Thornton Hough Primary School

 “Learning for life”

Design and Technology Curriculum

Intent
At Thornton Hough Primary School, we believe that Design and Technology prepares children to take part in the development of the rapidly changing world. Creative thinking encourages children to make positive changes to their quality of life. The subject encourages children to become innovative and creative thinkers and problem-solvers, both as individuals and as part of a team.

Our aim is that through the study of Design and Technology our children will combine practical skills with an understanding of aesthetic, social and environmental issues. This allows children to analyse and evaluate past and present designs, its uses and its impacts. Our school values are embedded into this subject to encourage the children to develop self-belief, resilience, patience, determination and reflection when planning, designing, making and evaluating their products. Design and Technology helps all children to become analytical and informed consumers and innovators.

Through Design and Technology lessons, children learn to produce practical solutions to real problems.They develop technical understanding and construction skills as well as learn about design methods and investigate their environment and the materials around them.

Communication is vital in Design and Technology; children are encouraged to listen to the ideas of others, and treat them with respect, to critically evaluate existing products, both their own work and those of others. They have the opportunity to use a wide range of materials and resources, including computer-aided design.

Implementation

Our whole curriculum is shaped by our school values which aims to enable all children, regardless of background, ability, additional needs, to flourish to become the very best version of themselves. At Thornton Hough Primary School, we have a scheme of work which is in line with the National Curriculum with full content coverage throughout KS1 and KS2. All pupils in the EYFS are taught DT as an integral part of the play-based learning covered during the academic year.

All teaching of DT follows a clear structure over KS1 and KS2. The children design, make and evaluate a range of products with a focus on textiles, structures, mechanisms, electrical systems (KS2) and cooking and nutrition. Within each project, health and safety is taught and revisited.

The design process is rooted in real life with relevant contexts that are pertinent to the children’s everyday lives as young designers and inventors of the future. While making, children are given the opportunity to use the tools and materials that best fit the task, whilst often working collaboratively, allowing them to further develop co-operation. Children evaluate their products against a design criteria, which allows them to not only celebrate their successes but also consider how to improve the products that they have designed. Each of these steps is rooted in technical knowledge and vocabulary. A clear progressions of skills is laid out to ensures that skills and knowledge are built on year by year and sequenced appropriately to maximise learning for all children.

Impact

By the time children leave Thornton Hough Primary School they will have a passion for the subject, which they will hopefully carry throughout the rest of their education and beyond. They will be able to use time efficiently and work constructively and in collaboration with others, supporting one another in a respectful and positive way.

They will have the ability to carry out research, show initiative and ask questions to develop a knowledge of an end-users’ needs. They will act as responsible designers and makers, working ethically, using materials carefully and working safely and hygienically.

At Thornton Hough Primary School, we are able to measure the impact that DT has had for all children by:

• Determining the extent to which objectives are met within each lesson and overall, at the end of each unit through lesson assessments.
• Summative assessment of pupil discussions about their learning.
• Images to show children’s practical learning.
• ‘Pupil Voice’ to find out children’s learning experience.
• ‘Book looks’ and discussions with staff to show evidence of Design and Technology across the school. 
• Annual reporting of standards across the curriculum.