Design Technology at Plympton St Maurice Primary School

We are in an exciting year of developing our curriculum provision at Plympton St Maurice Primary School. From September 2020 all classes are following the ‘Projects on a Page’ scheme of work.

Our Intent for Design Technology

Our design technology curriculum is designed to meet the content requirements of the agreed syllabus. There is a set amount of time specified for each year group. Through our design technology lessons, children should be able to develop Life skills, Understanding, Nurture curiosity, Aspiration and Resilience.

Our Implementation for Design Technology

Our design technology curriculum encompasses:

Social and emotional learning,

Talk,

Mastery Learning,

the Arts,

Understand Learning,

Resilience,

Independent Personal learning and thinking,

Collaborative Learning and

Experience rich curriculum.

The teaching of design technology follows the National Curriculum through the use of the Design and Technology Association’s ‘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.

Our Impact for Design Technology

Throughout their time at school, children will develop these key skills set out by the national curriculum aims. These are as follows:

Key stage 1

Through a variety of creative and practical activities, pupils should be taught the knowledge, understanding and skills needed to engage in an iterative process of designing and making. They should work in a range of relevant contexts (for example, the home and school, gardens and playgrounds, the local community, industry and the wider environment).

When designing and making, pupils should be taught to:

Design

• design purposeful, functional, appealing products for themselves and other users based on design criteria.
• generate, develop, model and communicate their ideas through talking, drawing, templates, mock-ups and, where appropriate, information and communication technology.

Make

• select from and use a range of tools and equipment to perform practical tasks (for example, cutting, shaping, joining and finishing).
• select from and use a wide range of materials and components, including construction materials, textiles and ingredients, according to their characteristics.

Evaluate

• explore and evaluate a range of existing products.
• evaluate their ideas and products against design criteria.

Technical knowledge

• build structures, exploring how they can be made stronger, stiffer and more stable.
• explore and use mechanisms [for example, levers, sliders, wheels and axles], in their products.

Key stage 2

Through a variety of creative and practical activities, pupils should be taught the knowledge, understanding and skills needed to engage in an iterative process of designing and making. They should work in a range of relevant contexts (for example, the home, school, leisure, culture, enterprise, industry and the wider environment).

When designing and making, pupils should be taught to:

Design

• use research and develop design criteria to inform the design of innovative, functional, appealing products that are fit for purpose, aimed at particular individuals or groups.
• generate, develop, model and communicate their ideas through discussion, annotated sketches, cross-sectional and exploded diagrams, prototypes, pattern pieces and computer-aided design.

Make

• select from and use a wider range of tools and equipment to perform practical tasks (for example, cutting, shaping, joining and finishing), accurately.
• select from and use a wider range of materials and components, including construction materials, textiles and ingredients, according to their functional properties and aesthetic qualities.

Evaluate

• investigate and analyse a range of existing products.
• evaluate their ideas and products against their own design criteria and consider the views of others to improve their work.
• understand how key events and individuals in design and technology have helped shape the world.

Technical knowledge

• apply their understanding of how to strengthen, stiffen and reinforce more complex structures.
• understand and use mechanical systems in their products (for example, gears, pulleys, cams, levers and linkages).
• understand and use electrical systems in their products (for example, series circuits incorporating switches, bulbs, buzzers and motors).
• apply their understanding of computing to program, monitor and control their products.

Design and Technology – key stages 1 and 2 

Cooking and nutrition

As part of their work with food, pupils should be taught how to cook and apply the principles of nutrition and healthy eating. Instilling a love of cooking in pupils will also open a door to one of the great expressions of human creativity. Learning how to cook is a crucial life skill that enables pupils to feed themselves and others affordably and well, now and in later life.

Pupils should be taught to:

Key stage 1

• use the basic principles of a healthy and varied diet to prepare dishes.
• understand where food comes from.

Key stage 2

• understand and apply the principles of a healthy and varied diet.
• prepare and cook a variety of predominantly savoury dishes using a range of cooking techniques.
• understand seasonality, and know where and how a variety of ingredients are grown, reared, caught and processed.