Design and Technology
'Design and technology is an inspiring, rigorous and practical subject. 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’ needs, wants and values. They acquire a broad range of subject knowledge and draw on disciplines such as mathematics, science, engineering, computing and art.'
The National Curriculum
Intent
At Featherbank Primary school we aim to deliver a Design and Technology curriculum that provides children with a practical experience of designing and making of products for purpose. In doing so children will draw upon cross curricular skills to design, create and evaluate their work. Working as individuals and as part of a team, children will apply a developing knowledge of design technology to produce their desired outcome.
Early Years Foundation Stage
Children will develop their artistic and cultural awareness through their imagination and creativity. The children will have regular opportunities to engage with the arts, enabling them to explore and play with a wide range of media and materials. The quality and variety of what children see, hear and participate in is crucial for developing their understanding, self-expression, vocabulary and ability to communicate through the arts. The frequency, repetition and depth of their experiences are fundamental to their progress in interpreting and appreciating what they hear, respond to and observe. The children will be provided with the foundations of creativity through the teaching of skills in creating with materials. They will learn how to safely use and explore a variety of materials, tools and techniques, experimenting with colour, design, texture, form and function. They will Share their creations, explaining the process they have used. They will make use of props and materials when role playing characters in narratives and stories.
Key Stage Foundation Stage
In Year 1 children are introduced to key design skills alongside the development of their technical knowledge within Design and Technology, through the process of designing, making and evaluating. The children will begin with Food Technology by learning how to prepare a variety of fruit and vegetables and designing and creating a Christmas party buffet. The children will then be introduced to ‘Mechanisms’ by learning how to create sliders and levers which they can then use to create their own moving images in an animal fact file. Finally the children will be introduced to ‘Textiles’ and will learn how to create templates and explore a variety of joining techniques when they design, make and evaluate a character for a Punch and Judy style puppet show. In Year 2 the children are introduced to ‘structures’ focusing on how to make freestanding structures stronger, stiffer and more stable. They will use their knowledge to design, make and evaluate structures inspired by their Great Fire of London topic. The children will continue to develop their understanding of ‘Mechanisms’ by looking at wheels and axles, when they design, make and evaluate a moon buggy within their Moon Landings topic. The children will further develop their Food Technology skills, using different preparation methods to design, make and evaluate a Caribbean fruit salad during their Leeds West Indian Carnival topic.
Key Stage Two
In Year 3 the children will develop their knowledge within Food Technology by exploring healthy and varied diets. The children will use equipment to prepare and combine foods when they design, make and evaluate healthy, balanced packed lunches. The children will also explore a wide range of fresh and processed ingredients, how they are grown, reared or caught when they rewrite the school packed lunch policy. Children will develop their knowledge of Mechanism by developing their knowledge of levers and exploring linkages when they design, make and evaluate an information board to demonstrate significant stone age and Iron age inventions such as wheels, tools and fire. The children will then develop their understanding of structures by creating shell structures which they will use to design, make and evaluate a keep sake box. In Year 4 the children will learn about electrical systems using simple circuits and switches. They will use their skills to design, make and evaluate their own reading light for Reading Under the Stars. They will then further develop their skills in Textiles through exploring how 2D becomes 3D when they design, make and evaluate a lucky ‘bulla’ for a young Roman to carry their coins. The children also further develop their skills and knowledge in Food Technology and develop their technical and sensory vocabulary as they explore how they can change food aesthetically and textural to complement each other when they design, make and evaluate an Adonic feast in honour of Aphrodite and Adonis during their Ancient Greece topic. In Year 5 the children begin developing their skills in textiles through combining different fabrics. They will design, make and evaluate a pair of shoes inspired by the Anglo-Saxons. In Food Technology, the children will focus on celebrating culture and seasonality when they design, make and evaluate a pre-fast breakfast and celebratory food of Eid. The children will then further develop their skills within mechanisms and structures by exploring mechanical systems such as pulleys and gears and how to create frame structures inspired by Victorian inventions. In Year 6 the children look at seasonality through their WW2 topic, and explore how to preserve food through pickling. They then further develop their understanding of electrical systems by exploring more complex switches and circuits when they design, make and evaluate a personal alarm or torch as part of a bracelet or necklace design.
Impact
By the time children at Featherbank leave our school they will have developed:
- Skills, knowledge and understanding of designing and making functional products.
- critique, evaluate and test their ideas and products and the work of others.
- Knowledge of nutrition and the ability to cook basic dishes to support a health lifestyle and wellbeing.
