Design and Technology at Peel Park

Vision

Design and Technology is an inspiring, rigorous and practical subject.  Using creativity and imagination, pupils will design and make products that solve real and relevant problems, within a variety of contexts, considering their own and others’ needs, wants and values. Through the evaluation of past and present work by design technicians they will develop a curiosity, fascination of its impact on daily life and the wider world, to become enterprising and capable citizens.

Peel Park believes that developing a love for learning in Design and Technology is fundamental to our pupils’ development in order to prepare them for their next phase in education. We do this by providing pupils with creative, inspiring experiences and embed skills to ensure that pupils can succeed in a technological world.

Our curriculum extends beyond the academic, technical, or vocational. This in turn:

• Provides for learners’ broader development, enabling them to develop and discover their interests and talents;
• Allows pupils to become confident risk takers and build resilience within Design and Technology.
• Through maintaining positive and well-trained staff we will continue to develop learners who are well equipped and prepared for their next step in education;
• Ensures that pupils are exposed to ambitions intentions;
• Allows pupils to explore attitudes towards the made world and how to live and work within it;
• Ensure pupils develop an understanding of technological processes, products and their manufacture, and their contribution to our society;
• Allow pupils to foster enjoyment, satisfaction, and purpose in designing and making,
• Provides learners with a range of projects which will involve using a variety of skills and materials, therefore clearly supporting the intent of a coherently planned curriculum, preparing pupils for future learning and employment.

Intent

Peel Park aims to provide pupils with a broad variety of opportunities across the wider curriculum to become interdependent designers and creators. We achieve this by understanding what our school and pupils need to become better at Design and Technology. Our curriculum allows us to plan and deliver structured lessons with clear progression across key stages. The appropriate level of challenge supports our carefully thought out, purposeful topics that allow pupils to work as inventors and creators in a more rigorous manner as they progress through school.

Implementation

Design and Technology is an inspiring and practical subject. At our school, learning is facilitated through using creativity and imagination. Pupils design and make products that solve real and relevant problems within a variety of contexts, considering their own and others’ need, wants and values. We encourage pupils to take risks, becoming resourceful, innovative, enterprising pupils whilst learning how they can contribute towards building a better, ever-changing world.

Our Design and Technology curriculum has been designed by exploring the expectations of the National Curriculum (design, make and evaluate) and applying this guidance to the context, barriers and needs of the school and its pupils. We use the Kapow Design and Technology scheme of work as the basis for our planning. Teachers are responsible to adapt these plans to meet the individual needs of pupils.

Our long-term plan maps out the themes covered in each term during the key stage and our medium-term plans give details of each unit of work for each term. These plans define what we will teach and ensure an appropriate balance and distribution of work across each term, equipping pupils with the necessary knowledge, understanding and skills needed to engage in an interative process of designing and making in a range of relevant contexts. Individual plans list the specific learning objectives and expected outcomes and give details of how to teach the lessons and how success will be measured. Lessons are purposeful and have clear links with subjects across the wider curriculum.

The content of the Design and Technology curriculum at Peel Park exposes learners to five categorised areas: Structures, Mechanisms, Electrical Systems, Cooking and Nutrition and Textiles. The five categorised areas support pupils’ development and progress across this subject area as pupils learn through a variety of creative and practical activities and experiences.  There is a clear progression of skills throughout Design and Technology as our units of work are chosen carefully and purposefully so that they build on pupils’ prior learning. Teachers ensure that all abilities are given the opportunity to develop their skills, knowledge and understanding alongside an increasing challenge for pupils as they move up through the school.

EYFS-

The Early Years Foundation Stage is detrimental to a child’s development. At Peel Park, we expose pupils to a range of materials, encouraging pupils to build, create and explore. Allowing pupils in the foundation stage of their learning to make, change and design things for themselves enables pupils to gain knowledge and understanding of the world which they live in. Pupils in our EYFS setting learn through first hand experiences where they explore, observe, solve problems, think critically, make decisions, and talk about why they have made their decisions.  These experiences and activities, indoors and outdoors, attract the pupils’ interest and curiosity. Learners investigate in a rich environment which values creativity, using a variety of construction kits, materials, tools and products, developing making skills and handling appropriate tools and construction materials safely with increasing control. Pupils further experiment through design, with colour and materials, representing their own ideas, thoughts and feelings through Design and Technology.

KS1

Within Key Stage 1, we ensure that our expectations enable all pupils to establish and begin to develop the knowledge, understanding and skills to become a successful designer and creator.  Structures, Mechanisms, Cooking and Nutrition and Textiles act as focus topics throughout this key stage, allowing pupils to build upon their knowledge, understanding and skills as they move through school. Each focus topic is purposeful and engaging. There is a clear, structured application of skills throughout these topics as pupils’ progress through the processes of Design and Technology. Pupils investigate, design, and make their end product. Pupils create purposeful, functional, appealing products for themselves and other users based on design criteria, beginning to select from a range of tools and materials building a bank of technical knowledge. Teachers encourage pupils to evaluate throughout the whole process, although particularly within Key Stage 1 this is also a focus after they have made their product. Pupils are encouraged to think and discuss what went well, what they would change, how they would change this and why.

KS2

Within Key Stage 2, pupils build upon their prior knowledge, understanding and skills taught previously. As opposed to four key elements, within Key Stage 2 our focus topics focus on the five key elements of Design and Technology:  Structures, Mechanisms, Electrical Systems, Cooking and Nutrition and Textiles. In addition to our purposeful focus topics, these elements of Design and Technology allow pupils to research and develop design criteria to inform the design of innovative, functional and appealing products. These products are designed carefully and purposefully aimed at particular individuals or groups. Pupils generate, develop, model and communicate their ideas through discussion, and a range of design strategies so that in turn they can select and use a wider range of tools and equipment to perform practical tasks (for example, cutting, shaping, joining and finishing) accurately to meet their end product.  Pupils use their evaluating skills to investigate, analyse and consistently review their ideas and products against their own design criteria, considering the views of others to improve their work.

Impact

At our school an important objective is for all pupils to develop as young interdependent designers and creators.  We achieve this by recognising and planning for what becoming better as Design and Technology entails- progression- and consequently challenging and supporting our pupils to work creatively in a more rigorous manner as they progress through the school. We aim to develop pupils’ skills and knowledge in design, structures, mechanisms, electrical control and a range of materials, including food. We encourage learners’ creativity and encourage them to think about important issues within the society and world that we live in.