Design & Technology

At Elsley Primary, we aim to offer our pupils a Design and Technology curriculum that sparks creativity and equips pupils with the necessary knowledge, skills and understanding to bring their design solutions into reality. We aim to provide our pupils with opportunities to learn to create quality products as they consider the needs, wants and values of those who their product is purposed to serve. We expect that our pupils will learn about and value the contributions made by past and present design and technology, and critically evaluate its impact on our day-to-day life and the wider world. By doing this, we aim for our pupils to become innovative inventors of a wide range of products for a wide range of users and are actively encouraged to consider the importance of sustainability. We aim for our pupils to know, understand and apply the key principles of the technological process in order to experience first-hand what it is like to grapple with producing functional products. We desire for our pupils to appreciate the interdisciplinary nature of Design and Technology where they will find opportunities to reinforce and apply their knowledge, skills and understanding from Computing, PSCHE, History, Science, Mathematics and Art and Design. Through the strand of Food Technology, we aim to lay the foundation of culinary skills amongst our pupils and teach them how to apply the principles of good nutrition and healthy eating, which are essential life skills. We also aim for our pupils to develop a greater understanding of the cultural dimension of food in different cultures and communities, including their own and within the wider world. We aim for our design and technology curriculum to foster enjoyment of the discipline and develop in our pupils, the ability to be resilient, collaborative and flexible learners.

Our curriculum allows pupils to develop the following disciplinary skills within the domain of Design and Technology:

• Design (developing, planning & communicating ideas)
• Technical knowledge (develop knowledge & understanding)
• Make (working with tools, equipment, materials & components to make quality products for a specific purpose)
• Work safely
• Evaluate (evaluating processes & products)
• Communicate as a designer

At Elsley, our Design and Technology curriculum (including Food Technology) is taught in 3 blocks throughout the year in order for our pupils to achieve depth in their learning.

Where possible, Design and Technology (including Food technology) is contextualised within our humanities topics, providing purpose and an enriching context to extend and consolidate learning, as pupils explore the world of Design and Technology (including food technology). Central to the teaching and learning of Design and technology (including food technology), is guiding pupils through the process of producing functional products:

• Identifying the problem
• Evaluating existing products
• Technical knowledge (developing knowledge & understanding)
• Design (developing, planning & communicating ideas)
• Make (working with tools, equipment, materials & components to make quality products for a specific purpose)
• Evaluate (evaluating processes & products)

The key knowledge, skills and understanding that pupils require to make progress has been carefully sequenced and planned systematically to ensure that skills and knowledge are built on year by year and maximise learning for all children.

We take a collaborative approach to the evaluation of the impact of our curriculum, where this process is not ‘done to’ our staff, but ‘with them’.  In order to judge how successfully our curriculum has been designed to promote the learning of the Design and technology (including food technology) National Curriculum, pupil outcomes are evaluated against our skills progression maps, pupil exemplification materials and pupil voice. These have been formulated in line with the Design and technology association. We also evaluate our Design and technology (including food technology) curriculum and practices against evidence based educational research, leading subject associations and welcome cross-school collaboration to ensure that our curriculum design successfully meets and challenges our pupils. 

We aim for our pupils to:

• Know, understand and apply the key principles of the technological process, including health and safety
• 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
• Value both collaborative and independent aspects of the learning process
• Appreciate the importance of sustainability in the production process
• Be resilient, collaborative and flexible learners
• Enjoy Design and Technology (including food technology) learning and be both confident and competent in the application of the skills they have acquired
• Appreciate the purpose that Design and Technology (including food technology) has in enriching everyday life and potential careers