Design Technology is a vital part of our curriculum at Emmbrook Infant School. Design and Technology involves applying knowledge and skills when designing and making products. The learning activities undertaken enable our children to consider the needs of individuals and society. They look at contributions from designers past and present in creating practical products. They undertake lessons in design which solve problems in the community and use a range of materials and processes to create practical solutions. Design Technology requires both independent thought and team work exercises which will support them as they move on in a wider world.
Its practical nature stimulates creativity and develops imagination, giving children the opportunity to regularly rehearse techniques and skills that build over time, through careful observation of the work of other designers, and develops critical thinking of how Design and Technology reflect and shape the diverse world we live in. Our Design and Technology curriculum equips children with the knowledge and skills to invent and create their own products and solutions.
We encourage them to take risks and inspire them to continually evaluate and improve on their ideas. It gives them the belief that they are young designers and can play a part in contributing ideas to our world and its product design.
The Design Technology curriculum not only focusses on key skills to be taught, learnt and mastered over time, but lends itself well to cross-curricular learning: Children can deepen their understanding of a period in time, through the study of primary and secondary sources, before creating a structure(for example furniture for a Victorian room or creating a winding mechanism for a toy similar to those studied in a timeline).
The 2014 National Curriculum for Design Technology aims to ensure that all children have access to:
An inspiring, rigorous and practical 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. They acquire a broad range of subject knowledge and draw on disciplines such as mathematics, science, engineering, computing and art.
Pupils learn how to take risks, becoming resourceful, innovative, enterprising and capable citizens. Through the evaluation of past and present design and technology, they develop a critical understanding of its impact on daily life and the wider world.
Design and Technology in the Early Years is taught through the Specific area of Expressive Art and Design, and is enabled through:
- Using children’s interests as a springboard for learning, taking opportunities to build on their understanding and skills and allow them to express themselves creatively
- Teaching specific skills through structured adult-led activities and giving opportunities to move learning and understanding on through exploratory play
- Creating an enabling environment which allows children to access a range of materials to explore and develop creations.
- Experimenting with different techniques and methods – for example mixing different colour paints, using different tools when joining models.
- Building in daily opportunities to develop gross and fine motor skills, in order to have an impact on the development of Art and Design-specific skills such as sketching.
- Introducing the work of key artists so children can explore the techniques used by them in their own creations.
Implementation
For children to become creative designers and have a greater depth of understanding, they must first master basic skills, which takes time. This is why we ensure skills-based teaching and learning underpins our curriculum in all units of work.
Sessions are carefully planned to introduce new skills, but also allows children to practise previously learnt techniques, so they can build up proficiency over time and know how skills and knowledge can be transferred and used in subsequent pieces of work.
Teachers create a positive atmosphere to learning in Design and Technology, where all children have the opportunity to enjoy the creative design process, with staff having high expectations for progress and attainment.
The curriculum is carefully planned to cover the requirements of the National Curriculum, with each unit of work driven by an initial enquiry focus and is underpinned by skills and knowledge -based learning.
This inspires children to ask questions about how things work, and make links in their learning.
Our whole school approach to the teaching and learning of Design Technology involves the following:
- A spiral scheme of work which covers the National Curriculum requirements and builds on knowledge, skills and understanding year-on-year. Learning is facilitated through the study of different units in textiles, food and healthy eating, structures and mechanisms within each year. Lessons are of a practical nature which allow children to practise and rehearse skills, develop creative thinking and have high aspirations for their design outcomes. Each unit of work is supported by a list of vocabulary specific to the Design Technology curriculum.
We expect the children to be;
- exposed to, and over time, to understand and use this vocabulary of specific terminology in their own work.
- This approach is reflected in our planning. We ask deep questions, which encourages pupils to think critically and objectively about valuing their ideas and opinions. Teachers model how to experiment with the techniques and skills.
- Children have the opportunity in each lesson to practise specific skills, which can be built on over time.
- Lessons are carefully planned to allow time for new skills to be taught, and previously learnt skills to be practised, allowing for mastery over time.
- Designers are chosen to be studied are selected because they represent the culturally diverse world we live in today.
We ensure a range of Design Technology is displayed from different key groups of children;
- Cultural Capital is developed through the study of both past and present, global and British Designers, and their work.
Impact
We assess the impact of our Design and Technology curriculum over time. This is done in a variety of ways: through skill development in a book scrutiny (children have these books from EYFS) which allow for comparison in a child’s work over time), analysing work on display, pupil conferencing and capturing pupil voice during lessons. We are then able to identify pupils who are working beyond expectations, or those working below, and adjust our teaching and provision accordingly.
Our Design and Technology curriculum and its delivery allows for children to recognise themselves as young designers of the future and experience success, whilst developing skills and knowledge of products over time.