Intent

Design and Technology at Arboretum will ensure that by the time children leave at the end of KS2, they will be able to actively participate in the technological world. Our Design and Technology Curriculum allows children to make products that solve real and relevant problems within a variety of contexts based on a well-thought, child-led design brief and specification. Meaningful and purposeful cross-curricular links are made with Art and Design, Maths and Science to support children’s breadth and depth of understanding, so children communicate their learning in a range of forms. The Design and Technology objectives and outcomes; as in all subjects, form part of meaningful and relevant learning journeys.

Implementation

The national curriculum for Design and Technology aims to ensure that all pupils:

• develop the creative, technical and practical expertise needed to perform everyday tasks confidently and to participate successfully in an increasingly technological world
• build and apply a repertoire of knowledge, understanding and skills in order to design and make high-quality prototypes and products for a wide range of users
• critique, evaluate and test their ideas and products and the work of others
• understand and apply the principles of nutrition and learn how to cook.

At Arboretum, the skeleton of our design and technology curriculum is the National Curriculum. We use a scheme called KAPOW as a scaffold to teach the progression of knowledge and skills required whilst linking them to the Topics being taught in each year group. The units on KAPOW allow children to explore a variety of skills and build on them as they move through school. Units include Mechanisms, Structures, Textiles, Cooking and Nutrition, whilst in Key Stage 2 children also have the opportunity to explore two further units including The Digital World and Electrical Systems.

Impact

Design and technology is teacher assessed and the majority of assessments conducted will be through observation, discussion and evaluation of completed products, supported through guidance provided by KAPOW. Assessments will also be recorded in the year end reports to parents. A selection of work will be retained as evidence or photographed for this purpose. In the teaching of DT, children will also have the opportunities to develop their spiritual, moral, social and cultural skills. The skills gained through design and technology will have an impact on their future lives, from skills such as critical thinking and problem solving, these are vital to enter the working world, whatever the field.

Through the topics children will have the opportunity to:

• Work both independently and with others, listening to others' ideas and treating these with respect.
• Be creative, flexible and show perseverance
• Critically evaluate existing products, their own work and that of others,
• Develop a respect for the environment and for their own health and safety and that of others
• Recognise the strengths and limitations of a range of technologies and appreciate which are appropriate for particular situations
• Develop their cultural awareness and understanding and appreciate the value of differences and similarities,
• Develop an understanding that all people are equal regardless of age, race, gender or ability and that there needs to be alternative solutions to meet the needs of individuals and groups of people
• Find enjoyment, satisfaction and purpose through designing and making.
• Develop oracy skills, through discussions with peers alongside more formal presentation of designs and finished products.
• Apply judgments of an aesthetic, economic, environmental, moral, scientific and technical nature.