Design and Technology

Charles Darwin Community Primary School

Design Technology Overview

Our intent

After 7 years of studying design technology at Charles Darwin pupils will learn how to become creative, resourceful and capable pupils within the school and the local community by:

• identifying a need or area of improvement,
• carrying out research to broaden understanding,
• learning how to take risks,
• increasing their creativity,
• developing resourcefulness and resilience,
• improving their ability to express their ideas and share their opinions with others.

What this looks like at Charles Darwin

EYFS

Pupils in Early Years are given the freedom to make and explore using and ever-changing materials in the creation area, an area of the classroom designed to inspire inventiveness.   The children will be provided with a variety of materials and resources to stimulate their curiosity.  Children will explore, research, imitate, experiment and develop their own ideas.   Pupils will use skills including selection of materials, cutting, shaping and sticking to build their own creations. 

Key stage 1 and 2

In both key stage 1 and 2 pupils are challenged to design and make products which solve real life problems or have a specific purpose.  DT topics are linked to the topic each class is doing that term.  In this way, skills from other subjects (e.g. computing, art, music) can be used in conjunction with the DT skills.  All year groups follow the DT structure of designing, making and evaluating their product alongside developing their technical knowledge.  The DT projects the pupils will take part in fall under four strands:

• mechanisms,
• structures,
• textiles
• nutrition and food

Each year group carries out a minimum of 3 of these strands (with one being cooking and nutrition) per year with progression of skills developing year after year.

Whole school events

This year a STEM week will be held during which pupils take part in science, computing, design technology and art activities.  Skills taught during topic work are reinforced during this week.  Each year group will be given a different engineer to study during the week.

Progression

Progression in DT will be assessed through learning walks, listening to children’s responses and contributions to discussions (pupil voice) and evaluating their written work.

Impact

Design Technology provides our children with the opportunities to become creative, resourceful and capable. They will 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 and critique, evaluate and test their ideas and products and the work of others
Children will see links to other areas of the curriculum when engaged in food preparation and cooking opportunities when in Darwin’s Den.

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