Design and Technology

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 Hook Junior School, we teach to the National Curriculum expectations but also follow a much broader skills progression document that breaks down the above objectives. We offer a practical hands on approach to the subject where the children are actively involved in the research, designing, creating and evaluating of a product. Enquiry and problem solving is used throughout each block of learning. Regular links are made to real life problems, purposes and products.

A problem should be the driving force behind any Design and Technology unit, not the idea that all children should be able to make a picture frame or sew a slipper. Six ways to get DT Right, Pook 2019

Curriculum Implementation

At Hook Junior School, the teaching of Design Technology across the school follows the National Curriculum and is supported by the 'Projects On A Page' documents. Children design products with a purpose in mind and an intended user of the products. Food technology is implemented across the school with children developing an understanding of where food comes from, the importance of a varied and healthy diet and how to prepare this.

Design and technology is an important part of the curriculum and learning, and it is for this reason that as a school we are dedicated to the teaching and delivery of a high quality Design and Technology curriculum; through well planned and resourced projects and experiences. Evaluation and adaption is being embedded into the teaching process rather than being always left to the end of a project.

Design and Technology also embeds our Hook Junior School learning values. It is an inspiring, rigorous and practical subject, requiring collaboration, independence, thinking, creativity, reflection, curiosity as well as collaboration. Pupils design and make products that solve real and relevant problems within a variety of contexts. It is very cross - curricular and draws upon subject knowledge and skills in other subjects. Children learn to take risks, be reflective, innovative, enterprising and resilient. Through the evaluation of past and present technology they can reflect upon the impact of Design Technology on everyday life and the wider world.

The Hook Junior School enuqiry wheel (see below) is used to guide the teaching of Design Technology.

Children are taught Design Technology in mixed ability classes by their class teacher. Each year group will complete a unit of learning/ project per term. Some year groups will block this into a half term or it could be spread over a whole term depending on what other subjects and cross curricular links are being made. All children will be taught the objectives set out in the skills progression document however support tasks and adaptions can be made for children who are unable to access these objectives. Challenge questions and tasks are used in planning to help children think in greater depth about a topic.

Please see the PDFs below which outline the skills, knowledge and understanding within mathematics for each individual year group.

Design Technology Curriculum Impact

Our teachers assess the children’s work in Design Technology both by making informal judgements, as they observe them during lessons, and through formal assessments of their work, gauging it against the specific learning objectives set out in the Curriculum as well as looking at their final product.. We have clear expectations of what the pupils will know, understand and be able to do at the end of each year and at the end of Key Stage Two.

We do not set formal tests or examinations in Design Technology. The assessments that we make of pupil achievement are positive and we report on these to parents in annual school reports and at Parent Learning Consultations. The Design Technology subject and delivery is monitored termly by the Design Technology subject leader.