Curriculum
Design technology
Curriculum intent, implementation, and impact
Intent
Design and technology at Wrekin View aims to provide pupils with a rich, engaging curriculum that is relevant in our rapidly changing world. We want to encourage our pupils to become problem solvers who can work creatively on a shared project. We believe that high-quality design and technology lessons will inspire pupils to think independently, innovatively and develop creative, procedural, and technical understanding. Our design and technology curriculum provides pupils with opportunities to research, represent their ideas, explore, and investigate, develop their ideas, make a product, and evaluate their work. The pupils are also given opportunities to reflect upon and evaluate past and present design technology, its uses, and its effectiveness, and are encouraged to become innovators, risk-takers, resilient and inquisitive designers. Through the design and technology curriculum, pupils will be inspired by engineers, designers, chefs and architects, to enable them to create a range of structures, mechanisms, textiles, electrical systems and food products with a real-life purpose.
Impact
Design and technology at Wrekin View follow a clear and comprehensive scheme of work in line with the early years foundation stages, key stage 1 and key stage 2 national curriculum. Design and technology is taught half termly, and ensures that pupils follow a journey through the academy, within the five key areas of design and technology: structures and construction, textiles, mechanics, electrical and cooking and nutrition.
Through a variety of creative and practical activities, we teach the knowledge, understanding and skills needed to engage pupils in designing and making. When designing and making, the pupils are taught to:
- Design
- Use research and develop design criteria to inform the design of innovative, functional, appealing products that are fit for purpose, aimed at particular individuals or groups;
- Generate, develop, model and communicate their ideas through discussion, annotated sketches, cross-sectional diagrams, prototypes, pattern pieces and computer-aided design.
- Make
- Select from and use a wider range of tools and equipment to perform practical tasks (for example, cutting, shaping, joining and finishing) accurately;
- Select from and use a wider range of materials and components, including construction materials, textiles and ingredients, according to their functional properties and aesthetic qualities.
- Technical knowledge
- Apply their understanding of how to strengthen, stiffen and reinforce more complex structures;
- Understand and use mechanical systems in their products;
- Understand and use electrical systems in their products;
- Understand and apply an understanding of healthy eating, food groups, farming and sustainability.
- Evaluate
- Investigate and analyse a range of existing products (market research),
- Evaluate their ideas and products against their own design criteria and consider the views of others to improve their work;
- Understand how key events and key individuals in design and technology have helped shape the world.
Key skills and key knowledge for design and technology have been mapped across the school to ensure progression between year groups. The context for the pupil’s work in design and technology is also well considered and pupils learn about real life structures and the purpose of specific and local examples, as well as developing their skills throughout the programme of study.
