Design & Technology

INTENT

Curious - Children investigate existing products, draw inspiration from problem-solving professions and explore a number of different solutions and answers.

Ethical - Children consider not only their own needs, but those of others, with opportunities to use a range of different
materials, including sustainable and recycled materials.

Aspirational - Children design and make products that are of a high quality with real purposes with opportunities to
evaluate and refine. The curriculum is adapted to meet the needs of all learners.

Creative -Children draw on links with other subjects, such as science, maths and art, in order to enrich and enhance
their designs and products.

National CurriculumDesign and technology Curriculum Overview

A high-quality design & technology education helps to enable our children to approach problems creatively and innovatively using a variety of different resources. Design & technology has deep links with mathematics, science, and computing with many natural links between the subjects that help to reinforce subject knowledge across much of the curriculum. Our curriculum is designed to encourage pupils to design, make and evaluate a variety of products as well as reinforcing key technical knowledge.

The national curriculum for design and technology aims to ensure that all pupils:

• develop the creative, technical and practical expertise needed to perform everyday tasks confidently and to participate successfully in an increasingly technological world
• 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
• critique, evaluate and test their ideas and products and the work of others
• understand and apply the principles of nutrition and learn how to cook.

Design & technology at Charlbury is taught in blocks of 1-2 weeks for Years 1-6 with cross curricular links made where they would support the long term retention of knowledge and skills. Units of work have been planned by teachers alongside the descriptors within the National Curriculum. These are adapted when necessary to suit the context of the class. In Year 5 & 6, food technology lessons are delivered in small groups by skilled and experienced teacher.

In the Early Years, resources are made available to support children’s interest in design & technology in line with our ‘Learning Through Play’ statement.

Our approach will allow children to have a strong grounding in the design process. This means children will be able to complete tasks with a high degree of difficulty independently. The study of design & technology will allow children a greater understanding of where other subjects, such as mathematics, science and design & technology fit into life outside of Charbury. Regularly used skills, such as problem solving, will further aid the development of the child across the curriculum. Regular review will be a major part of the teaching process to enable a high level of achievement.