The Intent of the Design & Technology Curriculum
At Ovingham CE First School we believe all children should have access to high quality Design Technology lessons which allow them to develop their skills to make prototypes of products for a wide range of users. A high quality Design Technology education provides children with the opportunity to explore different skills through focused tasks and encourage them to utilise their problem solving skills.
Our designers will:
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Look at real products and use some of the techniques in their own work
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Solve real and relevant problems while creating a product for a user
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Be able to test and evaluate their product to see if they have met the criteria of the project title
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Reflect on their own work and consider improvements that could be made
How we implement our Design & Technology curriculum
During Reception, children are exposed to the design, make and evaluate process within discrete lessons and work towards the goal of making a final product. During class discussions, children are encouraged to talk about what they have made and explain the processes used. Alongside discrete lessons, children also have access to a creative area which they can access during child-initiated time.
From Year 1 onwards, our Design Technology curriculum is based on the National Curriculum which provides a broad framework and outlines the knowledge and skills to be taught in each key stage. By the time children reach Year 4, they will have been exposed to the following topic areas:
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Mechanisms/mechanical systems
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Food and nutrition
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Structures
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Textiles
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Electrical Systems (Year 4 only)
By structuring our curriculum in this way, it allows children to revisit the key areas and develop their skills across the key stages, encouraging them to know more and remember more.
Within a unit of work, children are encouraged to firstly look at existing products and explore the features of them. Once they have an understanding of what their project could look like in relation to existing products, children are encouraged to take part in focused activities where they are able to practice skills before designing. Problem solving skills are promoted in these sessions and children are given the opportunity to reflect on how they could do it differently next time. Children will then design their own product using this knowledge.
Evaluating is a crucial aspect of the curriculum. Children are encouraged to look at their final product and consider possible improvements which could be made.
Sketch books are used to help children explore and record their ideas throughout a topic. Children will build their skills in reflecting critically on their products and are encouraged to write their ideas.
The Impact of our Design & Technology Curriculum
At the end of Year 4, children will:
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Have a good understanding of the 5 disciplines above after being exposed to content in each year group
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Have used a range of tools across the different disciplines and be able to use their problem solving skills to complete a task
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Discuss and evaluate their creations, thinking critically about potential changes they could make
