Curriculum
Design and Technology
Intent
At West Hill Primary School, it is our intent that all pupils will have access to a broad and balanced diet of D&T provision across their school career and that they are able to show increased independence in the planning, designing, making and evaluating of their work.
We aim to:
- To provide opportunities for all children to design and make quality products
- To provide children with the opportunity to explore food and cooking techniques along with healthy eating and environmental issues within food production
- To develop design and making skills, knowledge and understanding to the best of each child’s ability; using and selecting a range of tool, materials and components
- To become creative problem solvers as individuals and members of a team
- To be able to use computing in conjunction with the Designing and Making process
- To develop an ability to criticise constructively and evaluate their own products and those of others
- To help all children develop an understanding of the ways people in the past and present have used design to meet their needs. To reflect on and evaluate such techniques, its uses and effects
- To prepare the children for living in a multi-cultural society by teaching consideration for other cultures; which will be both important and beneficial
Implementation
We offer a broad, balanced and engaging D&T curriculum, which builds on the knowledge, understanding and skills of all children, whatever their starting points.
We develop children’s enthusiasm to think and work creatively to solve problems in Design and Technology through:
Managing teaching and learning
- Providing a variety of authentic and contextual projects where children are inspired to use their creativity and imagination to design and make products and solve real and relevant problems.
- To design and make products that solve real and relevant problems considering their own and others’ needs, wants and values
- Through planning genuine and memorable D&T experiences, pupils learn how to problem-solve, innovate and consider the impact of their designs
- Designing a curriculum that is carefully designed for our children to acquire a depth of knowledge, understanding and design skills; making links with other areas of the curriculum, such as maths, science, computing and art
Learning environments, including enjoyment and engagement
- Ensuring the learning environment reflects innovation and technology that inspires opportunities for problem-solving and questioning
- Supporting pupils’ understanding of how D&T makes an essential contribution to the creativity, culture, wealth and well-being of the world.
- Provides opportunity to reflect upon and evaluate past and present technology and its usefulness
Targeted learning and support
- Ensuring D&T learning matches the individual needs and starting points of all pupils to ensure the opportunity for maximum progress to be made
- Careful and ongoing assessment, providing effective feedback and guidance that facilitates next steps in learning
- Ensuring timely, purposeful and impactful interventions for pupils who are not making expected progress in D&T
- Suggesting other learning opportunities with information about what has been taught, allowing parents to build on their child’s school experiences at home.