Our D and T vision is to creatively design and make products that solve real and relevant problems.

Design and Technology is about providing opportunity for children to use creativity and imagination to design and make products that solve real and relevant problems, considering their own and others' needs. 

Making mistakes is a huge part of Design and Technology and integral to learning.

Intent

At Alwoodley Primary it is our intent that Design and Technology is an inspiring, practical, meaningful and memorable 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.  One project will be taught each term, as a block over at least 1 day to ensure continuity, progression and to enable a focus on the process as well as the end product.  These projects will include one topic related to food and will ensure that the two strands Design and Making, and Food and Nutrition are delivered effectively.   Topics are cross-curricular and support a broad range of subject knowledge, drawing on disciplines such as mathematics, science, engineering, computing and art.  There will also be an additional cooking lesson which maybe a DT lesson or maybe more cross curricular but will involve the children practising the cooking skills identified on the Alwoodley progression of skills in cooking.

Within Design and Technology children will learn and build on a range of practical and technical skills (see progression of skills), testing their ideas and critiquing and evaluating both their own products and the work of others.  Across all year groups children should be designing and making Something for Somebody for Some Purpose.  Also from yr2 upwards, a focus on designers that have shaped the world enables children to gain a deeper understanding of the skills and traits of a successful designer. There will also be increased opportunities for computer aided design in, using Purple Mash in reception, Year 3 and the use of programmable computer systems such as Crumble controllers in Year 6.

Implementation

Our curriculum offers a range of exciting units that solve real and relevant problems. Through these units, we also learn and apply a set of technical skills including structures, mechanisms, electrical control and a range of materials, including food. The children also draw upon knowledge and skills within Maths, Science, computing and Art.

We implement the curriculum through giving the children real and relevant problems to solve, making cross curricular links to broaden our understanding, offering enrichment opportunities like workshops and competitions and creating real products that serve a purpose.

Impact

Children have a set of DT skills embedded. They can talk about real life designers or designs and the impact they have had on the world. They have developed and become confident in the many characteristics of learning such as: resilience, resourcefulness, creativity and problem solving.

We use a range of strategies to ass these skills and knowledge including the following:

*Book monitoring

*Self assessment grids in books

*Pupil voice

*Feedback each lesson

*Benchmarking folder containing typical examples from each year group.