INTENT
At Hunnyhill Primary School, we aim to provide all children with a broad and balanced curriculum which prepares them for life beyond primary education.
We encourage children to use their creativity and imagination, to design and make products that solve real and relevant problems within a variety of contexts, considering their own and others’ needs, wants and values.
Design and technology is:
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an inspiring, rigorous and practical subject;
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encourages children to learn to think and intervene creatively to solve problems both as individuals and as members of a team;
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combines skills, knowledge, concepts and values to enable children to tackle real problems;
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improves analysis, problem solving, practical capability and evaluation skills.
We aim to, wherever possible, link work to other disciplines such as mathematics, science, engineering, computing and art. The children are encouraged to become innovators and risk-takers. High-quality design and technology education makes an essential contribution to the creativity, culture, wealth and well-being of the nation.
Our design and technology curriculum is based on Kapow and provides children with high-quality lessons that will inspire them to think independently, innovatively and develop creative, procedural and technical understanding. They will be exposed to a wide range of media including textiles, food and components; through this, children will develop their skills, vocabulary and resilience.
IMPLEMENATION
Our Design and technology scheme of work is divided into six areas that are revisited each year, with Electrical systems and Digital world beginning in KS2:
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Cooking and nutrition
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Mechanisms
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Structures
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Textiles
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Electrical systems (KS2 only)
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Digital world (KS2 only)
Within each area, the development of the four core strands are detailed to ensure that progression is logical, achievable and measurable.
Our scheme of work is a spiral curriculum that enables students to: repeatedly revisit key areas, increase their depth of knowledge and build upon previous foundations. From Pre-School to KS2 the technical knowledge descriptors build upon prior learning and/or introduce new learning.
Design technology is taught within our two-week rotation of foundation subjects. Students are provided with a knowledge organiser at the start of each new unit which provides key vocabulary and facts that will be useful during the sessions.
At the start of each lesson, children complete a ‘4B4’ (four selected items of previous learning from the last lesson, last units and last year). This helps students to practice retrieving and applying previously learnt knowledge.
Lessons will regularly draw on cross-curricular subject knowledge and there is differentiated guidance available to ensure that tasks can be both accessed and stretched when required.
Self-assessment of each unit is undertaken continuously. Students assess their knowledge at the start through an interactive quiz and by using the RAG system to colour code the vocabulary in their knowledge organiser. This is repeated at the end of their learning journey and allows students to witness their own progress, growth of knowledge and understanding.
IMPACT
By the end of KS2, the National Curriculum states that students should be able to:
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·develop the creative, technical and practical expertise needed to perform everyday tasks confidently and to participate successfully in an increasingly technological world;
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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;
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critique, evaluate and test their ideas and products and the work of others;
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understand and apply the principles of nutrition and learn how to cook.
Through the Kapow scheme of work, students have access to a broad and creative curriculum. They gain enjoyment and confidence in Design and technology and develop a diverse range of skills to form a strong foundation for Key Stage 3 and beyond.
