At Redhill Primary Academy, we believe children should learn through a variety of creative and practical activities, pupils should be taught the knowledge, understanding and skills needed to engage in the process of designing and making. Through Design and Technology children learn to think and intervene creatively to solve problems both as individuals and within a team.We provide a curriculum that allows children to learn about how Design and Technology creates products we use in everyday life and the process these existing products go through to ensure they meet the needs of each user. We ensure there is a clear progression of knowledge as well as skills across all strands of the national curriculum. Our curriculum incorporates opportunities for children to investigate how existing products are made and the purpose of their design, including the design process each product must go through. The substantive knowledge content has been carefully planned to ensure that children are provided with opportunities to revisit knowledge and build new knowledge alongside. In addition to this, each strand of design and technology is carefully mapped throughout school to ensure progression and that key vocabulary is built upon, from EYFS and through the primary phase. We aspire that throughout their time with us children are introduced and become confident working in a range of relevant contexts whether that be within the home or school, local community or the wider environment.It is intended that children are encouraged to use their creativity and imagination, to design and make products that solve real and relevant problems, considering their own and others’ needs, wants and values. It is our intent that children become reflective thinkers and evaluate past and present design technology, its uses, and its effectiveness, to form their own opinions and take part in the iterative process of designing and making with a confidence which will continue to develop through KS3 and beyond. Throughout learning across the Design and technology curriculum the school values are embedded within children’s learning where appropriate. Children are taught a sense of responsibility with our links to sustainability and empathy through links with Fairtrade. The Design and Technology curriculum aims to develop children’s independence, as well build resilience.
The teaching and implementation of the Design and Technology curriculum is based on the National Curriculum ensuring a well-structured approach to the subject. Detailed long and medium term planning is in place to ensure engaging curriculum content and revisiting of each strand to deepen both substantive and disciplinary knowledge.Throughout each block of study, teachers carefully plan to embed and assess the children’s substantive and disciplinary knowledge through the use of investigative and focus tasks carefully planned to both scaffold and deepen children’s understanding of the subject. We ensure application of knowledge in various contexts alongside creative, practical activities, to help children know more and remember more.Our detailed units of work and lesson plans follow our school design and technology enquiry cycle which supports children in developing well embedded disciplinary knowledge. It does this by encouraging children to ask questions, explore existing products, reflect on their own designs, and draw evaluations to support their future designing. Design and Technology lessons provide children an opportunity to work practically, both independently and collaboratively, to develop and embed taught subject specific knowledge in a range of contexts. Through these lessons children develop the skills of resilience and become reflective learners. Assessment takes place throughout each unit of work and teachers track progress and attainment against the National Curriculum expectations and the knowledge and skills progression documents. Teachers use this information to inform future lessons; ensuring children are supported and challenged appropriately. Throughout their time at school children will engage with different strands of design and technology including Structures, Mechanisms, Textiles, Electrical systems and Food and Nutrition. Throughout these strands children will have ample opportunity to incorporate Computer-Aided Design (CAD).Children in Foundation Stage have their progress tracked using the EYFS curriculum. Age related expectation levels are reported to parents at the end of the reception year.To view our subject overview for D and T, please click here.
By the end of Key Stage 2, pupils will: