Design and Technology

The teaching of Design Technology across the school follows the National Curriculum and the progressive CUSP Curriculum. The CUSP Design and Technology curriculum is organised into blocks with each block covering a particular set of disciplines, including food and nutrition, mechanisms, structures, systems, electrical systems, understanding materials and textiles. Vertical progression in each discipline has been deliberately woven into the fabric of the curriculum so that pupils revisit key disciplines throughout their Primary journey at increasing degrees of challenge and complexity. In addition to the core knowledge required to be successful within each discipline, the curriculum outlines key aspects of development in the Working as a Designer section. Each module will focus on promoting different aspects of these competencies. This will support teachers in understanding pupils’ progress as designers more broadly, as well as how successfully they are acquiring the taught knowledge and skills. Also, Food and Nutrition is a key factor that repeats twice in each year group as both nationally and at BBS child obesity is increasing. Exposure to a wide range of opportunities to cook and create healthy meals will build a love of good food and important life skills that promotes a healthy lifestyle now and in the future.

EYFS

Children will explore a variety of media and materials through a combination of child initiated opportunities.  They will use a variety of media and materials to express their own ideas, making plans and discussing form, function and purpose. Opportunities to prepare food will ensure that children adhere to good health and hygiene routines.

 Key Stage 1

Through a variety of creative and practical activities, Children will begin to focus on the Design, make and Evaluate format of our D.T curriculum. Pupils will be taught to:

Design: develop purposeful and functional drawings, templates and mockups. 

Make: select from a range of tools to cut, shape, join and complete tasks. 

Evaluate: Explore and evaluate against a design criteria. 

Technical knowledge: build structures, exploring how they can be made stronger, stiffer and more stable.

Nutrition: To prepare and make healthy foods, understanding the use of good hygiene throughout.

Key Stage 2

Within key stage 2 key events and individuals that have influenced the world of Design Technology are teaching focuses that are to be covered. The use of computer programmes and applications are also a key focus to be utilised by children in their design of their products. Pupils will be taught to:

Design: use research and develop design criteria to inform the design of innovative, functional, appealing products that are fit for purpose 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, such as cutting, shaping, joining and finishing, accurately.

Evaluate: investigate and analyse a range of existing products  and evaluate their ideas and products against their own design criteria and consider the views of others to improve their work. 

Technical knowledge: apply their understanding of how to strengthen, stiffen and reinforce more complex structures; use mechanical systems in their products, understand and use electrical systems in their products, apply their understanding of computing to programme, monitor and control their products. 

Nutrition: prepare and cook a variety of dishes using a range of cooking techniques 

And to understand seasonality, and know where and how a variety of ingredients are grown, reared, caught and processed.

Intent

It is the intent of Barlby Bridge Primary School for Design Technology to be taught in all year groups twice a term in 3 weeks unit blocks so that skills are built upon and revisited regularly. Key objectives from the National Curriculum and the CUSP scheme create a comprehensive and progressive curriculum that offers all children a range of D.T skills and knowledge; ensuring that they are designing and building for a clear purpose.

Key objectives of intent within the Design Technology Curriculum based on the National Curriculum 2014 guidance:
Products are to be made for a purpose.Individuality should be ensured in children’s design and construction of products.
Delivery of the two strands: Designing and Making and Cooking and Nutrition.
More emphasis to be given on creating ‘innovative’ products in KS2
Teaching the importance of making on-going changes and improvements during making stages.
Looking into seasonality of ingredients and how they are grown, caught or reared
The introduction of computing and coding of products in KS2.
Researching key events and individual designers in the History of Technology in KS2.

Implementation

Pupils will build upon previous knowledge as they move through each unit – focussing on the core areas of Food and Nutrition, Structures, Mechanisms, , Textiles and in KS2 Electrical systems in each year group. The LTP ensures clear progression of knowledge, where skills are built upon. Detailed structure for planning and examples are provided in CUSP to ensure strong teacher knowledge and high level vocabulary. Pupils will work in D.T books documenting  clear learning pathways  which are based on the foundations of design, make and evaluate.

Impact

At the end of their time at BBS children should have a creative and inventive understanding of design and a high level of vocabulary. They will be able to assess and evaluate their own and others’ work and have the skills to adapt their ideas if something is not effective.

Design Technology will be monitored by the subject leader throughout the year in the form of book monitoring, looking at outcomes and pupil interviews to discuss their learning and understanding and establish the impact of the teaching taking place.

EYFS pupils’ progress and attainment is tracked using the Early Excellence Assessment tracker system, telling us whether each individual child is below expected, at expected or above expected attainment for their age.

Assessment of children’s learning in Design Technology is an ongoing monitoring of children’s understanding, knowledge and skills by the class teacher, throughout lessons. This assessment is then used to inform differentiation, support and challenge required by the children.

At Barlby Bridge School, we strongly believe that Design and Technology creates independent, creative problem solvers and thinkers both as individuals and part of a team. The Curriculum with Unity Schools Partnership Art Sequences of Learning support these values and assist us in accomplishing these aims. 

Of their Design and Technology curriculum, CUSP say:

"CUSP Design and Technology is the most recent of our highly impactful CUSP subjects, which include science, geography, history, art and design as well as reading and writing.

We have purposefully built CUSP Design and Technology around the principles of evidence-led practice. This is to ensure that pupils are equipped to successfully think, work and communicate like a designer. Unapologetically ambitious, our curriculum focuses on excellence in this subject through a range of disciplines and by referencing outstanding practitioners in this field."

To find out more about CUSP D&T, please visit their website, here.