Design and Technology
Design and Technology at Woodnook
The aim of our DT curriculum is to ensure that our pupils are given quality opportunities and experiences to investigate, record and communicate ideas and evaluations through personal creativity, using a variety of media. The pupils will be exposed to and encouraged to find out more about a range of designers and designs that impact on their daily life. They will also be able to use the language of DT to describe and evaluate their work.
The pupils will have FAIR access to all DT activities and will be supported and encouraged to achieve their personal best. Support for pupils with SEND will be based on individual needs, with support and resources provided as appropriate.
As instructed by the EYFS Framework (2021) and the National Curriculum, we aim for all pupils to have experienced and succeeded in meeting the standards set out below.
EYFS
DT falls within the Early Learning Goals for ‘Expressive Arts and Design’ and ‘Physical Development (Fine Motor Skills). The pupils have daily opportunities to be creative and expressive through access to the creative, mark making, malleable and outdoor areas. The pupils also have opportunities throughout the year to take part in cooking and baking activities.
By the end of EYFS, pupils should:-
- Safely use and explore a variety of materials, tools, and techniques while experimenting with colour, design, texture, form and function.
- Share their creations, explaining the process they have used.
- Make use of props and materials when role-playing characters in narratives and stories.
- Use a range of small tools, including scissors, paintbrushes and cutlery.
- Participate in small groups, class and one to one discussions, offering their own ideas, using recently introduced vocabulary
- Make comments about what they have heard and ask questions to clarify their understanding
Key Stage 1
By the end of KS1, pupils should:-
Design
- design purposeful, functional, appealing products for themselves and other users
based on design criteria
- generate, develop, model and communicate their ideas through talking, drawing,
templates, mock-ups and, where appropriate, information and communication
technology
Make
- select from and use a range of tools and equipment to perform practical tasks [for
example, cutting, shaping, joining and finishing]
- select from and use a wide range of materials and components, including construction materials, textiles and ingredients, according to their characteristics
Evaluate
- explore and evaluate a range of existing products
- evaluate their ideas and products against design criteria
Technical knowledge
- build structures, exploring how they can be made stronger, stiffer and more stable
- explore and use mechanisms [for example, levers, sliders, wheels and axles], in their
products.
Key Stage 2
By the end of KS2, pupils should:-
Design
- use research and develop design criteria to inform the design of innovative, functional,
appealing products that are fit for purpose, aimed at particular individuals or groups
- generate, develop, model and communicate their ideas through discussion, annotated
sketches, cross-sectional and exploded diagrams, prototypes, pattern pieces and
computer-aided design
Make
- select from and use a wider range of tools and equipment to perform practical tasks
- [for example, cutting, shaping, joining and finishing], accurately
select from and use a wider range of materials and components, including construction
- materials, textiles and ingredients, according to their functional properties and aesthetic
- qualities
Evaluate
- investigate and analyse a range of existing products
evaluate their ideas and products against their own design criteria and consider the
views of others to improve their work
- understand how key events and individuals in design and technology have helped
shape the world
Technical knowledge
- apply their understanding of how to strengthen, stiffen and reinforce more complex
structures
- understand and use mechanical systems in their products [for example, gears, pulleys,
cams, levers and linkages]
- understand and use electrical systems in their products [for example, series circuits
incorporating switches, bulbs, buzzers and motors]
- apply their understanding of computing to program, monitor and control their products.
Cooking and nutrition
Pupils should be taught to:
Key stage 1
- use the basic principles of a healthy and varied diet to prepare dishes
- understand where food comes from.
Key stage 2
- understand and apply the principles of a healthy and varied diet
- prepare and cook a variety of predominantly savoury dishes using a range of cooking
techniques
- understand seasonality, and know where and how a variety of ingredients are grown,
reared, caught and processed.
Alongside the statutory frameworks, we use the Lancashire KLIPS. These have been split into year groups.
Years 1-6
All pupils have a weekly DT lesson, every other half ter. DT units can be stand alone or linked to a unit where appropriate. All new DT units begin with an age appropriate unit starter. This will include an introduction to a particular design/design movement /culture and examples of their work.
Pupils will have the opportunity to develop knowledge and practise skills for the duration of the unit. They will have the opportunity to evaluate their own work to aid further improvements, as well as being encouraged to express their opinions on known designs.
Sketch books are used from Years 1-6 and are used weekly. Each unit starts with an introduction to a design/ designer. This will be age appropriate. There will be a weekly TLO. The sketch books record the pupils’ thoughts and ideas, skills practise and evaluations. Examples of recording could be in the form of photos, sticky notes, pupils’ drawings and examples of design/design movements. Marking will be in the form of an acknowledgment of the pupils’ work. Where appropriate, a next step could be included to further develop and encourage the pupils’ thinking.
Primary National Curriculum for Design Technology
