Design and Technology

DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY - VISION

Through a variety of creative and practical activities, pupils should be taught the knowledge, understanding and skills needed to engage in an interactive 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].

Children will be taught to how to design, make, and evaluate. Over the course of their primary schooling they will develop a bank of technical knowledge.

Design Technology at Whitehouse Community Primary School

At Whitehouse, we use a skills based cross-curricular approach to teaching and learning, using objectives taken from the National Curriculum.  We teach DT through our ‘Enquiry’ curriculum ensuring all children access every area of the Design Technology Curriculum.

We plan the activities in DT so that they build upon prior learning of the children. We give children of all abilities the opportunity to develop their skills, knowledge and understanding and we also build planned progression into the scheme of work, so that the children are increasingly challenged as they move through the school.

To meet the requirements of the National Curriculum, we cover the following activities within a year;

• Mechanisms
• Textiles
• Food
• Structures

For each project, pupils are taught to consider the five Design and Technology principles:

• User;
• Purpose;
• Innovation;
• Authenticity;
• functionality and
• Design Decisions.

During the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) pupils explore and use a variety of media and materials through a combination of child initiated and adult directed activities. They have opportunities to learn to:

• Explore the textures, movement, feel and look of different media and materials;
• Respond to a range of media and materials developing an understanding that they manipulate and create effects with these;
• Use different media and materials to express their own ideas;
• Construct with a purpose in mind using a variety of resources;
• Develop skills to use simple tools and techniques competently and appropriately;
• Select appropriate resources for a product and adapt their work where necessary.