Design & Technology
Intent
Wellington Primary School’s vision for the D.T. Curriculum is to provide plenty of opportunities for the children to learn, apply and strengthen essential skills required in the designing, making and evaluating of an effective product for a given purpose.
It is the intent of the D.T. Curriculum to ensure that the children are well-equipped with useful technical knowledge to support them in the design and making of their product. For example: Learning how to strengthen a structure to make it more stable, learning how to use mechanisms or electrical systems in their designs and learning how to use computer programming to control a product.
Wellington aims to develop the children’s use and understanding of technical vocabulary associated with this subject. This is so that the children can articulate the skills that they have applied, the equipment that they have used and describe the material(s) and features of the product that they have made.
We believe we can shape children to develop a love of Design Technology and we are committed to providing children with the fundamental skills to help interest and support them for their future careers. We want to be part of creating the next generation of divergent thinkers.
We want children to develop a love of learning Design Technology by providing engaging and exciting lessons.
Implementation
At Wellington, we give our children every opportunity to develop and secure their understanding of Design and Technology. We follow the 4-step design process: design, make, evaluate and use technical knowledge to create products for a real-life purpose. We offer a curriculum which covers electrical systems, mechanisms, textiles, structures and cooking and nutrition over each term from Years 1 to 6. Children are taught the skills in line with the National Curriculum in Design Technology.
Designing;
Children will generate realistic ideas and use design criteria through discussion, and research focussing on the needs of the user. We will provide children with the time to look at existing products and plan their own design based on their research. This will be achieved through using annotated sketches, creating prototypes, modelling and communicating ideas.
Making;
At Wellington we encourage children to develop designs by making suggestions on what to do next. In the making process, we encourage children to select from a range of equipment, materials and tools – explaining their choices and developing their ideas. Assembling and using finishing techniques the children will complete their product within given time constraints.
Evaluating;
Reflecting on the design process and end product is an important element of D.T. The children need to evaluate their product by discussing how well it works in relation to the purpose and the user and whether it meets design criteria, whilst also considering the views of others to help improve their work. We encourage children to compare their final product to the original design specification.
Technical Knowledge;
Children will know how to use product related equipment, tools and technical vocabulary relevant to the project. For example; levers, sliders, wheels and axles.
Mechanisms, structures, textiles and cooking and nutrition are taught throughout the school, which are linked to other subjects and topics. In KS2, they are taught an addition element of DT which focuses on electrical systems.
Long-Term Overview:
Impact
Through our Design and Technology curriculum, our children:
- are enthusiastic about design and technology and talk highly about the subject and their work.
- have the opportunity to create products in all elements of Design and Technology: textiles, structures and mechanisms, electrical systems, cooking and nutrition.
- are developing their understanding of the process of designing and creating a product: design, make, evaluate, technical knowledge.
- are learning to demonstrate progression in the skills required for design and technology, e.g. Textiles – progression in the type of stitch children are using.
- are able to easily recall what they have done in design and technology.