'Grow your learning'
'I reach my potential'
'I and happy and safe'
'I have a voice'
'I am healthy'
' I have opportunites'
INTENT:
At Appletree Gardens First School we intend Design and Technology to be creative and practical. The curriculum provides children with the opportunity to problem solve and develop their own creative ideas as individuals and as part of a team. We aim to provide our children with the opportunity to use their imagination to design, use tools safely and make products within a variety of contexts, to provide motivation and meaning to their learning. Evaluating and 'having a voice' is a fundamental part of the design process which is embedded throughout. Before designing and making a product, children evaluate existing products and evaluate their own at the end, allowing children to adapt and improve their product, a key skill which they will need throughout their life.
Children will be taught a range of topics including; mechanisms, textiles, food technology, structures, and electrical systems (in Key Stage 2). Our Design and Technology curriculum allows children to apply knowledge and skills learned in other subjects, particularly Maths, Science, Art and History, which we aim to link, wherever possible. At Appletree Gardens through hands-on, practical experiences we aim for children to leave Year 4 with some knowledge and skills of DT which will inspire children to be chefs, engineers, sculptures, carpenters, designers and architects. We recognise the important role of DT in preparing our children with skills for life which will enable them to reach their full potential.
The intent of our food technology curriculum is to apply the principles of nutrition and healthy eating, instilling a love of cooking in all children. Learning how to cook is a crucial life skill for children now and in later life. Throughout their time at Appletree, we aim to encourage independent learning through practical participation.
Early Years:
Children in the Early Years are encouraged to explore and use a range of media and materials whilst also developing their creativity, imagination and critical thinking. This the foundation on which learning is developed throughout the school.
Children in Early Years engage with Design & Technology activities throughout the areas of provision. Children are encouraged to safely use and explore a variety of materials, tools and techniques. They are also encouraged to experiment with colour, texture, design and function. Some of the provision includes clay, playdough, woodwork, junk modelling and painting.
Children in EYFS have opportunities to learn to:
- Explore the textures, movement, feel and look of different media and materials.
- Respond to a range of media and materials developing an understanding that they manipulate and create effects with these.
- Use different media and materials to express their own ideas.
- Construct with a purpose in mind using a variety of resources.
- Develop skills to use simple tools and techniques competently and appropriately.
- Select appropriate resources for a product and adapt their work where necessary.
Implementation:
Key stage 1 & 2:
In Key stage 1& 2 we enhance the teaching of Design and Technology using a scheme ‘Planbee’ which offers termly units for children to engage in. Our Design and Technology Curriculum is high quality, well thought out and is planned to demonstrate progression year on year, giving pupils the skills, knowledge and vocabulary that they need to move forward in their learning. Children are given opportunities to apply their knowledge to different situations.
The teaching of D.T follows the design, make and evaluate cycle. The design process is rooted in real life, relevant contexts to give meaning to learning. While making, children are given choice and a range of tools to choose freely from. When evaluating, children evaluate existing products and evaluate their own products against a design criteria at the end of the process, using this to adapt and improve their product. Each of the stages are given equal weight.
Our design and technology curriculum aims to ensure that all pupils:
- develop the creative, technical and practical skills needed to perform everyday tasks confidently and to participate successfully in an increasingly technological world
- build and apply a repertoire of knowledge, understanding and skills in order to design and make high-quality prototypes and products for a wide range of users
- critique, evaluate and test their ideas and products and the work of others
Key skills we teach are:
- Use of materials and equipment
- Sewing and textiles
- Cooking and nutrition
- Electrical and mechanical components
Curriculum 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.
- As designers children will develop skills and attributes they can use beyond school and into adulthood.