Intent
Our priority is to ensure that the children are confident learners able to think creatively, question and problem solve through D&T. We aim to nurture our children’s creativity so that they are inspired to explore their own ideas, interests and use their imagination through a hands on approach to become independent to make choices of their own.
We encourage children to link their learning from maths, science and art and develop their vocabulary within DT to use in the wider curriculum.
We focus on engaging, inspiring and challenging pupils, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to experiment, invent, design and make their own items for a purpose. Pupils are taught to consider their own and others views and values and build resilience to take risks and try new things. Children will learn how design and technology shapes our history, and contributes to the culture, creativity and the wealth of our nation and the wider world. It is important children have opportunities to reflect and evaluate other designs, thinking of the overall effectiveness based on the design and purpose to then be able to evaluate their own and reflect on how to develop and improve further.
The DT work at Spring Meadow Infant and Nursery gives children an opportunity to explore and develop skills in mechanisms, structure, textiles, cooking and nutrition. These skills are developed throughout the school building on prior knowledge, understanding and skills to then develop the children further in their understanding in these areas.
Implementation
DT is taught every term using the Kapow scheme of work that follows the National Curriculum. The planning ensures progress and coverage in all aspects of DT. These skills, knowledge and language will prepare children to make progress across Key Stage One and continue when going on into Key Stage Two. Within the Early Years Foundation Stage knowledge and skills are taught across the years as part of a unit of work that has teacher led activities and where they can then explore in their environment.
The teaching of DT follows the design, make and evaluate cycle, with technical knowledge and relevant vocabulary shared and taught at each stage. This cycle is used across each area of DT that are structures, mechanisms, cooking and nutrition and textiles. The children will have experiences at making fruit smoothies, wraps, moving monsters and puppets. The skills, knowledge and language can be revisited and developed upon in each unit of work. The design process is always linked to real life, relevant contexts to give meaning to the learning. Children are given opportunities to see and try out current products that are available to evaluate and then from their findings design and make their own. The children are given choice and a wide range of tools and materials to choose from. When evaluating, the children are taught to evaluate their own products against the initial design criteria to see how well it has met the needs and wants of the intended user and to identify any changes that could be made. They are also taught to evaluate others and compare to their own. In design and technology children may well be asked to work as part of a team learning to support and help one another towards a challenging, yet rewarding goal which helps to underpin our resilience and kindness values.
Impact
The key knowledge, skills, and language are revisited throughout children’s learning using mini plenaries, key assessment questioning, and recaps to allow teachers to be responsive to the children’s learning. In Key Stage One at the end of a unit of work, our children’s final product is assessed against the success criteria and how the children have evaluated their own work. In EYFS they are assessed throughout the unit in different forms, including conversations with children about what they have made and why and observations. The DT subject leader monitors the teaching and learning of DT throughout the year through learning walks, scrutinising work, and discussions with children from across the school to find out what they enjoy and know about in DT. This evaluation of the teaching and learning of DT within the school informs them of the next steps to be taken in further raising standards in DT.
Our children leave our school confident in their knowledge of many aspects of DT, having had experiences of a range of different products. The knowledge, skills, and language they have learnt will prepare them for the content of the Key Stage 2 DT curriculum.
