. Our curriculum is enhanced through the use of visits and visitors.
We view assessment as a holistic process, which takes place in every lesson through observation of, in questioning and in conversation with pupils and in the production of written outcomes. Design Technology assessment criteria set out the key knowledge and skills that a pupil should achieve at the end of each unit of work.
Impact
Our curriculum aims to ensure that pupils leave the Queens’ Federation with the skills, knowledge and understanding to become discriminating and informed users of products and innovative citizens. It will enable pupils to develop a greater awareness and understanding of how everyday products are designed and use their creativity and imagination to create their own high quality products. Pupil outcomes evidence a broad and balanced design and technology curriculum and at the end of each year, pupils achieve age related expectations and retain the knowledge and skills learnt from each unit of work.
Yearly Overview
Design and technology at Queen Emma is linked very closely to the topics. Below is a table which shows the work children complete each half term in the different year groups. For each topic there is an element of designing, making (which will involve the use of a wide range of materials) and evaluating.
| Autumn 1 | Autumn 2 | Spring 1 | Spring 2 | Summer 1 | Summer 2 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Y1 |
Design, Make and Evaluate: Moving Vehicle Focus: Mechanical Systems (Wheels and Axles) |
Design, Make and Evaluate: 2D Castle Picture with Moving Parts Focus: Mechanical Systems (Sliders and Levers) |
Cooking and Nutrition: Preparing Dish for a Healthy Picnic Focus: Cooking and Nutrition (Know where food comes from / Fruits and Vegetables / 5 a day) |
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|
Y2 |
Design, Make, Evaluate: Freestanding Structure – A Bridge Focus: Structures |
Design, Make and Evaluate: Sandwich Making Focus: Cooking and Nutrition (Eatwell Plate) |
Design, Make and Evaluate: Felt Puppet Focus: Textiles (Templates and Joining Techniques – Running Stitch) |
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| Y3 |
Design, Make and Evaluate: Gift Boxes Focus: Shell Structures / using CAD |
Design, Make and Evaluate: Greek Feast Focus: Cooking and Nutrition (Healthy and Varied Diet / From Source to Plate) |
Design, Make and Evaluate: Pirate Puppet / Moving Picture Focus: Mechanical Systems (Levers and Linkages) |
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| Y4 |
Design, Make and Evaluate: Decoration / Christmas Decoration Focus: Textiles (Pattern Pieces, Securely Joining Fabric, Wider Range of Stitches) |
Design, Make and Evaluate: Savoury Food - Flatbread Focus: Cooking and Nutrition (Savoury Food / Cooking Techniques) |
Design, Make and Evaluate: Torches Focus: Electrical Systems (Series Circuit, Switch and Bulb) |
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| Y5 |
Design, Make and Evaluate: Child’s Toy Focus: Mechanical Systems (Cams) |
Design, Make and Evaluate: Tent for a Mountaineer Focus: Frame Structures |
Design, Make and Evaluate: Using Seasonal Produce in a Food Product Focus: Cooking and Nutrition (Seasonality) |
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| Y6 |
Design, Make and Evaluate: Automatic Nightlight Focus: Electrical Systems (Monitoring and Control) |
Design, Make and Evaluate: Fairtrade Cafe Focus: Cooking and Nutrition (Celebrating Cultures and Food) |
Design, Make and Evaluate: Mobile Phone / Tablet Case Focus: Textiles (Wider Range of Stitches / Seam Allowance) |
Examples of Learning
Year 1 had a fantastic day during their Design and Technology day. The children designed, made and evaluated fruit kebabs and were great at cutting the fruit and trying new foods. The highlight of the day was definitely eating them and thank you so much to all the parents who brought fruit in to make the day super tasty!
Year 2 have enjoyed their week making and eating a healthy sandwich. They practised their cutting skills and tried to make their sandwich look appealing.
