Aims and Intent

Design and Technology education involves two important elements – learning about the designed and made world and how things work, and learning to design and make functional products for particular purposes and users. Children acquire and apply knowledge and understanding of materials and components, mechanisms and control systems, structures, existing products, quality and health and safety. The skills learned in D&T also help with learning across the curriculum. Knowledge about the properties of materials helps in science and the practice of measuring accurately helps in maths. These skills help in computing through the children’s use of computer control and, naturally, in art and design. Design and Technology education helps develop children’s skills through collaborative working and problem-solving, and knowledge in design, materials, structures, mechanisms and electrical control. They are encouraged to be creative and innovative, and are actively encouraged to think about important issues such as sustainability and enterprise. There are three core activities children engage with in Design and Technology: 

• Activities which involve investigating and evaluating existing products 

• Focused tasks in which children develop particular aspects of knowledge and skills 

• Designing and making activities in which children design and make ‘something’ for ‘somebody’ for ‘some purpose.’ 

These three activities are combined in sequence to create a Design and Technology project.

 

Statement of Intent

Design and Technology is about providing opportunities for children to develop their capability. By combining their design and making skills with knowledge and understanding they learn to create quality products. D&T is often one of a child’s favourite subjects. Children like making decisions for themselves and doing practical work. They love creating products they can see, touch – and even taste – for themselves. They feel proud to have done so. D&T brings learning to life. It is a motivating context for discovering literacy, mathematics, science, art, PSHE and ICT. Primary Design and Technology also provides a firm basis for later learning in the subject and a platform for developing skills in literacy and numeracy. 

 

Statement of Implementation

At Rosehill, we follow the National Curriculum, which includes Design and Technology as a compulsory subject at Key Stage 2, with statutory Programmes of Study. To implement the national curriculum, we use Projects on a Page. This is a scheme that has been carefully designed by the design and technology association (DATA). We are proud members of DATA, using their expertise and research to give our children rich design and technology experiences. 

Statement of Impact

All children at Rosehill receive a broad and engaging Design and Technology curriculum and have the opportunity to be creative and to design, make and evaluate their own products for a user. They learn how to apply their data handling and research skills to create design criteria for their products, they learn how to use their maths, computing and science skills to design and make their products, and they get the chance to apply their art skills to finish their products to a high standard.  All children have an understanding of how and why we design purposeful products for specific users and can use their knowledge of existing products and inventors to evaluate and improve upon their ideas.  All children have the opportunity to experience designing and creating a range of functional products across all areas of Design and Technology and get an understanding of how they can use their skills and ideas to make a contribution to society. They gain a wide range of practical skills and knowledge that will enable them to be innovative, to express themselves and to share their ideas and creativity both in school and throughout their lives.