Design & Technology 

Intent

At Chater Junior School, we aim to provide children with a unique DT experience relevant to today’s rapidly changing world. We encourage children to become passionate, independent, and innovative designers, taking on new ideas and risks in a safe environment. We will provide an opportunity for children to collaborate with each other. Our DT curriculum provides opportunity to research, experiment and evaluate their designs to further foster their understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of their products. We aim to link to other curriculum areas including Mathematics, science, computing and art, wherever possible. High quality design and technology education makes an essential contribution to the creativity and wellbeing of children throughout the school.

Design & Technology Curriculum Map

Implementation

At Chater JM School, we ensure that our D & T planning follows a clear progression of skills and ensures that there is full coverage of, ‘Design and technology programmes of study: key stages 1 and 2’. Where possible, we aim to make links to other subjects to help children make further connections and developing their learning. Each year group will focus on three different topics throughout the year, each focusing on learning a different set of skills. Each year will also have a topic focusing on a unit of cooking, providing children essential skills for later life. Every unit will be adapted to ensure every child can access and benefit from the learning.

Before teaching each unit teachers will:

• Plan an end product, for the children to create at the end of the unit.
• Assess children’s prior learning and skills to ensure they are building on previous skills.
• Use the progression of key skills to build on learning.

During each unit teachers will:

• Each lesson will provide an opportunity for design or to learn a new skill.
• Give children an opportunity to learn how the new skills link to the wider world
• Allow children to research, design, create and evaluate a project.
• Provide pupils with opportunities to make links and use knowledge from other subjects, in particular Mathematics, science, computing and art.

At the end of each unit pupils will:

• Evaluate their products against each other’s final product, discussing what they like and what they can improve.
• Reflect on the skills they have learnt.

After each unit teachers will:

• Assess children’s ability and skills.
• Evaluate children’s products, have they used the necessary skills to complete them.

Impact

What will this look like?

Through pupil voice we will see:

• - Pupils express their passion for DT by talking enthusiastically about their learning and sharing their knowledge and understanding
• - Pupils’ ability to identify key skills that they use in lessons.
• - Pupils discuss their design ideas and how they would improve them further.
• - Pupils express an understanding of nutrition and describe a range of cooking methods.

Through learning walks we will see:

• - Pupils demonstrating their love of DT through their high levels of engagement.
• - A clear sequence of lessons that allow pupils to acquire skills to make their ‘big piece’.
• - Pupils given the opportunity to create and have ownership of their own designs.
• - Collaboration and communication.

In the pupil’s learning we will see:

• - Analysis of what makes current products user friendly.
• - A clear sequence of lessons that are linked to the big piece.
• - Evidence of experimenting with different designs and ideas to help produce their big piece using subject specific vocabulary.
• - Take pride in their learning and present work of a high standard.
• - Scaffolded activities that allow all pupils to make progress.