Design and Technology

At Gorseland Primary school, we believe that Design and Technology should be an inspiring, rigorous and practical subject. Using creativity and imagination, pupils design and make products that solve real and relevant problems within a variety of contexts, considering their own and others’ needs, wants and values.

The children at Gorseland are taught to acquire a broad range of subject knowledge, vocabulary and draw on disciplines such as mathematics, science, engineering, computing and art. Pupils learn how to take risks, becoming resourceful, innovative, enterprising and capable citizens.

Our ambitious, aspirational and knowledge rich Design and Technology curriculum not only invites children to think as a designer but also to become aware of the real life designers of the time, challenging stereotypes and inclusivity/diversity.

Through the evaluation of past and present design and technology, they develop a critical understanding of its impact on daily life and the wider world. High-quality design and technology education makes an essential contribution to the creativity, culture, wealth and wellbeing of the nation.

The Design and Technology National Curriculum outlines the three main stages of the design process: design, make and evaluate. Each stage of the design process is underpinned by technical knowledge which encompasses the contextual, historical, and technical understanding required for each strand. Cooking and nutrition* has a separate section, with a focus on specific principles, skills and techniques in food, including where food comes from, diet and seasonality.

The National Curriculum organises the Design and Technology attainment targets under five subheadings or strands:

• Design

• Make

• Evaluate

• Technical knowledge

• Cooking and nutrition

Our Design and Technology curriculum has a clear progression of skills and knowledge within these five strands across each year group.

Through Our Design and Technology curriculum, pupils respond to design briefs and scenarios that require consideration of the needs of others, developing their skills in six key areas:

• Mechanisms

• Structures

• Textiles

• Cooking and nutrition (Food)

• Electrical systems (KS2) 

• Digital world (KS2)

Each of our key areas follows the design process (design, make and evaluate) and has a particular theme and focus from the technical knowledge or cooking and nutrition section of the curriculum. Our Design and Technology curriculum is a spiral curriculum, with key areas revisited again and again with increasing complexity, allowing pupils to revisit and build on their previous learning.

Lessons incorporate a range of teaching strategies from independent tasks, paired and group work including practical hands-on, computer-based and inventive tasks. This variety means that lessons are engaging and appeal to those with a variety of learning styles. Differentiated guidance is available for every lesson to ensure that lessons can be accessed by all pupils and opportunities to stretch pupils’ learning are available when required. Knowledge organisers for each unit support pupils in building a foundation of factual knowledge by encouraging recall of key facts and vocabulary.

After the implementation of our Design and Technology curriculum, pupils should leave Gorseland equipped with a range of skills to enable them to succeed in their secondary education and be innovative and resourceful members of society.

The expected impact of our Design and Technology curriculum is that children will:

• Understand the functional and aesthetic properties of a range of materials and resources.

• Understand how to use and combine tools to carry out different processes for shaping, decorating, and manufacturing products.

• Build and apply a repertoire of skills, knowledge and understanding to produce high quality, innovative outcomes, including models, prototypes, CAD, and products to fulfil the needs of users, clients, and scenarios.

• Understand and apply the principles of healthy eating, diets, and recipes, including key processes, food groups and cooking equipment.

• Have an appreciation for key individuals, inventions, and events in history and of today that impact our world.

• Recognise where our decisions can impact the wider world in terms of community, social and environmental issues.

• Self-evaluate and reflect on learning at different stages and identify areas to improve.

• Meet the end of key stage expectations outlined in the National curriculum for Design and Technology.

Children complete quizzes at the end of the majority of lesson which assess the key knowledge from that lesson as well as prior knowledge from previous lessons. Teachers use the information gathered from these quizzes to address misconceptions and move the children's learning on. At the end of each unit, children complete a quiz which assesses the key knowledge from the whole unit. The children's quiz scores are used alongside teachers' observations of specific DT skills to form a termly judgment as to whether each child has met, exceeded or is working towards the expected standard in DT.

Subject leaders monitor teaching and learning in their subject through observing teaching and learning in lessons, analysing the work produced by children, talking to samples of children in different year groups about what they know and remember from their learning and termly data analysis to track the progress of learning in their subject across the school.