Design & Technology

Curriculum Intent

It is our intent to broaden pupils' skills and experiences by providing them with the opportunity to use a range of tools and techniques, safely and creatively.

At Albion Primary School we believe that Design & Technology is important because it encourages pupils to learn to think and intervene creatively to solve problems, both as individuals and as members of a team. Children develop their technical understanding and practical skills, learn about design methods, and investigate their environment and the materials around them.

We have designed our curriculum in line with the guidance provided by the National Curriculum and aim to offer opportunities for children to:

• develop their imaginative thinking and enable them to talk about what they like and dislike when designing and making things
• talk about how things work, and to draw and model their ideas
• select appropriate tools and techniques for making a product, whilst following safe procedures
• explore attitudes towards the ‘made world’ and how we live and work within it
• develop an understanding of technological processes and products, their manufacture and their contribution to our society
• explore food and cooking techniques along with healthy eating and environmental issues within food production
• develop enjoyment, satisfaction, and purpose in designing and making things

Curriculum Implementation

At Albion Primary School we used the National Curriculum and Birth to 5 Matters as the basis for the creation of our own Design & Technology curriculum.

Our medium-term plans, which we have adopted from the National Curriculum, give details of each unit of work for each term. They identify learning objectives, subject specific vocabulary, key skills to be developed, outcomes for each unit, and ensure an appropriate balance and distribution of work across each term. The three units that the children complete in each year group have been carefully selected so that all National Curriculum expectations are met by the end of KS1 & KS2 in the key areas of:

Design, Make, Evaluate & Technical Knowledge and Cooking & Nutrition.

Each Design & Technology unit begins with an exciting and purposeful design brief providing children with the chance to explore all areas of the Design & Technology National Curriculum such as materials and construction, textiles, cooking and nutrition.

Children begin by investigating and evaluating existing products, thinking about their function, their audience, their design and appearance. Using a range of skills and processes, pupils learn to design their own objects.

They are taught to use a range of tools and materials safely and to evaluate their own work and that of their peers. Through this, they acquire a broad range of subject knowledge and skills and draw on disciplines such as mathematics, science, computing and art.

In Early Years, Design & Technology is interwoven throughout the curriculum. The EYFS Framework sets out the relevant objectives to aid the development of pupil’s fine and gross motor skills and expressive arts. Pupils access learning through structure provision and adult – led activities. We encourage the development of skills, knowledge, and understanding that help reception children make sense of their world as an integral part of their school experience. We relate this development to the objectives set out in the Early Learning Goals. This learning forms the foundations for later work in design and technology.

These early experiences include asking questions about how things work, investigating and using a variety of construction kits, materials, tools, and products, developing making skills, handling appropriate tools and construction materials safely and with increasing control. We plan according to the children’s interests and provide an enabling environment offering a range of experiences that encourage exploration, observation, problem solving, critical thinking, and discussion.

Through the study of Design & Technology, pupils have the opportunity to combine practical skills with an understanding of aesthetic, social and environmental issues, as well as functions and industry. This allows them to reflect on and evaluate past and present technology, it's uses and impacts. 

Curriculum Impact

By the end of each key stage, pupils are expected to know, apply and understand the matters, skills and processes specified in the relevant programme of study. At Albion we use formative assessment strategies (based on the objectives in the 2014 National Curriculum) to assess learning.

On completion of each design technology unit, children are able to show progression in their skills, knowledge and understanding through the product they have designed, made and evaluated. They are able to discuss their learning and compare it to previous projects, as well as to existing products with similar design criteria. Teachers assess learning using a skills progression sheet and are able to give informative and useful feedback to support future designs. The quality of the children’s learning is evident through subject leader monitoring, displays, Design & Technology books and examples of completed products.

When they leave school, the children will have experienced designing and creating many products for many different purposes. They will have tested, analysed and redesigned these products, which will have provided them with the skills and confidence to continue their design and technology learning journey in secondary school.