Intent

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 Springhead Primary School we aim to develop children’s knowledge and skills in Design and Technology through engagement in a series of relevant, real life design projects of increasing complexity. Lessons are delivered by class teachers with a ‘no limits’ approach to differentiation, taking into consideration the needs of children with SEND and the most able, ensuring all children access our ambitious curriculum and to feel confident in their design decisions. The curriculum develops children’s skills and knowledge in design, structures, mechanisms, electrical control and a range of materials, including food. Children understand how to apply their technical knowledge and justify their design decisions using key vocabulary, essential skills, initial designs and functional product. At the heart of each design task is to design, test, make and evaluate a product, for a specific person, for a particular purpose. We aim to, wherever possible, link design technology work to other disciplines such as Mathematics, Science, Computing and Art.

Design and Technology has an important role to play in developing many life skills including;

• questioning and challenging conventional thinking,
• resilience,
• embracing change,
• problem solving,
• communication, cooperation and collaboration.

'Design and Technology helps to teach Maths and English and indeed other compulsory subjects on the curriculum in a fun manner and puts these subjects into context making them easier to digest and more understandable to younger primary age pupils.'

DATA.ORG.UK (Design and Technology Association) www.data.org.uk