Design and Technology

Design Technology at St. Paul's

At St Paul’s, our aim in any subject is to deliver a broad and balanced curriculum, which equips children with the necessary skills to thrive in today’s society. The value of a high-quality Design and Technology curriculum cannot be underestimated, and here at St Paul’s we understand the opportunities it creates to teach a broad range of knowledge, skills and understanding of the world.  Children are surrounded by intricate designs and are living in a rapidly growing technological society.  Therefore, we encourage our children to unleash their creativity to design and make products within a variety of contexts, which solve real and relevant problems. From EYFS to KS2, children progress and finesse their practical skills, tackling a range of projects and solving problems using their own and others’ experiences, ideas and evaluations. Not only do we develop their practical skills, but through thorough evaluation of their own and existing products, our children can become analytical thinkers, problem solvers and risk-takers. Wherever possible, our Design and Technology lessons are linked to other curriculum areas, allowing children to select appropriate skills from their repertoire and make progress across the curriculum. Overall, we aspire to deliver lessons which will inspire children to become the great creators, innovators and evaluators that our ever-changing, rapidly growing world needs.

Intent

The value of a high-quality Design and Technology curriculum cannot be underestimated, and here at St Paul’s we understand the opportunities it creates to teach a broad range of knowledge, skills and understanding of the world.

The Projects on a Page resource equips teachers with all the tools necessary to plan and deliver a high-quality unit of work. Our carefully chosen projects aim to inspire children through a broad range of practical experiences to create innovative designs which solve real and relevant problems within a variety of different contexts.

The iterative design process is fundamental and runs throughout every unit. As children progress their skills in the iterative process, time is built in to reflect, evaluate and improve on prototypes using design criteria throughout to support this process.

Opportunities are provided for children to evaluate key events and individuals who have helped shape the world, showing the real impact of design and technology on the wider environment and helping to inspire children to become the next generation of innovators.

Implement

The National Curriculum forms the basis of our Design and Technology Scheme of work. These objectives are used in each year group using the Projects on a Page resources from the Design and Technology association (DATA). The Projects on a Page scheme of work was introduced to help primary schools in England implement the National Curriculum for D&T in an imaginative way.  

At St Paul’s, we have created units of work for each year groups based on these project planners, which provide real and relevant contexts. Our long-term overview carefully maps out a sequence of projects, which ensure the National Curriculum is covered sufficiently through different areas of the Design and Technology curriculum, including Mechanisms, Textiles, Structures, Electrical Systems and Food. Each year group covers one unit per term, ensuring six units have been by the end of each Key Stage (KS1, LKS2, UKS2).

Food is a unit which is covered every year due to its importance in preparing children to be independent, active members of society.  This resource provides a basis for teachers to create imaginative and skills-based lessons. There is, however, large flexibility available for teachers to adapt projects using the projects on a page planner, whilst still ensuring all skills and objectives are still being covered. The planners also include key vocabulary for every unit. The revision and introduction of key vocabulary is built into each lesson by teachers.

This vocabulary can be included in display materials to ensure that children are allowed opportunities to repeat and revise this knowledge. Every aspect of the process of a unit is covered in the projects on a page planner. Focused activities are suggested to guide teachers in their delivery of lessons, which are also linked with cross-curricular ideas and activities. By following this approach, we are ensuring children revisit the skills being taught in different subjects and have a chance to apply their learning in different contexts.

Impact

A consistent approach to using the Projects on a Page planners will ensure that the profile of Design and Technology is raised significantly across the school. Children will be familiar with the structure of Design and Technology lessons and recognise which skills they are practising in each lesson. They will understand that Design and Technology is more than a craft project, and that if they look closely design is all around us.

Our aim as a school is ensure that Design and Technology is loved by teachers and pupils across school, therefore encouraging them to want to continue building on this wealth of skills and understanding, now and in the future.